With one week remaining until the start of the area's largest one-day outdoor athletic event of the year, Randy DuTeau is finalizing all the details.
The Greater Augusta Sports Council event manager has been handling logistics and communicating with officials from two states to ensure the inaugural ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta is a success.
"It's been pretty amazing," Mr. DuTeau said. "It's really unique. Sometimes you get bogged down in details and you forget about the event. Then, I went online and started seeing pictures of the triathlon and started getting excited again."
Billed as the second-largest Ironman event in the world, ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta will begin at 6:57 next Sunday morning with the national anthem at the Fifth Street Marina. At 7:30, the event will start with the first wave of 3,400 competitors beginning the 1.2-mile swim in the Savannah River.
Then, the athletes will cycle 56 miles from the transition area at the Boathouse, travel down Sand Bar Ferry Road into South Carolina, through Jackson over to New Ellenton and then loop back to the Boathouse. From there, the competitors will run two loops around downtown, the 13.1-mile run finishing at Augusta Common.
"So far, the reviews of the course we've received have been outstanding," Mr. DuTeau said. "It really is a good venue."
The elite athletes are expected to finish about 11 a.m., with the male and female winners receiving $3,500 each. The awards ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. at Augusta Common.
The event is a half-triathlon, which covers 70.3 miles. For some, this will be a high-stakes affair. This is the last opportunity for 50 athletes to qualify for the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship, which will be held Nov. 14 in Clearwater, Fla.
Mr. DuTeau said he has been pleasantly surprised by the interest in the event, which is signed through 2011. The original registration was capped at 2,000 people. But organizers eventually cut off the field at 3,400.
"They signed 2,000 right away, and it just kept going and going," he said. "One of the luxuries Augusta has is it's so close to Atlanta and Charlotte and is roughly a day's drive to many areas in the Southeast."
For such a large event, the sports council has lined up more than 500 volunteers. About 100 kayakers, lifeguards, divers and people on jet skis and boats will help out in the river. More than 300 soldiers will help in the cycling and running portions. Another 100 members of the Aiken County and Richmond County sheriff's departments will also help with the race routes. Eight ambulances will be there for precautionary reasons.
If a person doesn't finish a portion of the 70.3 event, vehicles that circle the route will be there.
"After this year, the template will have been set," Mr. DuTeau said. "We'll have all the important aspects. Moving forward, the event should become easier."
Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.
Click here to see a map of the course.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles)
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 27
WHERE: Downtown Augusta and Aiken County (Beech Island, Jackson and New Ellenton)
WHO: 3,400 participants (entries are closed)
IRONMAN OF THE DAY
NAME: Mike Grady
AGE: 47
FROM: Augusta
OCCUPATION: owner of Mulherin Lumber Company
EXPERIENCE: Rookie. He has competed in marathons and triathlons for 22 years, but this is his first half iron man.
GAME PLAN: Grady said he's training with friends who have competed in multiple half iron man events, and he's learning from their experience.
"They keep telling me I've got to slow down, especially on the bike, and pace myself," Grady said. "Pacing is going to be the tough thing. It's different because I'm used to the sprints and Olympic distances."
-- Billy Byler, staff writer
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
All I can say is that I better be able to go anywhere I need to on Old Jackson Highway because I am not going to give up my days plans for some health freaks. They need to pick something else that will not screw the people who live along the course. Then again, I do have some balloons I can fill with water and throw at them. :D
So 4500 people coming to town and pouring fistfulls of dollars into the local economy isn't worth a couple of hours of inconvenience to you? Not to mention showing out of towners a little southern hospitality?
Article 27, South Carolina Bicycle Laws Section 56-5-3445
"It is unlawful to harass, taunt, or maliciously throw an object at or in the direction of any peron riding a bicycle. A person who violates this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than $250.00 or imprisoned not more than 30 days, or both."
So, Orlandu, get your water balloons, your money, and your jail suit ready.
Okay, I am man enough to admit when I am wrong. I spoke with a friend who informed me that the information which had been presented about the roads being closed was incorrect. I do offer my apologies to both Jim Christian and kd4uga. I will admit that the thought of getting people who just swam a 1.2 mile course in the river wet is funny though. I do however, hope that the police who are going to be stationed around the bicycle course do administer the law that states bicycle riders ride along the white line during the thing. I have seen too many people with damaged cars/trucks/suvs due to having to swerve on a blind curve or even be attacked by bicycle riders with enlarged senses of self worth. Just look at Seattle and other large cities where it HAS happened. Granted, not all are like that but the minority that do so make those who obey all traffic laws look bad.