Get ready, get set, go!
More than three thousand athletes traveled from 47 different states to the river region, to participate in the 10th annual IRONMAN Augusta.
They started the day with a1.2-mile swim through the Savannah River. Then a 56-mile bike ride, ending with a 13.1-mile run through downtown Augusta.
NewsChannel 6 reporter Devin Johnson spoke with participants on how they prepared for the event.
“I was training, and it was taking me about 40 minutes for the swim,” explained David Corbitt. “A little over three hours for the bike ride and little bit over two hours for the run. But I think with the race day energy; I would like to condense all that down to a six-hour race.”
This is Corbitt’s first time competing in the race. He traveled from Fort Bragg North Carolina after hearing about it from one of his work friends whose raced several times.
Corbitt says he’s ready from training.
“It took about four or five months, training for about 14 hours a week,” said Corbitt. “I’m ready.”
Devin also spoke with another first-time competitor.
Liz Vultao and her teammates from Tampa Bay Florida is here. She tells him how she made her way to race in IRONMAN Augusta.
“My boyfriend and I bought each other the race for Christmas,” said Vultao. “So we bought each other the four months of pain, that’s how we looked at it. But we have been training for four months.”
With several months of training under their belt, which part of the race are these athletes looking forward to?
“Definitely the run, said Corbitt. “That’s when I know I made it that far and I can walk it in if I have to.”
“The end, because it will be over and I will have the medal, and it will be under my belt,” explained Vultao.
The athletes that competed in IRONMAN AUGUSTA are now IRONMEN.
