Athletes competed in the Ironman competition across downtown Madison and the surrounding area Sunday from 6:45 a.m. until midnight.
The Ironman competition consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. The swimming portion was held in Lake Monona, while the biking portion traveled slightly outside downtown Madison. The running portion was held around the University of Wisconsin campus, State Street and the Capitol, according to the Ironman website.
Over 2,500 athletes competed in the Ironman, and 1,451 were able to complete the race by midnight. Brent McMahon was the top finisher with a time of 8:36:02, and Chloe Lane was the first woman to finish the race with a time of 9:45:21.
Athlete and Ironman competitor Adam Feigh flew into Madison from Grand Junction, Colorado for his second Ironman, and competed Sunday through the cold and rainy conditions.
“It was unexpectedly cold and rainy, and just sort of threw a curveball on race day and I think that threw a lot of people for a loop,” Feigh said. “It definitely affected me, but I was able to get through it and had my best result to date, so I can’t complain too much.”
Feigh said it was convenient that the parts of the race were very close to each other — the headquarters of the race was at Monona Terrace, which is centrally located and close to the running and swimming routes.
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Feigh also got a chance to see Madison while he was in town, both while competing and during down time. He said the bike path went through the country roads near Verona and while it was scenic, not all the roads were in good condition because of the rain. Despite this, Feigh said he appreciated that it wasn’t the same view throughout the entire race.
Additionally, the Madison Area Sports Commission held a kid’s version of the Ironman race on Saturday, according to WKOW. Children aged 2-11 years old participated in the Iron Kids Fun Run on Capitol Square.
Because the race traveled throughout the city, there were major road closures on the streets around State Street and the Capitol Square, according to WMTV. The next Ironman in Madison will be held Sept. 10, 2023.
