By Tim Hauserman
Start of Ironman
You’ve been seeing them all summer, but especially the last month. Riding the Kings Beach-Tahoe City-Truckee Triangle with their beautiful Tri bikes. Swimming along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe. Or running on the bike trail between Tahoe City and Squaw Valley. They are Ironman athletes, training for what is regarded as one of the toughest Ironman competitions in the world, the second annual Ironman Lake Tahoe, on September 21st.
The Lake Tahoe Ironman begins in Kings Beach. The racers step into the chilly waters of Lake Tahoe at 7 am for a 2.4 mile open water swim. They emerge from the water and try to quickly transition to their bike. A bit of a challenge since they are freezing cold. There is plenty of time to warm up, however, as now they face a 112 mile bike ride. They head towards Tahoe City, then down the Truckee River corridor to Truckee, where after wondering around Truckee they ride back to Kings Beach. Ah, but first they have to take a tour of Northstar and climb over Brockway Summit. From Kings Beach they do another complete lap, and then continue on from Kings Beach to Tahoe City again before heading into Squaw Valley.
Cycling along Lake Tahoe
Now it’s time for the athletes to run a Marathon. That’s right. After swimming nearly 2 and a half miles, and riding a grueling 112 miles, they have to run a marathon. The run takes the racers through Squaw Valley and a tour of the Resort at Squaw Creek before heading down the bike trail towards Tahoe City. They run several laps to get in the necessary number of miles before racing or stumbling to the grand finale in Squaw Valley. But they don’t have much time to stumble, because the clock is ticking and they have to finish before midnight to be Ironmen.
The last leg
If racing in the Ironman is not in the cards, you definitely want to watch it. You can join the thousands of volunteers helping the athletes, or pick a spot along the course to cheer them on. There are a number of traffic restrictions and road closures in the Tahoe-Truckee region on September 21, so be sure and find out all the details at the official Ironman Lake Tahoe website. http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/lake-tahoe.aspx#axzz3Bb7W5CpK
(Photos from the Ironman Website)
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