23 Jul IRONMAN agreement extended for one year
Lake Placid, NY – An agreement has been reached to extend a one-year contract with IRONMAN Group for the ViewSPORT IRONMAN® Lake Placid triathlon 2022.
This decision was mutually agreed to by all towns the race impacts, The Village of Lake Placid, Essex County, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), and IRONMAN Group.
“We have received a great deal of engagement from area residents and feel it is necessary to address the feedback prior to considering a longer term agreement,” stated Jim McKenna, CEO of ROOST.
A community task force will be created and will be composed of key stakeholders and members from all of the towns the race impacts. The goal of the task force will be to address issues surrounding the event while looking for ways to improve community benefits. Some of the issues voiced so far include pre-race training, environmental impact, current race course, and the economic impact.
“We are currently in the process of developing a destination management plan for the Town of North Elba and the Village of Lake Placid. This one-year contract and the formation of a regional IRONMAN task force is part of the process to ensure community goals are met,” said McKenna.
Registration for the 2022 ViewSPORT IRONMAN Lake Placid triathlon will open on Monday, July 26 following this year’s edition of the triathlon which will take place this Sunday, July 25.
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John Gatens
Posted at 15:45h, 27 JulyI’m disappointed to see that the contract was only renewed for one year. As a four-time finisher of Ironman Lake Placid, I’ve calculated that I’ve spent well over $20,000 in the 10 times me and/or my family have been to Lake Placid. This total represents money spent on hotels, restaurants, and in shops in and around the LP region. While we love LP, we would not drive the 11 hour round-trip from New Jersey if it weren’t for the Ironman, or for training/volunteering for the Ironman. I realize that LP is a destination for many and rightfully so. It’s beautiful.
That being said, I think that those who oppose Ironman in LP are compartmentalizing the race into a weekend traffic hassle for the local community and are missing the very big picture. I know several people who come up every year for the race, to cheer on their friends, to volunteer, or just share the incredible electricity that Ironman brings to LP every year for four days. Not to race, but to watch the race. They aren’t up to go fly fishing, or hiking, or see John Browns house. They’re up for the race. If you cancel it, they aren’t coming up, and neither are the 2,500 triathletes like me who come up to train on THE bike course, in THE lake, on THE marathon course, in those late spring and summer months leading up to the race. They will find another Ironman and go train in and around that community.
Part of what makes LP what it is, is the Ironman. They’re intertwined. I’ve done four Ironman competitions, including Sunday, all at Lake Placid. I plan to do number five in two years, at the age of 60. I would love for it to be in the beautiful Village of Lake Placid. If you cancel LP, people will go to Mount Tre Blanc, to race, to train on THE course, to spend their thousands of dollars.
Please, to all involved, look at the big picture here. The temporary inconvenience for some of a late July weekend traffic hassle, is dwarfed by the enormity of roughly 40,000 realized dreams over the last 20 years. These incredibly strong and driven men and women have spent tens of millions of dollars in Lake Placid over those 20 years in their quest to prove that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
Please take the bold step and renew the contract for 10 more years. I hope you make a wise decision that is in the best interest of all involved, and isn’t overly influenced by any one group that happens to hold sway over the decision making process. Congratulations to Lake Placid and the surrounding communities, all those tremendous volunteers out on the course, and all the fans who cheered us on and during the race on Sunday. You helped to carry us all to the finish line. To my fellow Ironmen and Ironwomen, Congratulations! You ARE an IRONMAN!!!
Mary Ann Borden
Posted at 12:48h, 28 JulyCongratulations John on your four Iron Man! What a great accomplishment!
I respect your opinions and your views and see what you mean about the money to the area, but at the same time there are so many things that have brought the other side myself included to the opinion that 21 years is enough!
I live on the run road and for months we take our lives into our own hands as we drive down the road and practicing Ironmen, running and biking are side by side in the middle of the road, and then flip us off when we beap for them to go single file! This is just one of many, many reasons, but it is a reason and it really impacts not only Lake Placid but all the surrounding areas!
You say that they should renew the contract for 10 years in total disregard for the opinion of the other side! I thank from the bottom of my heart ROOST for opening up a discussion that includes EVERYONE IN THE AREA!
This past Friday before the iron Man my husband was almost hit head on on our road as a car swerved around a biker in the middle of the road and into his lane of traffic! And then literally an hour later as I was on my way into town I came upon a truck parked half in my lane, in park talking to a biker who’s bike was next to his truck, I came to a complete stop and he furiously waved me around him! As I came up beside him I came to a complete stop and I said, “This is a corner We want everyone to be safe including ourselves!” He just gave me the most disgusted look and said, ” You had plenty of room to go around!” Yes if I was going to go into another lane of traffic and then possibly do to someone else what was almost done to my husband!
These are the kind of things that we deal with day in and day out from April literally until September because if you think that it ends with Ironman you’re wrong! I’m just one person but believe me there are thousands and thousands of us that feel the same way and have the same stories!
All needs to be taken into consideration for the upcoming decision!