Cd'A, Ironmen are just not that into you

COEUR d’ALENE — Why did Ironman pull the plug on the full triathlon in Coeur d’Alene?

It’s still unclear.

After several phone messages — left by The Press at Ironman headquarters in Tampa, Fla. — went unreturned, someone from Ironman responded Monday to an email sent late last week to press@ironman.com.

“While the location continues to be an amazing destination and a community we have always enjoyed, it is important to us that our relationships with host venues, including the city, spectators and partners are mutually beneficial,” said the unsigned message. “In discussion with the Chamber and partners, we have agreed that the best path forward for all parties is to discontinue the full-distance Ironman Coeur d’Alene event and put all of our focus into making the Ironman 70.3 race in Coeur d’Alene the best it can possibly be for everyone involved.”

There is, however, real evidence that triathletes just aren’t all that interested in coming to Coeur d’Alene in August for a 140.6-mile race.

First, very few people took advantage of early registration discounts for this year’s Aug. 27 event.

The participant list published on ironman.com shows that by May 2 there were just 692 people registered for the 2017 race. Registration opened immediately following last year’s race in August. For those who registered by Sept. 21, 2016, the entry fee was $655. From Sept. 22, 2016, to May 28, the price to enter went up to $685. On May 29, the entry fee increased to $785.

And then, it’s hard to ignore the sharp decline of participation over the last two years.

There were 2,466 athletes who in June 2014 took the Ironman Challenge to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles.

In 2015, the final full Ironman race held in June attracted 2,012 athletes. Racers that year had to contend with extreme heat. The outdoor temperature rose to 105 degrees. That was also the year a truck carrying bee hives crashed on Interstate 90, sending agitated bees close to the race course.

Then in 2016, participation for the first August Ironman Coeur d’Alene dropped to 1,346 athletes.

There’s another possible reason for flagging participation in a late summer 140.6-mile event in the Lake City. The World Ironman Championship takes place in October in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. By August, many serious triathletes have likely already qualified for the championship. They don’t need to come to Coeur d’Alene.

Although they don’t want to hold more full Ironman races in the Lake City, the Ironman folks said in their email they aren’t down on the place: “It has been a marvelous 14 years and we want to make this final Ironman Coeur d’Alene event a celebration of all the memories that have been made on this course as we look forward to the memories that will be made racing the Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene triathlon in future years.”