Chattanooga welcomes the Ironman 70.3 to town with some of the most dedicated athletes you'll ever meet
You may have seen them around town already. They’re easy to spot. Look for lean, strong, determined individuals. They may be in your favorite grocery store. They may be running in your neighborhood park. But rest assured…they’re here…Ironmen (and women).
This weekend, Chattanooga plays host to some of the strongest competitors in sport. The Scenic City will hold its third annual Ironman 70.3 endurance event this Sunday. This is no mere race. This is the definition of human ability in the extreme.
The Ironman is no ordinary endurance race. The first one was won by U.S. Navy Communications Specialist Gordon Haller, in February of 1978. He beat out eleven other racers by completing the grueling course in 11 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds. Today, top competitors can finish the race in under eight hours.
The competitors may have just gotten to the city a week or so ago, but they’ve been planning for and training for this competition for a long time. “You can’t cram very well,” says Kim Schwabenbauer, “Your body just can’t do that.”
Schwabenbauer is a registered dietitian and professional triathlete as well as a trainer for other extreme athletes. “If you try to reach the levels (of competition) too fast, you’re going to injure yourself and end up with a stress fracture, or you’re going to end up with something that will be debilitating…and you won’t make the start.” Schwabenbauer says the training can take several months, even for very fit individuals, to prepare for a race.
Being a registered dietitian, Schwabenbauer is especially cognizant of the role of nutrition in preparing for a race. “Drink a lot of liquid calories,” she advises. Training 9-20 hours a week is typical for triathletes. Some push even harder. So it’s important that they stay hydrated. But water alone will not sustain the expenditure of energy the training requires. So those drinks need to have some source of carbohydrates that the body can turn into energy.
When not actually running or cycling, many athletes still require high levels of carbs in their meal plan as well as lean meats for protein. “Things that are in, like, pasta and bread, fruits and vegetables,” says Schwabenbauer. “Make sure that you include all the food groups.”
After months and months of training, it’s time for the racers to get to the event. According to Schwabenbauer, it can easily run an athlete into the thousands of dollars to compete in an Ironman. Some athletes may have to take time off from their jobs, sometimes losing pay. Each athlete must pay an entry fee of hundreds of dollars.
Then there’s transportation to the event city. Some competitors this weekend will have traveled from thousands of miles away. That means airfare for them and anyone on their support team. When they arrive, there’s a hotel or hostel, some crash with friends in that city, or many residents open their homes to athletes, hosting one or more at a time.
Once they arrive, there are meals to buy, supplies to restock and even souvenirs to get for themselves and their loved ones. The tab can really add up. And, by no coincidence, that is good news for the host city. Chattanooga can expect to see millions of dollars in economic impact from this one event.
So, they’ve trained and now have arrived in the city. Time to get down to the business at hand…the race. Competitors will start out their day early in the morning and will swim in the Tennessee River. First, they will swim upstream, then turn near the far end of McClellan Island and head downstream, ending 1.2 miles later at Ross’s Landing. For most athletes, a 1.2 mile open swim is enough activity for one day. Yet these driven individuals are just getting started.
Next, participants will dry off and get on their bicycles. And we’re not talking a banana-seat Huffy from the local big-box. These are extremely well-engineered very lightweight cycles designed for speed and not much else. They can cost as much as a decent used car.
From the Riverfront, the racers will pedal through the downtown area, through historic St. Elmo and continue into North Georgia. Through hills and valleys, they will loop around and return to the Riverfont 56 miles later. During that time, they will have been pedaling uphill for more than a mile of the race.
So far, they swam the Tennessee river and biked mountainous North Georgia. Now, they get to run. Once again starting at Ross’s Landing, these extreme athletes will now run a half-marathon. 13.1 miles through Downtown, Riverfont and the North Shore.
Covering such a large area, race officials must have a lot of help. “We have 1,900 volunteers signed up to help at this year’s race,” says Brian Myrick, Race Director. The volunteers are there to not only help the athletes and answer their questions. Some are there to officiate the race. Many things can go wrong when you push the human body to such lengths as an Ironman does. Therefore, you must have rules in place to make sure everyone is safe and healthy.
Things athletes have to consider on race day include having all the personal gear they need. For example, for the swim, they not only need to be wearing their swimsuit, but may also need nose plugs, ear plugs, goggles…even a throw-away long sleeve shirt to wear for the swim then discard before getting on their bikes.
For the bike race, there are necessities for maintenance of the bicycle such as an air pump, bike repair kit, water bottle, some extra nutrition, helmet, bike shoes and even extra water. For the run, they need to change into their running shoes, get another water bottle and a towel.Extreme racing is as much a mental exercise as physical. These athletes have trained their muscles, but they also must train their brains. Pacing is absolutely essential, and something that only comes with competition. “People can cut two hours off their time, just by understanding what pace works for them” says Schwabenbauer.
Two hours? Oh, yes. This is not a quick race. The time limit is eight-and-a-half hours. All racers must finish in that amount of time to be considered a finisher. A good time in a full Ironman will be between eight and nine hours. The 70.3 mile race here in Chattanooga should see times around four hours.
Yes, four hours.
It takes a competitive spirit and a fit body and mind to compete, but the rewards are there. Beyond the bragging rights, this year’s winner will take home $5,000 prize money. In fact, a $25,000 purse will be divided among the top six finishers. Heavy odds considering how many other people will be competing. “We have over 3,000 athletes registered and registration is still open,” says Myrick.
For those of you non-competitors, there’s a way you can help the athletes by attending the race and being a spectator. “It’s very inspiring when you have support,” says Angela Naeth, a professional triathlete. “You have people cheering for you, clapping. It’s an adrenaline rush that helps you get across the finish line.
Naeth tells The Pulse that is why she so enjoys racing in Chattanooga. “Everyone seemed to come out for it,” she says. “The crowd that was there, especially the last two miles of the run, were absolutely phenomenal. It was like the whole community was there.”
Schwabenbauer agrees that community support is essential for a successful race that competitors want to come back to year after year. “I really enjoyed the Chattanooga course,” she says. “And I think I’m not alone in that. I think it has a lot to do with how well the town accepts that race.”
Acceptance by the citizens isn’t the only attractive part of racing in Chattanooga. “The hills are pretty challenging,” admits Schwabenbauer. A half-Ironman, like Chattanooga’s, is a great starting race for beginners in extreme racing. “The half is a great way for athletes to determine if they want to go into full Ironman.”
If you’d like to help cheer on these extreme athletes, the best seat in the house will be around Ross’s Landing. That’s where most of the action will take place including the spectacular finish and then the awards ceremony after the race.
Once the athletes have left the area for the larger part of the course, there will be plenty of activities to keep spectators busy and entertained until the athletes start coming back to the finish line.
Race organizers recommend checking out wwchattanoogaparking.org to find out which parking lots in the area will have shuttles running to Ross’s Landing. But get there early as activities begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday with the Ironkids Chattanooga Fun Run.