Ironman set to welcome 4,000 athletes to Wisconsin this weekend

Pandemic? What pandemic? Ironman is expecting about 4,000 athletes in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend as it hosts both Ironnman Wisconsin and Ironman 70.3 Wisconsin. It’s the first time both events are being held on the same weekend “making for a festival weekend of racing,” Ironman said in a release today.

Two Canadians are looking to make a return to full-distance racing this weekend and set some pretty heady marks – John Wragg will be competing in his 260th full-distance effort, while Elizabeth Model will be hitting number 100 in Madison this weekend.

Related: John Wragg and Elizabeth Model are triathlon’s long-distance super-couple

Long a key event on the Ironman North American circuit, the Ironman and 70.3 Wisconsin events take “athletes on a swim in Lake Monona, a bike through rural Dane County and a run through the University of Wisconsin campus, before finishing in the heart of downtown Madison in front of the State Capitol.” Ironman has put in a number of safety protocols for the event, including:

• All individuals are required to wear a face covering around all indoor even venues:

• Staff and volunteers will be provided with face coverings and are required to wear the face covering properly around all indoor event venues.
• Athletes will be provided with face coverings at packet pick-up, and participants are required to wear a face covering properly around all indoor event venues.
• Any member of the public will be provided with a disposable face covering and is required to wear a face covering properly around all indoor event venues

• Hand sanitizer, hand washing stations and disinfectant wipes will be readily available around the event venues. Cleaning of common venue areas will be enhanced. Disposable gloves will be used in applicable areas.
• Appropriate personal health, personal hygiene and safe support education and training will be provided for staff and volunteers in necessary functional areas. This includes the expansion of the Ironman Smart Program, which provides Volunteer Smart guidelines for volunteers. All individuals will be expected to acknowledge a pre-race health questionnaire before entering the registration/expo venue.

Ironman Wisconsin will offer qualifying slots for the 2022 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, while Ironman 70.3 Wisconsin will offer qualifying slots for the 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah.