Mid March 2018
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company co-sponsors a half-Ironman event every spring here in San Juan. This year, it was on March 18. Most of the activities start or end in the park near our building so it is easy for me to visit and see what’s going on. In particular, I wondered if participation would be down this year.
In a true Ironman event, athletes start with a three mile swim, transition to a 112 mile bike ride, and finish by running a full marathon of 26.2 miles. The event here, a half Ironman, cuts each event in half to a total of 70.3 miles. So the event is called the Puerto Rico Ironman 70.3.
The event begins with a 1.5 mile swim, down and around the Condado Lagoon, under the bridge connectiong Condado to Old San Juan and ending near the still-closed Caribe Hilton.
Athletes ready to start the swim portion of the Puerto Rico half Ironman, March 2018.
While some competitors look pensive, for many it is a party atmosphere. Note the woman in the blue suit, with the 485 on her arm. She was, by my observation, the only competitor to come with full make-up. I wonder how it lasted during the swim.
The starters go off in waves, at 5 minute intervals. The elite men and women go first, followed by groups according to age and gender. When a group’s appointed time comes, they enter the water and wait for the horn to start their event.
Swimmers entering the water and beginning their swim. The lower right panel shows the race leader getting just as he is going under the bridge which connects Condado to Old San Juan..
The swim start is quite intense, as you can imagine, with 40 or 50 closely bunched swimmers.
They are guided through the course by orange course markers, and volunteers in kayaks assist as needed.
The swimmers exit the water via a ramp up to the Paseo de Caribe, Volunteers assist them on the steep ramp.
Swimmers being helped up the ramp to the Paseo de Caribe. They will run to the transition zone where they will get ready to start their bike ride.
After exiting the water, the swimmers run to the transition zone where they prepare for the 56 mile bike ride. They have previously arranged their gear to help make the transition as smooth and fast as possible.
Athletes making their way to the transition zone to begin their bike ride. The woman on the lower left must feel good about her swim as she seems to be walking on air.
The competitors use a variety of bike styles, most with aerodynamic frames and wheels. I’m sure some of the carbon fiber models cost well over $4,000. If you assume an average cost of each bike at $2,000, that means the value of the bikes in the transition zone approaches several hundred thousand dollars,
Bikes stored in anticipation of athletes making the transition from the swim to the bike segment of the half Ironman. The lower right panel shows a bike after the event. The frame is made of carbon fiber.
The bike event starts and ends at the transition zone. It was a good day for biking – warm for sure but only a slight breeze.
Athletes during the biking leg of the half-Ironman.
After the bike ride, which goes to Dorado and back, the contestants run into and back from Old San Juan. They do this twice for a total of 13.2 miles.
Ironman contestants on the final leg, a half marathon into and back from Old San Juan.
Later that afternoon, I went by the tent where the closing ceremonies were being held. It seems several of the sponsors are donating money for Puerto Rico recovery efforts. For example, one sponsor pledged $50,000 to help with solar installations. another $75,000 for reforestation efforts. In addition, 125 participants volunteered to spend Monday in Toa Baja, working on five different projects, including the restoration of a park and baseball field.
So it was a good day in San Juan. The event was very well run, there were participants from several countries, and everyone seemed to enjoy their time here. It was a welcome respite from the on-going issues surrounding the recovery efforts here. More on that in my next post.
Oh, and I think the name should be FerroCaballero, not Ironman. It has a nice ring to it. What do you think?
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Pulitzer Prize Stuff! Great post.