Ironman Ramblings

A new Ironman race is born.

"Today, Ironman and the Greater Louisville Sports Commission are proud to announce an addition to the global Ironman event series in 2007, Ford Ironman Louisville. The five-year agreement for Ford Ironman Louisville will enhance an already substantial list of Ironman events, with more than 12 events nationwide. The inaugural Ford Ironman Louisville is scheduled for August 26 and will serve as a qualifier for the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship taking place on October 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii."This is one of the biggest amateur sporting events that has ever been to Louisville and the state," says Jeff Schneider, Interim Executive Director of the Greater Louisville Sports Commission. "The city and state will embrace Ironman and we look forward to combining the athletes’ passion for Ironman with Louisville’s ongoing enthusiasm and support for sports."

Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. Athletes must complete the three disciplines in succession within the 17-hour time frame. The 2.4 mile swim for Ford Ironman Louisville will take place in the Ohio River and the bike and run course will take athletes throughout various areas of Louisville to include not only downtown but also Prospect, Clifton, the city of LaGrange, Clarksville, Ind. and Butchertown."

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/worldchampionship/ford-ironman-louisville-scheduled-for-august-26-2007

My comments:

This is great news for the Ironman community. It increases to seven the number of Ironman events in North America, and takes some pressure off arguably the most popular IMNA event, Ironman Canada, which is held on the same date. Welcome aboard, Louisville. (Sure to be known as Ironman Louie.)

Ironman Canada on TV

Ironman Canada was rebroadcast on TSN today. It was very cool to see two Calgarians, Kyle Marcotte and Scott Curry, mixing it up in the male Pro race. They ended up finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Kyle is a Canadian duathlon champion (duathlon is run 10k, bike 40k, run 5K), who added swimming to his game a few years back, with immediate success. Their results support a comment I made in an earlier post about the strength of the Calgary triathlon community. Way to go, guys!

Interestingly, the Ironman Canada broadcast was listed in the Herald TV Guide under "Track and Field". I guess I'll have to set up some hurdles on my run routes, and dig a long jump pit in the back yard. Does anyone know where I can buy a good vaulting pole?