Jeffrey West's Staging Area

Stayed 30 miles away in Noblesville, IN. The areas around Muncie, IN was well aware of the Ironman brand which normally hosted the 70.3 in late July. The weather was much cooler in October than the Indiana heat in the summer.

You can get parking across the street from the Prairie Creek Reservoir, but you need to buy a pass in advance. Use to be $20 for 70.3. They charged $40 for the Ironman! Free parking is available just walking distance down the road. The road is open in the morning, but need to get there early because it becomes very congested.

The start was normal and well organized. Maybe they could use a few more porta potties, but it was manageable. There was no body marking due to Covid restrictions, but saw very few if any people wearing mask.

The swim was two loops in the Prairie Creek Reservoir. Had to get out of the water and run 50-75 meters or so before reentering the water. It was cold to me at 65.3 degrees with slightly choppy water. It wasn’t too bad, but if you were a bilateral breather, it should not be a problem. Water visibility was zero.

Transition T1/T2 was well organized, but they did not have changing tents for the Ironman. Something to adapt to, but not a big deal.

The bike course was advertised as flat. It was more like alot of false flats. Not too bad, but if you live in Florida or Illinois were it is really flat you know you are riding on slight inclines. There was a portion (20 miles or so) with chip road I hope they remove it in the future. It rained and bit windy, but road conditions were not too bad. Overall, I would say it is fast bike course if you are a strong cyclist. They definitely needed more volunteers at the specialty bag for the ride. Had to basically find my own bag.

The run is as advertised as rolling roads with two loops. Nothing really challenging, but if you did not do any hill work, it would slow you down. Once again, not enough volunteers with the specialty bags. Had to find my own bag. There is room for improvement. It was rained and misted a little which was good because I didn’t see any flying bugs since I’m a night time finisher.

The finish line was pretty uneventful. Yes, I heard…”You are an Ironman”, but not alot of spectators and the ones that were there were kept away from the finish line. Some confusion with finisher’s t-shirts and some athletes walked by without collecting their shirts. I myself missed the food box. I’m sure it was there, I just walked out and did not see it.

All in all, not a bad race, but I only have IM Louisville to compare it to and I did not feel that it matched them in fan fare or excitement. Ironman hosted the 70.3 and the Ironman on the same course and did a good job separating the two, but maybe their volunteer support would be better if they had them on separate days. Can’t say I would race to do this one again. I would try more established locations instead.

Great place to go if you are escaping from Midwest winter.
Great location. Course was not difficult. Could see the ocean on the way back.
Would do it again in a heart beat.

Great swag, good course, friendly city.