Thousands of athletes, volunteers and spectators are expected to attend Madison's fourth annual Ironman Wisconsin Triathalon this Sunday.
\We are pretty excited about it. It is going to be a good competition,"" said Josh Hernandez, Ironman North America Public Relations Coordinator.
Hernandez said he is expecting approximately 2,000 competitors and approximately 45,000 spectators. ""We get so much valuable support from the community,"" he said.
""It's one of the most popular events we put on,"" said Shane Facteau, Ironman North America communications director.
Hernandez said between 3,500 and 4,000 volunteers will work to run almost every aspect of the event from registration tables on Saturday to aid stations on race day.
""We get so much support and people are so willing to be there as much as possible to help the event and help the community,"" Hernandez said.
The event will feature several world-class athletes including two-time defending Ford Ironman Wisconsin Champion Dave Harju and female two-time Ironman Champion Ute Mueckel, both of whom are favored to lead the race, Hernandez said.
Harju claimed the first Ironman title of his career at the 2003 Ford Ironman Wisconsin with an overall time of 8 hours, 55 minutes and 26 seconds and successfully repeated the feat a year later at the 2004 Ford Ironman Wisconsin with a time of 8:52:33, according to an Ironman North America release.
Athletes will be competing for 80 qualifying spots to the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $30,000 pro-prize purse.
According to Hernandez, the route will be essentially the same as in past years, with slight changes to the bike course.
The race will begin at Law Park on Lake Monona, where competitors will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles through Fitchburg, Mt. Horeb, Cross Plains and Verona, and run a 26.2 mile loop along downtown and across the Camp Randall Stadium field twice before crossing the finish line at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., at the capitol.
