Ironman: Ultimate test for athletes

After a 2.4-mile swim at Sand Hollow and a 112-mile bike ride through some of the most scenic and challenging roads southern Utah has to offer, you might think the average athlete would be done for the day.

But the 2,000-plus participants lining up to race bright and early on May 1 are not your average athletes — they hope to call themselves Ironman.

And with that in mind, those able to force themselves onward will run yet another challenging physical test of endurance as they attack a 26.2-mile run.

"I've talked to a lot of other triathlon coaches and people doing St. George," said Keena Schaerrer, a 37-year-old triathlete and triathlon coach from Pleasant Grove. "Across the board, they say this is the toughest course for an Ironman that they can remember."

Ironman St. George will bring nearly 2,400 athletes from around the world to Utah's Dixie, where they will swim, bike and run themselves to exhaustion.

Several professional triathletes will be in St. George next weekend chasing a podium finish and a slice of the $50,000 prize purse in what has been identified as a key early season race for ultra-endurance athletes.

It is also a welcome return to Utah for Ironman.

"It's cool to do one in your own backyard," said Kimball Fife, a 43-year-old triathlete from Logan who is ready to participate in his second full Ironman race. "When I saw it coming, I know I wanted to do it and just had to work out the details."

After a brief, and tragic, stop at Utah Lake in 2002, in which a man died, the Ironman series of races left the state. This year's return to the Beehive State had local triathletes eager to sign up for what is much more than a unique weekend experience.

To race an Ironman, an athlete must spend months in preparation. Individually, each of the three legs of the race is a daunting physical task. Stack them up in sequence, and the physical requirements can become overpowering — and that says nothing of the mental preparation required to endure for 140.6 miles.

Michael Lovato, a two-time Ironman winner, said Ironman St. George is quickly going to become a favorite race among the professionals.

"I was given the opportunity to come to St. George and get a sneak peek of this incredible area and this new Ironman, and I got very excited right away," Lovato said. "This is going to be one of those places that really wows people."

St. George officials estimate a direct economic impact of more than $10 million over the weekend.