Ironman China promoter Murphy Reinschreiber
was kind enough to answer questions for us about the event and venue.
This is part I and addresses: 1) status of race registration; 2) how
participants will be able to get familiar with the course prior to race
day, and 3) what kind of water will be at the aid stations? Murphy is the president of PCH Sports and has been in the business of triathlon for 25 years. In addition to Ironman China, PCH Sports produces Ironman Korea and the Laguna Phuket Triathlon.
Registration:
Can you
tell us how many people have signed up for the 70.3 and the full Ironman so
far?
ENTRIES
HAVE PICKED UP SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE TRAVEL INFORMATION WAS POSTED 10 DAYS AGO ON
THE WEB SITE. WE EXPECT THAT THE EVENT WILL SELL-OUT (15OO TOTAL ENTRIES FROM
BOTH RACES).
Course
drive through:
As you
probably know, Ironman athletes like to familiarize themselves with the bike and
run course prior to doing the actual event. This often involves both driving the
course and perhaps riding parts of it. Since very few athletes will feel
comfortable renting cars and since it might be difficult and expensive to use
taxis to do so, do you have any suggestions how athletes will be able to
accomplish this at Ironman China? Is the bike course safe to ride before hand or
are sections of it too crowded with people cars unless closed as you will be
doing on the event.
COMPETITORS
CAN RIDE MOST OF THE COURSE AT ANY TIME. MOST OF THE COURSE ROADS ARE WIDE OPEN
MULTIPLE LANE ROADS WITH LIGHT TRAFFIC MOST OF THE DAY. THE EXCEPTIONS ARE: (1)
THE CLOSED ACCESS PORTION OF THE WEST HIGHWAY AND (2) THE SHORT STRETCH ALONG
XIU YING ROAD WHICH CAN BE CONGESTED. AS DONE AT THE LAGUNA PHUKET TRIATHLON, WE
HOPE TO ORGANIZE POLICE ESCORTED COURSE RIDES DURING RACE WEEK. BIKES WILL NOT
BE ALLOWED ONTO THE CLOSED ACCESS PORTION OF THE WEST HIGHWAY EXCEPT DURING
ORGANIZED RIDES. SELF-DRIVE
CARS ARE AVAILABLE IN HAIKOU AND CABS ARE RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE.
THERE
IS A LOT TO DO IN A FIRST-YEAR RACE, BUT WE WILL CONSIDER COURSE BUS TOURS FOR
PARTICIPANTS.
Water:
Several
people have emailed me asking me about whether it is safe for foreigners to
drink tap water in Hainan. How about water along the course, will the source be
local tap water or bottled water?
ALL
WATER SERVED ON THE RACE COURSE WILL BE BOTTLED WATER. WHENEVER I TRAVEL (EVEN
IN THE USA) I DRINK BOTTLED WATER AND RECOMMEND OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.
Thank you Murphy. In short, the race is still open (for now), there will be ample opportunity to familiarize yourself with the course, and don't worry about the water. Part II of our interview with Murphy will focus on race day logistics.