Electrifying Finish Centered around the historic Ohio River, Louisville is one of the most vibrant IRONMAN venues on the circuit. Often known for its bourbon, Louisville offers a different kind of spirit that doesn’t come in a glass. It’s a spirit that no one other than an IRONMAN Louisville athlete …
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Electrifying Finish
Centered around the historic Ohio River, Louisville is one of the most vibrant IRONMAN venues on the circuit. Often known for its bourbon, Louisville offers a different kind of spirit that doesn’t come in a glass. It’s a spirit that no one other than an IRONMAN Louisville athlete can understand until they cross the finish line at the loud and energetic Fourth Street Live! Nothing tops off race day quite like thousands of spectators cheering athletes on during their final steps in such an exciting atmosphere.
The 2.4-mile swim course is a unique, point-to-point swim set in a rolling start fashion (athlete position is a self-seeded start). Athletes will jump off the dock adjacent to the Tan Parking Lot and Brown-Forman Amphitheatre in Waterfront Park and finish at the wharf just west of the Great Lawn. The point-to-point swim begins in the protected waters behind Towhead Island before athletes enter the Ohio River’s main channel and swim downstream toward the finish at the wharf by Joe’s Crab Shack, just past The Great Lawn.
The bike course takes athletes outside of Louisville toward Oldham and Henry counties and includes a two-loop section through the spectator festival in the town of LaGrange. Athletes will be challenged with plenty of rolling hills.
The three-loop run course stays along the Ohio River on the Louisville Loop and Greenways while passing through four Louisville Parks. Run course stations are located approximately every mile. The run finishes at Fourth Street Live! in the heart of downtown Louisville.
Swim: RIVER
Bike: HILLY
Run: ROLLING
Avg Air Temp: 61° F / 16° C
Avg Water Temp: 65° F / 18° C
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First Ironman - IMLOU
This is my first Ironman, but not my first race. By far the volunteers in Louisville were the most helpful and friendliest I have ever experienced in any 70.3 or … MORE
This is my first Ironman, but not my first race. By far the volunteers in Louisville were the most helpful and friendliest I have ever experienced in any 70.3 or marathon. Chalking it up to Southern hospitality. The city was very welcoming to visitors and participants.
Swim was cancelled due to algae bloom. Can’t do anything about Mother Nature, but the race directors did a good job organizing the start without a swim. Bike started by bib number unless you were a pro or lots of AWA points. The bike course was hilly and challenging. It had atleast 5400 gain in elevation. This was hard for a flat lander like me from Illinois, but it was doable. The run was 3 loops with lots of turns, but pretty flat. I’m not a fan of the loops, but I was able to break the run down into 3 separate segments.
All in all, this is fantastic race and would do it again. Finishing downtown made me feel like a rock star.