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Important Notice To Athletes: Click this link to read about the relocation of swim for Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3.
It's back! The 2009 FOSTER GRANT IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 70.3 takes place today, November 14th, presented by Ford. Did you know it was coming? Did you see the barricades lying in the medians waiting to be erected for today? Is your neighborhood one of those getting cutoff for a while?
Think about it: 1,650 athletes; 55 countries represented; ages from 18 to 79 in the field. And not just one 79 year old, but 3! First they will swim 1.2 miles, then ride their bicycles 56 miles, and then run 13.1 miles! All in one day!! Click this link to read about the race on the FOSTER GRANT IRONMAN website.
I had the good fortune to be down on Clearwater Beach this past Thursday as athletes began to appear in droves. In various stages of preparation, including check-in, bicycle claim from the transport service, and practice. Yes, lots of them, running, jogging, cycling all over the place. And good for them too! The only thing I did not see was any of them swimming. Their might have been some swimming, but it was really windy and cold. And in at least one area, I notice the life guards had the red "No Swim" flags out. Yikes. This probably explains why the swim course has been changed. See the link above if you are curious.
I watched the various athletes checking in at various stations around the event area, and I could not help but wonder what it must be like to be part of something so very BIG. Something of a scope so much larger than oneself. Oh my.
So I have lots of pictures to share... come back tomorrow and the next day for more and more Clearwater Beach Ironman photos.
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If you would like to see more of this area, check out Dunedin Daily Photo, and Clearwater Daily Photo. If you enjoy photography, check out my photography blog. Thanks for coming today, I hope you enjoyed your mini-vacation to Clearwater Beach, Florida!
