Ironman Canada Preview

Back in 1983, Ronald Regan was the President United States of America; Pierre Trudeau was the Prime Minister of Canada. Canada had officially adopted the metric system that year, while in the United States, the price of a stamp was 20-cents and the Compact Disc (CD) was being introduced to the world. That same year, Dave Scott was winning only his second of six IRONMAN world championship titles while Canadian Sylviane Puntouswas winning her first of two. Earlier that year, in Penticton, Mike Wagstaff and Dianne Lynch won the first ever ultra-triathlon in 1983, paving the way for future Ironman Canada champions.
The longevity of IRONMAN Canada has afforded race veterans the ability to utter one or two words that conjure up experiences and descriptions of locations of the race that would take many more words to articulate – the Peach, the Sicamous, Richter Pass, the rollers, the out-and-back, McLean Creek Road, Yellow Lake, Skaha, Ok Falls or simply the beach. And names that have been synonymous with the event over the years like Steve King, Ray Browning, Lori Bowden, JulieAnne White, Peter Reid, Iron Cops for Cancer, Lisa Bentley, Paula Newby Fraser, Tom Price and David Kirk. Nevertheless, for every one of those mention, there are thousands regular folks that have used IRONMAN Canada to accomplish triathlons ultimate dream – complete their IRONMAN.
The course
One would be remiss to talk about IRONMAN Canada without mentioning the majestic racecourse, which starts out with a single-looped 3.8 km swim in clear waters in the southern end of Lake Okanagan.
Next up, the bike is a 180 km single loop course that heads south of Penticton and passes through the towns of Okanagan Falls, Oliver and Osoyoos. Those racing know they are in for some work as they view the mammoth Canadian flag at the Huskey gas station in Osoyoos. The flag is the symbol that competitors are required to make a hard right hand turn and head up the infamous Richter Pass. The pass consists of an 11 km climb that varies from four to eight percent in steepness. After Richter Pass, athletes are greeted to a screaming six to seven km of downhill. In desert-like conditions, a number of good-sized rollers lead you into the town of Keremeos. Competitors are treated with a brain-numbing out and back section that feels like it takes you forever to get out of.
During the last 60 km of the bike, you are served up some false flats as you exit the out and back section, along with a couple more climbs that are short and have a sting to them, which come at just the wrong time. The last 20 km, though, offers a bit of reward for all the hard work - some exciting descents where you can take care of your hydration and fuel needs before entering T2.
Finally, the marathon is a one loop out and back affair with the first and last seven to eight km run through the city of Penticton, where the streets are filled with spectators. It is the middle 28 km’s heading south to the community of Okanagan Falls, and the return trip that is the challenge in the mind as well as the body. You have the beautiful Skaha Lake as your guide with a great deal of the run along its shores. Flat for most of the run, there is a few thigh burners going into and exiting the turn-around village that start at 16 km’s and end at 26km’s.
Retracing the last 8 km’s through town, spectator support builds as racers near the finish on Lakeshore Drive. Athletes are greeted to the comforting voice of Ironman Canada, Steve King, as they run down the chute and break the finish line tape.
Professional men’s field (Tentative)


Originally from: http://ironman.com/events/ironman/canada/ironman-celebrates-30-years-of-racing-in-penticton#ixzz24brVoysX