Ironman in Sandusky a 'home run'

SANDUSKY — The finish line is where every Ironman competitor wants to end up — as quickly as possible — and the athletes competing in the Sandusky Ironman 70.3 will finish the race on a new street when they make the last turn north onto Columbus Avenue on Sunday. The redesigned street downtown caught the eye of Ironman race director Casey Gilvin this week. "The biggest thing we're excited about is Columbus Avenue," Gilvin said. "When you see how cool that looks, the city for sure hit a home run with that. Every time we come up here there's something cool with Sandusky that they've updated. "There's a lot happening here. Every time we come back there's more excitement that builds. That's what makes this race great and this community a great place to be. It's the people." The Ironman will take over downtown Sandusky and parts of the surrounding area Sunday morning for the fourth running of the Ironman 70.3 Ohio. The race is scheduled to begin at 6:30 a.m. when competitors jump into Sandusky Bay from the Carlee Emily ferry boat, which will be docked at Jackson Street Pier. Swimmers will navigate the 1.2-mile course and then jump on their bikes for a 56-mile ride that is considered "fast and flat" by Ironman officials. The triathlon finishes with a 13.1-mile run through city streets. The course hasn't changed, save for some bike course tweaks due to road construction. "There's a slight adjustment due to the bridge on 269 over the turnpike being out," Gilvin said. The weather forecast for Sunday calls for comfortable temperatures topping out in the high 70s. But rain also is in the forecast. "We have contingency plans and we'll work with our staff and go through the process and put on a great event," Gilvin said. "We have specific protocols. We'll have to see what the weather holds for us." The race is expected to draw about 1,400 competitors. About 75 relays (two or three athletes in each) also will compete. About 800 volunteers will work the race. "We got more volunteers coming back year after year now," Gilvin said. "Most of our captains and groups are returning every year. They get to interact with the athletes and it's a good way to give back." The top competitors should hit the finish line about four hours after they jump into the water. The 2024 men's winner — Jack Harrell from Novi, Michigan — set an event record by finishing in 3 hours, 54 minutes and 30 seconds. Jennifer Hannigan from Belleville, Illinois, set a women's course record in 4:23.03 last year. The Sandusky Ironman event — which is in its fourth year — has proven to be a popular event for the athletes. The race was voted No. 2 overall among 70.3-mile Ironman events by the men and women who filled out customer surveys last year. Athletes will be treated to a postrace food spread featuring products from Toft's Dairy, Cameo Pizza and Berardi's. "We do all we can to give the local businesses as much support as possible," Gilvin said. The Ironman also works with Shores & Islands Ohio, which promotes businesses that offer local discounts during the Ironman. Those IM Local offers can be found on the Shores & Islands Ohio web page. "We want to give people an opportunity to see all the cool stuff in and around Sandusky, from restaurants to the Jet Express," Gilvin said. The Ironman, city of Sandusky and Shores & Islands Ohio agreed in December 2023 to extend the event's contract through 2027. "We're thankful to be here and we want to be here for a long time," Gilvin said. "What's awesome is you see all these people running around; you see all these license plates from other places. There's a lot of support here." Area Ironman participants These athletes signed up for the Ohio Ironman 70.3, which will take place Sunday in Sandusky and the surrounding area: Bellevue Derek Raifsnider Derek Burkhart Jenny Kale Berlin Heights Kari Puckrin Ben Hastings Doug Green Castalia Melanie Adams Brian Hackenburg Abigail Gerber Koren Orman Brian Plummer Daniel Langdon Renee Harden Andrew Gundlach Doug Freeh Johnathan Schaeffer Huron Mary James Melissa Fries Libby White Raffaele Ruta Michael Werner William Orshoski Michael Biltz Meghan Johnson Jennifer Ledny Jeffery Jackson Maura Gardina Jaclyn Jensen Tyson Rhoad Randy Lehrer Erin Percy Angie Green Thomas Yourkiewicz Barb Biltz Kacie Geretz Ashley Folger Cherie McCleese Joey Sugalski Heather Grieves Tom Dusza Michael Ladny Robert Boehk Sara Massello Marblehead Roberta Gangl Julie McDonald Christian Maple Milan Tiffany Caponi Larry Fletcher Kim Wikel John Schwartz Norwalk Aaron Feltner Jacob Blevins Port Clinton Zachary Babb Ariana Mohnke Alex Linn Sandusky Noah Henry Jacob Smith Isiah Johnson Zach Rickard Matthew Bunn Adam Hartley Andrew Short Gregory Pudloski Keegan Schoen Jamie Dix RJ Garman David Mack Jamie Gessen Jonathan Smith Steven Prentice Laura Cobb Rachel Lublow Roger Binette Patrick Milkie Nathan Grude Kevin Burns Mike Sparks Zachary Taylor Eliot Dyer James Stacey III Samantha Smith Jack Morris Daniel Cobb Danny Weyer Collin Ninke Laurel Leber Todd Downing Mary Hermes Ryan Dillinger Bradley Dominy Colleen Wellington Jared Opfer Jenna Mulry Chris Parthemore Kayla Dorsey Mackenzie Ferber Beth Rhodes Billy Criscione Andrew Mulry Emily Cullen Kurt Kresser Anna Zelm Justin Zelm Jeremy Normington-Slay Kevin Thomas Timothy Burkholder Billy Smith Vermilion Daniel Smith Carl Guendelsberger