Ironman St. George

This will be the last year for the full Ironman St. George.  Next year it will be a 70.3 Half Ironman Race.  So it was fun that we were able to watch it.

We woke the kids, and David and Andrew, up really early and went out to Sand Hollow Reservoir to watch.  It wasn't too hard getting out there and we were armed with muffins, juice, apples and water.

The contestants got into the water and there was a little breeze, but once the race began the wind picked up.  I think Bryan said there were gusts over 35 mph!  It was insane!  If the winds had been like that before the start of the race, they would have cancelled the swim portion of the Ironman.  The poor swimmers had to fight just to stay afloat.  They pulled 200 people out of the water and I don't know how many didn't make the cut off time for the swim.  It was a lot different from the first year that Ironman was here.  We only saw a handful of people who didn't finish in time.  They actually let those who were disqualified continue the race, if they wanted to, after their timing chip was taken off their ankle.  I don't think I would have continued on after a swim like that, but I think there were quite a few who did.

It was kind of miserable just watching because of the wind gusts, blowing sand, and cold weather.

Waiting to get into the Reservoir:

 Getting ready to start the swim before the winds really kicked up:

 Courtney and the sunrise:

 Goofy Courtney hamming it up for the camera:

Courtney was uddling up with Bryan trying to stay warm in the cold wind:

 The boys in the wind:

I think the Ironman is so fun to watch because everyone is so friendly.  I watched at the wetsuit pull-off area and helped a few women watch for their husbands as they came out of the water.  It was fun to have someone to watch for.  The women were very anxious because of how horrible the conditions were and how many swimmers were being pulled out of the water.  But two of the women found their husbands and were so excited to cheer them on.

When the last person finally left, they loaded up buses and we were on our way back home (although we had to wait a long time for a bus).

We then watched the bikes from our house and watched the run live on the computer so we wouldn't have to battle the crowds.

Fun day, but really long!!