Ironman Preview!

by | Sep 5, 2014 | Uncategorized

It’s finally here…race week!  In just a few short days, our Athletes of the Year, as well as some of our biggest champions and community advocates will take to the course of Ironman Wisconsin to conquer 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and a 26.2 mile marathon – IN ONE DAY.

Here’s the lowdown on who we’ll be watching and cheering for, and along with all the spectating basics for beginners.

 

Race numbers & what they’re wearing on race day:

Melanie Stamerjohn (Athlete of the Year) – 633, Tri 4 Schools tri gear on bike, Tri 4 Schools shorts and red T4S tank top on run

Joff Pedretti (Athlete of the Year) – 1818, Tri 4 Schools tri gear

Matt Stamerjohn (Athlete of the Year and volunteer/donor/generally awesome) – 260, Tri 4 Schools tri gear

Terri Juhlin (Board Member) – 911, Madison Multisport tri gear (orange, blue, and white)

Dave Armstrong (Incoming Board Member) – 1909, white jersey and white helmet on the bike, red tri top on the run

Dennis Law (parent of Tri 4 Schools athletes) – 1760, Tri 4 Schools tri gear

Amy Raven  (parent of Tri 4 Schools athletes) – 822

 

Places to watch/cheer:

  • Monona Terrace – If you can make it downtown by 6:30am, or if you’ve never seen a swim start before, this is an incredible experience.  The sun is rising and thousands of swimmers take to the water for a mass start.  Good places to watch are within the two helix of the terrace itself, but spots go quickly, so get there early (closer to 6am if you can).
  • Verona – Verona is a great place to catch the bike course, and still not be too far away to get back to catch the run course.  The bike course will loop through Mount Horeb and Cross Plains as well, but Verona’s Main Street has a huge festival and you almost feel like you’re watching the Tour de France!  There are also a few outlying areas if you want to catch your athlete going a bit…slower.  Midtown Road has a huge hill where people really need encouragement, and you can also catch cyclists on Whalen Road and Nine Mound Road at the beginning/end of their two bike loops.
  • UW Campus – Campus is full of great places to watch the run course.  Sure, there are bleachers and great spots along the finish/loop on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, but if you want to see your athlete multiple times, I recommend finding a spot near Camp Randall or near the Lakeshore dorms.  With the runners doing two loops, most spots will allow you the opportunity to get an up-close view of your athlete at least four times.  I’ll be cheering at the corner of Breese Terrace and Old University, then jogging across University Avenue/Campus Drive to the corner of Linden Drive and Observatory Rd.

Tracking tools:

Athlete Tracker – enter in a bib number or name and you’ll get updates based on when each athlete crossed over timing mats placed throughout the course.  Great for tracking someone once they started!

Live Coverage – general race updates and live finisher cam!

Matt_IMWI Tracker – Melanie and Matt created these excel files to help family and friends track their progress based on their estimated times.  You could adapt this for your favorite athlete as well!