Saturday, May 1st, 2010 marked the first time an Ironman Triathlon event has ever been hosted in St. George, Utah.   After two years of arduous preparations approximately  2,000 male and female athletes from around the world, began the event by swimming a 2.4 distance in the cool waters of Sand Hollow Reservoir.

Ironman triathlon competitor in Sand Hollow Reservoir

Insulated with wet suits the cool waters were handled quite well by most swimmers who subsequently embarked on a 112 mile road cycling course.    This stage of the race follows very scenic roads through the Utah cities of Washington, St. George, Santa Clara, Ivins, Gunlock and Veyo.   With Zion National Park in the rear-view mirror, cyclists pedaled a large double loop around Snow Canyon State Park.   The final stage, a 26 mile marathon, traveled a course from downtown St. George along the red rock formations that hug the northern skyline of the city.

St. George Ironman Triathlon cycling competitor races past Red Mountain rock formation

A very difficult triathlon course:  Participants said that the course may be the toughest within the United States but that the scenery, when they took time to view it, was exceptional.   The bike course and marathon stages both involve significant elevation changes but the weather cooperated on this day, with blue skies and mostly mild breezes.

Finishers:   Michael Weiss, an Austrian residing in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was the first male to cross the Ironman triathlon finish line in a time of 8 hours, 40 minutes and 8 seconds.   Weiss shared in a $50,000 cash prize with other top professional male and female finishers.     Heather Wurtele, of Canada, was the top female finisher with a time of 9:35:26.  She won over a group of approximately 400 women that competed in the event.    There were 413 Ironman triathlon competitors from the host state of Utah and among these were many participants from the St. George area.

Ironman officials and participants alike liberally praised the local effort to organize and manage the logistics of the race, saying that this race felt more like an event that was in its 10th year rather than its first.    Spectators from around St. George joined with thousands of visitors along roadways to encourage the athletes.    An estimated crowd of over 10,000 lined the 140.6 mile course.

Runners pass each other as they loop in and out of downtown in the St. George Ironman Triathlon

Montana’s Ben Hoffman finished the water portion of the triathlon in 51:13 (2.4 miles), ahead of the pack, but was unable to fend of Weiss who excelled in the bike and running portions of the race.

Economically the event is said to have infused between seven and ten million dollars into the local economy.   This was the first of what is intended to be an annual event, and Ironman officials indicate that the triathlon will continue for at least five years.   If all goes well the event will continue indefinitely.     Based on the success of this first triathlon the St. George Ironman is likely to be going strong in 20 years.