1) Logistics and Lodging
2) The Swim
3) The Bike
4) The Run
Logistics and Lodging: Panama City Beach is way up north in the Florida panhandle, closer to New Orleans than Miami. Unless you plan on driving there, you will almost for sure have to make a connection to get to this town. This is not a major city. It's also not that easy to get around without a car. I do recommend renting one for sure.
Having T1 and T2 in the same place is very convenient. So many venues are not like this anymore. The nearest hotel is the Boardwalk. It was clean and convenient. If you stay somewhere further away and need to drive back after the race, there is plenty of parking on the nearby roads. It will be just a bit inconvenient compared to staying at the Boardwalk where you can easily walk from the finish to your room.
My only experience in Panama City Beach was for Ironman 2014 and I have been told that this was a very unique year. My experience is that it is a very, very cold and windy place. I'm from Northern California. While it doesn't exactly snow here, I know what cold is. Race morning was in the 40's. The wind was blowing so hard that garbage cans were being blown down the street. The ocean temp was perfect at around 70F. But when they sent the safety kayaks out to start the race they were quickly in need of rescue themselves!
It was announced on the beach that the swim was cancelled. New format would be a time trial bike start with the pros first at 8am and the rest of the field by age group. 4 riders at a time, every 10 seconds or so. 2,700 athletes waiting by their bikes in the freezing, windy cold for up to two hours. Such bullshit. But I digress.
Not too proud to admit that I found a discarded sweatshirt on the ground and put it on. Never done that before!
THE BIKE
Ironman has had 16 years to fine tune this race and they have done a magnificent job. If there were a swim, after getting out of the water it's about 200 yards from the beach to T1. The changing 'tent' is actually a large warehouse right next to where the bikes are. It's warm in there and there's plenty of room. Get your bike and start riding south along the beach.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I was warned by my friend Dustin that the winds tend to swirl around the beach-side hotels and cause severe bike handling problems. He suggested not to be in aero bars during the roughly 5 miles leaving T1 and the same stretch coming back to T2. I am a cyclist who rides many 1,000's of miles a year in much more technical conditions than Florida. So I took Dustin's advice with a grain of salt. DO NOT make the mistake I did! He was absolutely right. While I didn't crash, many riders did. And I understand that it is like this every year in that stretch. Be careful riding along the beach where the hotels are!
The bike is one big 112 mile loop. 99% flat. Not much in the way of scenery. Although we didn't have it this year, I can see that it is a fast course. Practice staying in your aero position for hours upon hours at a time. The pavement is very nice to ride on for 90% of the course. One out-and-back section is on a very poor quality road that is so bad you really can't go too fast without rattling your teeth out. I can't remember exactly, but it was around Mile 50 and was 5 miles out and 5 miles back. I was super happy to be off that road.
The rumors that you've heard regarding this particular race being a draft fest is true. I think they're trying to get a handle on this because I saw many, many red cards. After 7 Ironman races I can honestly say I've never seen so many penalties as at IMFL.
Coming back into T2 a volunteer takes and racks your bike while you are handed your Run Gear bag and back into the warehouse to slip some shoes on and go for a little run. There are volunteers to slather on sunscreen if you want. And off you go.
THE RUN
The run is two loops of roughly 13.1 miles. It is dead flat and fast. It starts out along the hotels and goes along about a mile stretch of incredible spectator support: costumes, loud music, and scantily clad spectators. Soon you're in some residential neighborhoods which are much more quiet and peaceful. Another stretch on a main street. The turn-around happens in a State Park that is quite nice.
Since I didn't get started on the bike when I normally would have, I got a chance to see the run course at night :/
At night the run course becomes a lesson in contrasts. Within about a mile on either side of the starting line, whether you're coming back to start your second loop or heading to the finish line, the crowds are festive and rowdy. It really is super fun there! Once in the neighborhoods it's dark, quiet, and lonely. Back down at the State Park turn-around it's (mostly) lit, but still quiet. It's during those dark, painful last miles that friendships are formed. Who but another person on the course can understand the demons at that moment??
IN CONCLUSION
Would I race here again? Probably, if the circumstances were right. I've done Ironman in four countries and three states. There's a lot of venues out there in the world that I'm still interested in.
Any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Have a fit day, y'all!
