Late August 2024

Introduction

Puerto Rico hosts a professional ironman competition every March. The three components – swim, bike, run – all begin and end near my apartment. I wander around with my cameras in hand and try to capture some of the excitement of the day. Here are some of my efforts.

Preparations

It takes three or four days to prepare the course. Traffic barriers have to be put up for the bike race. Inflatable pylons have to be placed to mark the swim course. A paddock has to be constructed to store the bikes.

A worker begins to prepare the ramp by which swimmers will exit the Condado Lagoon and make their way to the paddock to get their bikes and start the bike leg.

The completed ramp awaits the swimmers. The protective tape is presumably to prevent curious tourists from using it.

On Saturday afternoon, a competitor wheels his bike to the paddock. A bike like this has a list price of about $9,000.

More bikes in the paddock. The bikes are assigned places by number; the the athletes will store their running gear by their bikes.

The Start

The event starts Sunday morning. The competitors line up by the times they expect to finish the swim, with the fastest swimmers starting first.

The first cohort of swimmers line up behind the 25 minutes or less sign. Once the event begins, three swimmers will enter the course every five seconds.

After the U.S. and Puerto Rican national anthems, a percussion band serenades the swimmers.

The first group of swimmers await the start.

An athlete anxiously awaits her start. She will swim 1.3 miles, bike for 56 miles, and then run for another 13.1 miles – a total of 70.3 miles.

As you can see, most of the athletes seemed serious, even anxious, before the start.

The Swim

Three swimmers enter the water every five seconds and begin the 1.3 mile swim. They head east and then around the end of the Condado Lagoon. They exit after they pass under the bridge connecting Condado to the Isleta de San Juan, the small island of San Juan.

The swimmers enter the water to the left and head east and then around the east end of the Condado Lagoon. They have to keep the pylons on their right. Volunteers in kayaks and on paddleboats keep an eye on things.

The swimmers pass under a bridge on the way to the ramp. The air and water temperature are both about 80 F.

The Swim-Bike Transition

The swimmers leave the water via the ramp shown earlier, and run about a quarter of a mile to the paddock to don their biking gear and run with their bikes to the start of the bike leg.

Some of the athletes make the swim-bike transition barefoot, others stash a pair of running shows by the ramp.

The athletes enter the paddock, get into their biking gear, and grab their bikes and make their way to the start of the bike leg.

The bikers have to cross the Mount Bike line before they can get get on their bikes and actually start to ride.

The Bike Leg

The riders start in Parc Escambron, in San Juan, and ride to Dorado and back. It is a flat route. They finish at the Dismount line, and then run with their bikes to the paddock, don their running gear, and start the run.

Two riders have just mounted their bikes and are starting the bike leg. The long shadows reveal the early hour; it as about 8 15 AM.

A rider accelerating put of the park.

More riders just starting their bike ride. By this time, the elite athletes are well into the bike leg; these competitors are in it for their personal aggrandizement.

Two more just starting the bike leg.

The fastest riders complete the bike leg in a bit over two hours. I waited for the first riders to return.

An elite rider nearing completion of his bike race.

The riders make their way back into the park, dismount just before the Dismount line, and make their way to the paddock.

There is a tricky S curve just as the riders enter the park.

A short section of the road into the park utilizes these tiles to identify a cross walk. It is good it was a dry day – they are very slippery when wet.

Three elite riders speeding towards the Dismount line.

A rider just at the Dismount line.

The Bike-Run Transition

The athletes run with their bikes to the paddock, change into their running shoes, and start the 13.1 mile run. It is two laps into and out of Old San Juan. The course is hilly,

Three riders just past the Dismount line. The racing bikes identify them as competitive athletes.

Volunteers assist along the way. This one is offering a spray of sunscreen before the run.

The Run

The run,13.1 miles, is two laps into and back from Old San Juan, along a hilly course.

I find the run uninteresting. The runners seem to be in agony, the sun is high and harsh, and I find it difficult to capture a good image. But here are a few.

A runner leaving the paddock as he begins the half-marathon.

The runner to the left is finishing his first lap; the others are just starting theirs.

Results

Matheus Salto Martine of Brazil was the overall winner, with a time of 4:04:46. Javier Figueroa of Puerto Rico was second, at 4:09:33. Kiel Bur of the US was third at 4:11:01.

All in all, it was a beautiful day

The solicitation for the 2025 event is out; click here to see it. If you’re thinking of entering, better start training now. March 16, 2025 will be here before you know it.

Notes

The images are all mine. I use a Sony point and shoot digital camera and an old 35 mm Nikon. I edit the images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.