The Actual Ironmen and women

Cross Country R on Main St. 9/7/25 dwm

Sunday 2,500 athletes rode past our place. Twice as they took two loops to complete 112 miles on the bike for the middle section of the Ironman Triathalon 140.6 mile competition.

It was a perfect day for the athletes with high temperatures in the 60s and the sunny sky was dotted with a few clouds.

It's a good time for me. The part of the course that goes through our area has a downhill then a right turn which offer several different angles to watch and take pictures.

There's a mix of local residents and families of the athletes lining the streets to offer encouragement or help with the event as it loops through Verona twice before taking the bikes back to downtown Madison where they transition to running a full 26-mile marathon.

As I got into position at the corner, a visitor asked if I was an official photographer and did I see athlete with 219 on his bib. I apologized and explained I was doing this for fun.

There are a lot of people involved in pulling off this event year after year. And in the city of Verona, just blocks from the Ironman is a huge soccer tournament which attracts a thousand or more kids and their families who jam into the Redden Soccer Park. That's two big events for a community of 14,000.

Here's to the volunteers, athletes, their families cheering them on, and the first responders keeping everyone safe!