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Ironman Triathlon held at Tempe Town Toilet has problems
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0411ironman0411.html Officials plan to iron out kinks
Norm Frauenheim The last competitors crossed the finish line around midnight Saturday after covering a 140.6-mile course that Ironman Arizona officials are expected to review and refine in meetings scheduled for this week. Race director Paul Huddle said he would begin to consider changes in talks with the city of Tempe. The Ironman is expected to be back for a second start at Tempe Beach Park next April. According to Huddle, there are plans for four more. "We'll shoot for the same time of year," Huddle said. "Possibly Sunday, instead of Saturday." Huddle was pleased that the field covered a new course without any mishaps. At the start for a 2.4-mile swim at Tempe Town Lake, there were 1,830 entrants. After a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run, 1,677 finished within the 17-hour limit. "The No. 1 thing is that everybody completed the course safely," Huddle said. Without a turnstile count, it was impossible to determine how many spectators watched. They were spread out across the course. However, Huddle said he would ask for an estimate based on aerial photos or numbers from the Visitors Bureau. There was some debate about the bike course, which included two loops until the final seven miles through downtown Tempe. Two pros missed the final portion and headed straight to the transition zone for the run. Within the first mile of the run, however, they were called back to their bikes. "It is incumbent upon the athletes to know the course," Huddle said. The men's winner, Faris Al-Sultan of Germany, said the bike course should be changed to alleviate congestion, especially in the turns. "There were simply too many people," said Al-Sultan, who began to build a substantial lead on the bike. "I was overtaking people again and again. It has to be changed." But the women's winner, Kate Major of Australia, liked the layout. "It forced you to concentrate," she said. "On long straight stretches, you sometimes lose focus." The compact bike course was designed to be spectator-friendly, Huddle said. "I talked to a woman who told me she had never seen her husband on the bike," Huddle said. "She told me she saw him in a way she would have never imagined. She could see he was suffering." |