November is an exciting time of the year in Tempe. Ironman Arizona, one of the final big races of the season comes to town. Tempe and Arizona are suc phenomenal places to hold this great race. We are really blessed to have it in our own backyard. I volunteered again this year. Volunteers and participants are first in line to sign up for next years race, thus, getting a volunteer slot is pretty important... Took some random pictures to share with anyone interested.
Tribike Transport was busy putting together all the bikes that had been flown in from all over the world. They really have a great system and business model. I caught a nice view of some of the bikes - beautiful and expensive! I believe they enroll 3000 participants for this race. It is large and very well organized.
Above is a quick view of Papago park from part of the run course that circles Temple Town lake and goes through parts of downtown Tempe (home of Arizona State University - go Devils!). It is a three loop spectator friendly course on the run. You finish right in front of the US Airways Corporate Headquarters in downtown Tempe.
Bike transition getting setup on Friday. This is going to get a lot fuller on Saturday when people all drop off their bikes and start to get their transitions ready.
Tempe Town Lake is a man made lake in the bed of the basically bone dry "Salt River" bed. Above is a picture of the dam that holds all the water in... A couple of years ago the dam actually broke and the lake went away. They had to do expensive repairs to the dam and it is now back in business. IMAZ is a big user of the water each year and it brings millions of $$ to the area for the race.
Here is another view of the lake that the participants will be in on race day... You swim under a couple of bridges... Pretty cool. One bridge is a rail bridge (still in use) and the other two are for cars and pedestrians.
Here's a shot of the practice swim on Saturday....
Here is a great video by Dave Erickson that was filmed the day I was there - I manned the information booth!
One of my favorite shots of part of the run course looking back on the dam and in the distance you can see downtown Phoenix...
Next year, I will NOT be volunteering but I will be racing! I am already nervous and anxious...
DT
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