The popular triathlon brings competitors from around the world
If you come downtown this weekend, you may be wondering why you keep coming across an unusual number of extremely physically fit people. The answer is simple: the IRONMAN is back in town, and more popular than ever for competitors and locals.
For the fifth year in a row, the Scenic City welcomes nearly 2,500 of the best endurance athletes from around the world to what has quickly become one of the most popular IRONMAN competitions on the circuit.
“Chattanooga was a natural fit for this event,” notes Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. The natural beauty of the region, combined with a long history of marathons and an active outdoors-oriented lifestyle made the city very attractive to IRONMAN organizers.
The main event itself gets underway bright and early just after 7 a.m. this Sunday morning with a point to point, 2.4-mile swim in the Tennessee River with ample spectator vantage points alongside the city’s famous Riverwalk. Athletes can look forward to a fast, down-current swim (something that is quite popular with the competitors).
Then they will hop on their high-tech bicycles and ride a 116-mile course that will head south of town and do two loops in North Georgia with scenic farmland and mountain views.
Then it’s all about running, with a two-and-a-half loop, 26.2-mile run course that showcases downtown Chattanooga, Riverview and the North Shore.And up for grabs for the racers are 40 qualifying slots to the 2019 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
But instead of just taking our word for how popular Chattanooga is, let’s hear it from the athletes themselves.
Every year, competitors from all the IRONMAN events worldwide vote in a number of categories, ranking their favorites courses and host cities. And Chattanooga did very well in the current rankings. We ranked fourth in the world for Best Host City Experience.
“The people and the city of Chattanooga are the best! I have traveled and done many courses and this is my favorite.”
Our overall race venue was voted as the fifth-best (“Chattanooga does a stellar job with this event. Everything was first-class.”), with the swim course taking fifth (“You can’t really argue with a downstream swim!”) and the bike course ranking ninth (“The motivation at the Chickamauga bike point was my favorite.”)
Plus, according to the IROMAN competitors, we know how to throw a post-race party, being voted as the fourth best Post-Race Celebration in the entire world.
“The activity level at the finish line and at the end of the race was worth the work and suffering.”
So no matter if you are visiting our fair city as a competitor, you have come to watch the event in person, you’re a local who loves to support the competition, or one of the many (many) local volunteers who work tirelessly to make the event not only run smoothly but an enjoyable experience for all, we are happy to see IRONMAN become so well established as part of Chattanooga’s rich heritage.
And best of all, the forecast looks for sunshine and mild temperatures. You really can’t ask for anything better.