Kaz-Croute!

I'd love to see it on the Ottawa side, but I just don't see a viable swim option with space for transition, mainstage, expo etc.

But you never know...sometimes Ironman has fragmented races with swim and/or T1/2 in different spots.

There is a lot of room between Westboro beach and Champlain bridge.

Ok...it's obviously happening, and it's obviously going to be on the Ottawa side of the River.

Check out this quote from Lesley Pincombe, VP of Business & Major Events for Ottawa Tourism in Jan 2024 - “...We have so much green space and we want to host maybe an Ironman or triathlons using our canal, our waterways, and our roadways. We have over 800 kilometers of bike paths here."

Source: https://www.sportspromedia.com/insights/interviews/iihf-world-junior-championships-2025-ottawa-hosting-strategy-ice-hockey/


Not sure how this quote didn't create more buzz at the time.

....aaaand Ironman just gave a hint that an annoucement will be coming tomorrow for a new event in the NorthEast...and shows a Canadian Flag.

Yep. And based on what you can see looks like "Ironman Ontario"
08/03/2025

I think it is:

IRONMAN
CANADA 🍁 OTTAWA

99.999% for sure Ottawa/Gatineau try to book hotels now and already sold-out. July 31st-Aug 4th 2025 Can only mean that Ironman already pre-book many hotels!

My spare room is available.

We have a few Kickrs, a treadmill, a running path (rail trail) behind the house and a Masterspas Swim Spa.

I'll start the bidding at $500/night.

Where did you see the announcement?

Re: hotels. If you look a month prior it is the same. Some hotels don't release their rooms more than a year in advance.

It's on a few regional IM Facebook pages. Here is link to IM Lake Placid's page:

https://www.facebook.com/...LoC/?mibextid=oFDknk

I think this is probably the case

If they're already closing Wellington for the bike, it wouldn't be a huge stretch to have the run go in front of Parliament hill so you can get the action shots of running by there. Use the river pathway to get there.

Plus, all the big running races finish at Confederation/City Hall, so it wouldn't be a stretch to have the race finish down that way, either.

Since the announcement of the announcement is out, you all post your questions on the thread. I got an invite from the organizers at Ironman to join the launch press conference tomorrow (Tuesday 16 April). Fire away and I will try to ask whatever the can at the event tomorrow

 

given that the obc had to can the grand prix, which is not that many people, for just a few hours, and had quite a lot of history, just because of park usage issues, i can't see an ironman using it.

Could they something out Carleton University?

Where is the press conference?

I'd like to know how many years the agreement is for, and if it's organized by Ironman NA or if it's a license/franchise event like Muskoka

Will it be part of the Pro Series in 2025?

Ironman usually want an iconic setting for their races.

If the swim is in the canal will they allow snorkels?

Really I would love an out and back from NAC to Pretoria bridge and back with a T1 right on QE driveway. For one day a year, that water is no worse than pretty well everything I have raced at in Europe. It can't be worse than Paris Olympic 2024 in the Seine. It is effectively the same water as Dow's Lake....just not sure how much city run off hits canal directly, but I am guessing the additional water quality drop off from Dow's lake to NAC is from City water run off in the rain from streets. I don't THINK any untreated sewage hits the canal like it does in the Seine.

I'm thinking a long weekend in August though will have a lot of boat traffic. Not sure they would want to close that off and could be gassy.

The worst water I've swum in:
1. IM Arizona - nasty cold canal. Great for people who were watching the race though
2. IM Texas - warm, and just gross. Smelled like compost.
3. Kingston Tri 2023 - water quality was good, but you had to swim through very high weeds for the last 100 or so metres. Much preferred when we jumped off the ferry/boat

The best:
1. Cozumel
2. Tremblant
3. Nice

The sewage issue used to be the river - since that's where the runoff goes if there's a huge storm that exceeds the old city's single drainage system. Though they've since upgraded their facilities so now it needs a much bigger storm to dump sewage.

I think the issue with canal is more the lack of water movement and shallow depth and so icky things tend to grow (moss, algae, etc.) vs in the lake. Its probably perfectly fine, but would *feel* gross. I haven't done the Ottawa canal, but Mooney's bay (which feeds the canal) is perfectly fine for swimming.

I suspect most of my questions will be announced tomorrow anyway, but...

• Who's the RD?
• How long is the deal for?
• Route/locations?
• Is this IM only, or is there a 70.3 with it?

And also the most important thing... How many Kona/Nice Slots? :)

ETA: (If the mayor is there) Ask if Sutcliffe if he's doing it!
Also, can we get the LRT running early on race morning?

Yes, this is it. I'm assuming that for an event of this size they could probably open the locks at the Chateau end a few days before and pull fresh water from up the Rideau. It's no different from what they do for the skating (drain/fill).

For Superleague 2019 they also dragged the swim area to get rid of weeds.

Canal swim would be UNREAL for spectators, the water would be calm, and it would be right downtown.

I disagree with out/back. Too much risk of head-on collisions. It's not that wide and a lot of people are terrible at sighting.

No way that the city is that coordinated that they're thinking this through. This is the city that didn't run the LRT last year for the marathon because no one told them to do so, and then when people inquired if it would be running, they said that they weren't given enough time to adjust the maintenance schedule, as if the date isn't known in advance.

Canal would be NCC jurisdiction anyway - so you're putting in another government layer. Though you might be involving them for the parkways anyway.