Would be interested in a short summary of why it is so hated. I dislike most of the races in SF out of selfishness because they snarl the traffic but they are not hated - except Bay to Breakers which many/most? people are sick of, especially those living on the route.
Littering -- the roads are covered with the plastic bottles of goo they consume. The event lasts for weeks, not days -- they're all here well in advance to train, on roads clearly marked "do not bicycle on these roads." We don't have any alternate routes we can take when they decide to ride four-abreast on Mamalahoa Highway. And my street was impassable for days because there are no shoulders and no place for them to pull over. (My street is marked in red on the maps they're all given -- don't ride here, uphill winding dangerous roads. So of course that's where they all go.)
And they're insufferably rude. "We're paying all of your salaries! You should love us!"
The entire West side of the island shuts down on race days. And only the businesses (and AirBnbs) which profit from mass tourism do well. (Except for the servers, who invariably report being run ragged for no tips by triathletes.)
Out of all the groups who come to the Big Island, they're the absolute bottom of the barrel.
You can search Ironman on the Hawaii subreddits and read page after page of "why do we put up with this?"
Next year, I'm shutting my farm down for the month they're in town and putting a chain across my driveway. At least there will only be half the numbers next year.
