Racing Abroad Part 1 - I always wanted to and now I am...debate, research, discussions, approvals and booking !

Although I am still fairly new to Triathlon, I have had the idea of doing at least one race abroad.  Not sure why...it costs probably two or three times as much as doing a similar race at home and the extra logistics of getting your bike and kit on a plane and arriving in the same location as you, will add extra effort to what can already be fairly complex preparations.

That said, the idea of a warm sea, some super smooth roads and the fun of sharing a race weekend abroad with mates outweighs the other aspects I'm sure.

I had previously come close to entering a race abroad (IM 70.3 Austria) but in the end didn't have the confidence to enter having never raced the distance before.  Having since completed two 70.3 distance races in 2017, I'm now a lot more confident.

I had being chatting to a great friend and training partner about racing together and choosing a nice location abroad to do so.  Spain looked like the favourite although the challenge race in Sardinia looked very tempting also.  Toward the mid of this year those discussions got more focused until we had agreed (subject to head office approval) to book an event.  It was going to happen !!

So, after some final destination debate and aforementioned head office approval (which was a smoother process than I ever expected!), it happened.....I entered the 2019 Iron Man 70.3 in Mallorca.  Not long after, another great mate and training partner entered, so there are now three of us racing (so far).

I am really excited about the thought of racing abroad.

Having never raced abroad before there are going to be a lot of new things for me to consider, like getting my bike to the event, booking flights and hotel (not that I haven't done that before), deciding the best time to arrive and how long to stay after, taking all my kit and nutrition under a weight restricted bag policy etc. 

Both mates mentioned above have raced abroad, so I can learn from them and take advice from their experiences.  At the same time, I thought it would be nice to share the entire 'journey' in an 'diary' style series of articles, adding details each time things are booked, paid for, or decisions are (eventually) made, capturing travelling, race day, post race - the whole thing.

So, booking the event.  Well, there isn't much to write about here.  We'd made up our minds that Mallorca was going to be the race for us.  Having already done an iron man branded event before, I receive notifications of when events are open for registration.   Making sure that me and my mate agreed on the same race - it was simply a matter of registering and paying.  If you haven't done an iron man branded event before, they operate a price tier structure, where there are so many places available at tier 1 (the cheapest), then when these sell out, Tier 2 pricing starts and so on.  Ideally, you want to get in at Tier 1. 

Somehow, even though I applied pretty much as soon as registration opened, I found myself in Tier 2 at wait for it......295 Euro !!  Yes, you read correctly, 295 Euro just to enter.  The best bit is yet to come, that price doesn't include the 'processing fee'.  This was an extra 23.60 Euro - and now I'm just thinking, I paid by card, so I bet my bank stiff me for a non sterling transaction fee...!!  I was so eager to book, I forgot about that.

Still, I was in !  That was it, as easy as a few details and I'm now schedule to race a half iron man in Mallorca in May 2019 !!!

One thing that mates and me always discuss is this subject of booking fees or admin fees.  I can perhaps appreciate a couple of quid maybe to help with costs, but paying a flat percentage.  That means the later you book, the more you pay in admin fees as the tier prices rise.  Surely, given everything is done on-line, it cannot cost more to process your application and payment whether you apply at the start, or near the end.  At 23.60 you can help feel you are getting shafted here.

Surely it would be better to just make the entry price a bit higher and cover the admin fees that way, then as a competitor, you wouldn't feel like you were getting done over so much? 

Anyway, I've entered, I want to race the event and the admin fee isn't a deal-breaker.  So now begins the process of finding some accommodation, half decent flights and deciding whether to use a bike box ,or a transfer service.  Watch this space, more updates on this adventure to follow.