Ironman 70.3 returns to Louisville on Sunday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Imagine doing a six-hour workout in the Louisville summer heat?

That’s what more than 2,500 athletes will be doing on Sunday for the return of the Ironman Triathlon to Derby City.

For the first time since 2019, the Ironman returns to Louisville. It is now half of a normal Ironman distance triathlon. Athletes from around the world will tackle 70 miles of some of the area’s most unique venues and unique challenges.

“Any market we go into, what we want to do is showcase the area,” said Scott Lagen, Ironman’s vice president of operations. “We want to take small pieces that make the area unique and keep athletes coming back to visit again and again.”

Athletes will swim 1.2 miles in the Ohio River, then bike 56 miles across county lines, then run 13 miles on courses like Cherokee Park before finishing at Fourth Street Live in downtown Louisville.

It is a challenging 70 mile course in itself. Before they can begin, however, organizers must clear the final hurdle and get a good water quality test from the Ohio River.

“Anything that could be dangerous to a human in terms of ingesting or irritating to the eyes, they test for that,” said Greg Fante, CEO and president of Louisville Sports Tourism.

State and local water safety officials tested for hazards such as algae and e-coli, as athlete health is the top priority in such events.

Organizers have been testing the Ohio River every day leading up to the event, and aside from a scare earlier in the month, tests since have come back clear, but the event itself is largely dependent on results coming in just hours before the race. day.

“Once we get the information, we can make a decision on how we’re going to run the event,” said Lagen, who stressed that organizers have contingency plans in case the results in the water are not good.

For now, athletes are preparing as normal, waiting in long lines to sign up and checking out the course.

“It can be daunting if you think of all the pieces as one, but when you break it down, it can be a lot easier to approach,” said Christine Nagel, an athlete from St. Louis, Missouri.

Nagel will be joined by more than 20 people from St. Louis for the big race.

She said they all train like it’s a part-time job to overcome both physical and mental challenges.

“The mental game is a big part of it. You know, try to have a positive outlook, try to do a lot of mental mapping, as to how your day is going to go,” Nagel said. “(You) kind of (go) through the course in your mind a lot, over and over, and just trying to prepare as well as you can and knowing that some parts are hard and parts are going to be crap. But you just embrace the madness. As one of our colleagues likes to say, “You know the hay is in the barn. Just go out and have the best day.”

For athletes like John Zeydel, who is from Louisville, running the Ironman in the city has special meaning. His first Ironman was in Louisville in 2018. He had a heart attack five months before his first race.

While he finished at the back of the pack in his first triathlon, unsure if he would compete again, Zeydel is gearing up for his ninth Ironman race and ready to use his months of training in his hometown.

“That’s the hardest part is the commitment and dedication to training. But the race is like the holiday. It’s a joy to do that,” Zeydel said. “You might struggle a bit with the heat. The heat will be tough for running. You know swimming is hard. The bike is heavy. Life is hard, but you finish.”

Many roads around Louisville will be closed during the event, allowing competitors to race safely. Find a full list of closures here.

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