Ironman St George 70.3 World Championship

RACE REPORT by Jim Peplow

Just four days after getting back home from Ironman Waco 70.3 we were packing up the car again and heading off to St. George, Utah for the IM 70.3 World Championship. I hadn't planned to do two 70.3 races less that two week apart, but after qualifying for the Worlds at IM Oregon in July that's just the way it worked out. St. George would be my 6^th triathlon in less than a year (including five IM events – one full and four 70.3s). Driving to St George was a combination of rest, recovery, tapering and vacation.

Although being a World Championship this one would be different that any other tri I've ever participated in. The atmosphere, pageantry, competition and organization were all next level. With more than 6,600 athletes from 104 countries, it was an amazing experience. No matter where you were during the week you would hear conversations in a myriad of languages. The large number of athletes in attendance was due in part because the event was split into two days, with the women competing on Friday, while the men took to the course on Saturday.

One thing that stood out during race week was the practice swim at Sand Hollow State Park. Sessions were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings between 7-10. It was the only time there was access to the swim course. Shuttles continuously ran throughout the morning, but since I had an early swim start time (8:15 a.m.) I wanted to get there relatively early to mimic the race day conditions. Air temp was in the low 40s, with water temp around 62, so I figured it would be a good idea to practice in those conditions.

I was amazed at the organization. An official swim course was set up with sighting and turn buoys of half the distance of the actual race day course. We had to check in to before entering the water and were even required to wear a timing chip on our ankle. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people showed up for the swim. I'm glad I got my swim in early as they were going to close the course at 10, but when I got back on the shuttle bus to head back to the hotel there were still a couple of hundred people waiting in line to enter the water. As I was getting out of the water former IM champ Craig Alexander was on hand giving an interview. Elite Tri stars were everywhere you looked.

When I checked in Wednesday afternoon it was fun walking around Ironman Village. Structures representing all the previous 70.3 World Championships were placed around the Village. Because of COVID this was the third World Championship to be held in St George in the past 13 months (one full and two 70.3), so the city knows how to do it right. Before the welcome banquet that night there was a Parade of Athletes. Flags of all the represented nations were there and any athlete that wanted to could either carry or march behind their flag. One of the loudest cheers came when the flag of Ukraine marched by, right before the USA flag.

On Friday it was fun to be able to watch the beginning of the woman's race on-line before heading out to T1 to rack my bike. I've never seen such a large transition area as there was space for more than 4500 bikes.

We then headed to the downtown IM Village, T2 and finish line to watch the end of the women's finish live. Taylor Knibb dominated the strong field, and I was able to be there as she crossed the finish line.

Later that day as I was dropping off my T2 run bag (we had to wait until all the women had cleared T2 so there would be space on the racks) I happened to be there at the same time as Kristian Blummenfelt, who would go on the next day to win the championship. He was nice enough to pose for a selfie with me.

Swimming is by far my weakest event in triathlons, and when self seeding I'm usually about half way back in the queue. I like it there because not only am I with similar paced swimmers, but as a good cyclist and runner I tend to pass a few a people on the those legs after exiting the water. However, the World Championships do not allow for self seeding. Based on age groups everybody is assigned a wave. My AG (65-69) was in the 5^th out of 12 waves. The swim was rough. A lot of older, slower swimmers such as myself were seated in front of many of the younger, faster swimmers. Once we were going, a lot of faster swimmers were passing, bumping and making the water very choppy and turbulent. By far my slowest swim time ever. The cold water swim and cool air temp also made for a little bit slower T1 as I took the time to put arm warmers and warm socks on.

The bike course was absolutely beautiful, but a bit nerve-racking. That had to do with the swim seeding. As I mentioned a lot of the younger, faster competitors started behind me. I've never been passed so often on the bike, especially at the high speeds these guys were going. Flying down some of these hills they sounded like the TIE fighters from Star Wars roaring by. When I lived in Chico it was easy to get a lot of elevation during bike training with the Sierra Nevada foothills right outside our front door. That's not the case in College Station where flat is the key word. It would have been nice to have a little more hill practice before taking on the 5-mile Snow Canyon climb shortly before the end of the ride. The final couple of miles on the bike paralleled an out and back portion of the run course, so it was fun to see all the runners and spectators lining that section. All in all I was pleased with my bike leg.

The run leg went pretty much as planned. I had a fairly even paced run and felt good going up the red carpet and crossing the finish line. Even though it was my slowest overall 70.3 time I was fine with that. With all the top athletes from all over the world here I had already made the decision that IM Waco last week would be my “A” race, and this one would be the cherry on top of a long season. I was just going to enjoy and take it all in. After I made the podium in Waco the previous week that's exactly what happened. It would be fun to qualify for another World Championship event but what an eye opener, these guys are definitely on a different level.

One final note. After I crossed the finish line I heard about an accident that occurred on the bike course around mile 20. Apparently a car (with a presumably intoxicated driver) pulled out in front of two riders and stopped. They were riding down the hill somewhere between 30-40 mph and hit the back of the car. They were both in the last swim wave (AG 45-49) so I was past that point by the time it happened. Both sustained severe life-threating injuries, including many broken bones, and spent several days in the ICU. Right now it looks like both will recover, but to what extent is currently unknown. They are facing months, if not years of rehab. Please include Mark Evans and Patrick Lynch in your prayers for healing and comfort.