Ironman St. George Review by Jared Dyer

Ironman St. Geroge 70.3 Review

Ironman St. Geroge 70.3 is the greatest race on the planet. Well put together, challenging, fun, breathtaking views, and the top pros in the world participate--from Andy Potts to Mirinda Carfrae!

Pre-race:

Ironman village is in beautiful downtown St. George. The village has a big screen and platform to showcase the pros and award winners. There is an interview panel of the top pros racing that you won’t want to miss as well and lots of opportunities to get your picture taken with them as you wonder around the village.

There is also an in-the-ground water fountain and stream for kids to play in and hangout. It’s also a great place to lay or sit in in after the race. 

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get your race packets and bags for the drive up to Sand Hollow Reservoir to drop off your bike in T1. If you put off dropping your bike off later, then you’ll be stuck in a big line of cars getting to the lake and it can take up a lot of the day. The earlier you can drop off your bike the better, so you can enjoy the rest of the day and rest up.

Race Day Morning:

If you’re there early enough, after you’ve set up the rest of your gear, you can rush over to the swim start where there are lots of big boulder rocks you can sit on to watch the pros and have an awesome view of the lake. But you got to get to them quick before all the spots are taken. 

Swim

The swim is awesome because you get to swim around a huge red rock in the middle of the lake, and the views are specular as the sun rises and all the red rock mountains come into view. 

Make sure to have some throw-away sandals or water shoes when you line up for the swim start. There are a lot of rocks in the sand you have to walk over to get to the lake and it can hurt or tear up your feet. When you get to the start, there will be a pile of them you can throw them in--don’t expect to get them back, so get something cheap to wear. 

The water is almost always cold.. usually in the 50s, so make sure you practice swimming in a colder lake because it can be a shocker when you first step in.

The swim is in a “U” shape and only 1 lap, so pretty simple. 

Bike 

You’ve better trained for hills because this is one of the hilliest bike courses on the 70.3 circuit. As soon as you come out of T1 you’ll ride down a short hill to the main road, then get ready to climb...right off the bat there is a b%tch of a hill. There will be lots of motivational signs on the side of the road and words of encouragement painted on the road as you go up that first hill. But “what goes up, must come down!” As soon as you get to the top of the hill you got a nice ride down, but make sure your water bottles are tightly secured... the road gets really bumpy, and last year one of my bottles fell out. You’ll notice water bottles all over the road because of it.. so just be aware. From there, you’ll be on a lot of straight aways with flatter roads you can get down in aero and crank away as you get into the city of Hurricane. Once you get out of hurricane it’s pretty much up and down from there. Tons of hills, but lots of spectators that come to cheer you a long.. the support from the local community is amazing! Lots of people line the roads, and they even got cheerleading squads out there! Also, there is a point around mile 25-30 when you get into St. George on Red Hills Parkway where you can see all the top pros in the middle of their run! Last year I spotted Sebastina Kienle and Tim O’Donnell running right past me!

As the ride continues you’ll do an out and back to the city of Ivins, then you’ll come upon Snow Canyon...AKA: “The Mother”! Which comes up around mile 35-40. Snow Canyon is a beast to climb! It keeps going up and up, steeper and steeper--there’s a point at the top that some athletes will walk the rest because it’s unrelenting.. but don’t give up... don’t walk... keep pushing, because at the end of the climb, it’s all downhill from there all the way back into town! It’s about a 10 mile joyride where you can get up to crazy high speeds (last year I was doing 45-50 mph down some parts), and it’s nice to rest your legs a bit for the run that’s to come! The total bike is about 3,500 ft of elevation gain, so last thing you’ll want to do is train on flats. Work on building those big leg muscles and pushing high watts on the trainer. 

When you get about 2 miles from T2 in downtown St. George, you’ll start to see all the runners running up Diagonal road, as you make your way to main street and back into town.

Run

The run has over 1,000 feet elevation gain and is an out an back! There’s lots of steep grades (10% is the steepest) and rollers. The first part of the run, you’ll go by all the spectators downtown, cheering you on and pumping you up. As you get to Main Street you can look to your right and see the spectacular finish line with a big Red Bull arch you get to run through and the Ironman red carpet leading up to the finish line! But that will all have to wait... because the next 3 miles is all up hill! Main street is a short steep climb to Diagonal road, which is more of a steady incline up to Bluff street. Right at the intersection of Bluff and Red Hills Pky, around mile 2.5, you’ll see  the 10% incline hill you’ll have to run up. This is probably the steepest on the run course. Just keep your cadence high and arms pumping till you get to the top... you’ll notice a lot of athletes walking it, but don’t... you’ll be that bad a$$ everyone thinks you are when you run to the top of that hill without stopping.

When you get to the top of the bluff you’ll have a view of the whole valley and will be surrounded by beautiful red rock! Again, Red Hills Parkway is mostly rollers with a couple more steep inclines, but the aid stations have tons of energy from the volunteers, and the race is sponsored by Red Bull, so it’s nice to have it out on the course for that extra pick-me up. Make sure you have plenty of of electrolytes or salt in your body. Some years, the run portion has been in the high 90s and with all the hill running, lots of runners will cramp like crazy. Again, take more electrolytes/salt than you think you’ll need and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Nothing is worse than cramping on this course--it’s already tough as it is. 

When you get to mile 10, that’s when you’ll be back to that 10% grade, hill you ran up without stopping :) ... from there it’s 3 miles downhill, all the way back to town! If you have been slower on your pace and are behind, this is where you can pick up the slack! When you turn on bluff street and back to Diagonal street, that’s when you can really fly and push it hard for that final stretch to the finish line. As soon as you get back to main street, you’ll see the Red Bull arch and the amazing finish line! Spectators will be lining the streets and the energy you’ll feel will make you both emotional and like you’re on cloud 9! They have bleachers set-up around the finish line, so you feel like a rock-star with all the people cheering you on as you cross; a beautiful medal, finisher cap, and hydration will be waiting for you when you do! Also, there is a massage tent available if you sign up for it before the race! Again, don’t forget the water fountain and stream to play in after you finish! It’s so refreshing to lay in! It’s right by the finish line, so don’t miss out!

I’ve done 5 different half Ironman races and 1 full--this is by far the best! Again, Ironman St. Geroge 70.3 is the greatest race on the planet! Well put together, challenging, fun, breathtaking views--an experience that will bring you back year after year after year! This will be my third time! Happy training, and I’ll see you out there!

Much love, Jared Dyer