SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Athletes from near and far competed in the Ironman 70.3 western Massachusetts Triathlon on Sunday and it is shaping up to be quite the challenge.
Aaron Shemenski came up from Providence, Rhode Island to support his wife who was in the race. He also reflected on what makes this event so awe inspiring, “To be able to perform at that level for so many hours and so many miles is just really awesome. We just really like the Ironman events, you know? It is really a testament to the training that these individuals go through on a day to day basis, the grind, and just to come out and celebrate the athletes on their motion.”
Thousands of people were at Riverfront Park as the triathlon started at 6:00 a.m. Athletes have eight hours and 30 minutes to complete a 70.3-mile triathlon. This challenge features a 1.2-mile swim down the Connecticut River, a 56-mile bike ride that brings athletes through Agawam, Suffield, Connecticut, Southwick, Westfield, and West Springfield, and then a 13.1-mile run through downtown Springfield, the South End, and Forest Park.
Any high intensity athletic event takes dedication and requires a lot of vigorous training. The athletes that took on the western Massachusetts Triathlon in Springfield were more than up to the task.
Elizabeth Kaplanis an RTA Triathlon Coach from New Jersey says training for this type of an event takes time and quite some practice, “It’s a huge monster of a race and athletes train day in, day out, you know… Multiple workouts a day sometimes, and so it is just amazing. And, this is the culmination of all the sacrifice and hard work, and it is just really fun to be out here and support them.”
There were about thirty of her athletes participating in the race. Her husband Chris is also a coach, and he explained to 22News that it’s important for athletes to know how to swim, bike, and run long distances, and that is where the training comes in.
“Most folks don’t know how to swim distance, so that is usually the barrier to entry when it comes to the triathlon. So to watch someone come from nothing, not being able to swim, to now swimming 1.2 miles… it is pretty special,” expressed Chris Kaplanis, an RTA Triathlon Coach from New Jersey.
According to their website, this swim was crowned 4th fastest IRONMAN 70.3 swim course in North America, last year.
In Springfield, the following roads will be closed (subject to change):
- Saturday, June 8 at 8:00 a.m. to Sunday, June 9 at 6:00 p.m.:
- Court Street will be closed from East Columbus Avenue to City Hall Place
- Sunday, June 9 at 6:00 p.m.:
- Court Street will be closed from East Columbus Avenue to Main Street
- Sunday, June 9 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.:
- East Columbus Avenue will be closed from State Street to Court Street
- Sunday, June 9 from 6:20 a.m. to Monday, June 10 at 7:50 a.m.
- Hall of Fame Avenue will be closed from the Memorial Bridge to Hwy 5 off-ramp
- Sunday, June 9 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.
- West Columbus Avenue will be closed from Plainfield Street to Hall of Fame Avenue
- Sunday, June 9 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- Hall of Fame Avenue will be closed from North End Bridge to Memorial Bridge
The community is being asked to proceed with caution and use detour routes where available. Streets will be impacted in Springfield, Longmeadow, West Springfield, Westfield, Southwick, Agawam, Granville, and Suffield, CT.
The image shows the roads that will be impacted and at what time.
The rolldown ceremony at IRONMAN 70.3 Western Massachusetts took place at the MassMutual Center on June 9 directly after awards.