swim start

September 26, 2018September 26, 2018

Ironman Chattanooga Swim and T1 Explained

By Mike Tarrolly for Crushing Iron

Crushing Iron has been shooting video of Ironman Chattanooga since its inception. We’ve put together a little video below that explains race morning bus shuttle, the swim course, and the flow through T1.

* Also, after you’ve watched the video, you may want to check out the podcast below (Fake News In Your Race Brain), especially the second half where Coach Robbie has a great segment on tackling the Ironman Run. We got a ton of great feedback from those racing Ironman Wisconsin.

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA RACE MORNING

On race morning, athletes will head downtown, double check their gear bags, then board a bus that takes them to the swim start, which is approximately a 15 minute ride. If it’s warm, these busses can get kind of hot, so keep that in mind.

Once there, you’ll find your place in line and wait for the cannon. The final approach looks like this and there is a long pier at the end with plenty of room to jump into very spacious start for your swim.

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA SWIM COURSE

The course itself is all downstream, but it’s not “straight.” There is plenty of river space, and I remember this being almost a completely clean swim with regard to body contact, but my advice (even though it may be tempting to find a “better line”) would be stay as close to the buoys as possible.

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA SWIM EXIT

When you get close to the exit there is one final red buoy you must corner, then you climb out of the water with help from volunteers (be ready to make a big step up), and run down the boardwalk.

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA T1

After about 100 yards you’ll turn left to run up a short ramp to get into transition.

You’ll run down this row, grab your bag, then turn left into the center of transition to get your bike.

Here’s the video explanation of the Ironman Chattanooga Swim Course/Transition 1

If you want even more, here’s a link to a post with 18 Stories we’ve written about Ironman Chattanooga over the years.

Good luck to everyone racing! Please make sure you say hi if you see Coach Robbie or Me walking around.

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Crushing Iron hosts 3 triathlon camps in Nashville, TN each year. We have videos and feedback from last year’s camp here.

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September 23, 2014

Doubt, Divorce, and Ironman

Ironman Wisconsin was inspiring enough, but to be walking around with a camera and have random people grab me to say they read Crushing Iron blew my mind. One of those guys was Brad Garrison, who was with a big support group, and ready to tackle his first Ironman. He yelled out, “Crushing Iron!” and that moment landed him in this Ironman Wisconsin Swim Start teaser video. Below is the story of how watching Ironman, then going on simple run became the catalysts for making Brad believe, anything is possible.

Sportscry and Inspire for the Rest of Your Life — Brad Garrison

Having been a fan of “Crushing Iron” for quite some time, it was an honor to meet Mike Tarrolly at the top of the Monona Terrace helix prior to the start of Ironman Wisconsin on September 7, 2014. Being a recent resident of Nashville and East Nasty runner, I knew of him through, Daniel Hudgins, another one of the “Fab Five.”

I jumped at the opportunity to guest-blog and offer a brief glimpse into my journey to become an Ironman, hoping to offer some inspiration and insight related to my pursuit of such a challenge. I vividly remember watching in amazement as my brother, Brian, became an Ironman at Lake Placid in 2011 amid the unraveling of my marriage. Witnessing his journey caused me to turn to running which helped alleviate the stress of my divorce, the hatred I had for the person I was divorcing and the City of Madison where we had moved together. This was the beginning of a positive change in my life.

Brian and Crystal, his wife who became an Ironman at Louisville in 2010 while they were dating, became a source of inspiration for me, not only to begin running, but throughout my journey. Had they not displayed a potential for challenging their limits, I might not have known that I could find happiness in movement, and in challenging my own limits thus making positive life change. It’s the journey and transformation that’s really awesome. Although much of the training for Ironman is directed towards a once unfathomable goal of 140.6 miles within a single 17 hour period on a particular calendar date, it’s the incredible emotional change that occurs over that period of training that is truly remarkable, awesome, and inspiring.

I will tell you that I thought Ironman was impossible for somebody like me. Compared to my brother, I’m four years older and have always been a little shorter and quite a bit thicker. If you look at pictures from 2011, I wasn’t what could be described as athletic. Brian has always looked fit, so the fact that he became a runner and transformed into a triathlete and an Ironman wasn’t terribly surprising, but I remember thinking he was crazy and that only “fit, athletic people” were capable of taking on such challenges.

The impossible started becoming possible with a simple jog on August 20, 2011. That simple jog led to running. Running led to friends. Friends led to biking. Biking led to interest in triathlon. Interest in triathlon led to swim lessons. And after spending 2013 trying to put it all together, 2014 became the year that I would become an Ironman!

That’s what’s great about running and triathlon. You don’t have to look athletic or be any certain size to begin making forward progress. You only have to be inspired to start moving forward, and through that movement, you can find further inspiration.

Training provided days when the thought of 140.6 miles seemed somewhat attainable, usually followed by humbling days where the idea of biking the 112 miles alone seemed completely insurmountable. That’s what’s awesome about the relationship between the human body and the mind. The body is willing and able to respond to crazy ideas that the mind has, once the mind has been afforded the opportunity to strengthen its capacity for challenging fear, limitations, and negative thoughts.

While working to train my body and mind, I also learned the power of “#sportscry.” Have you ever felt #sportscry? Maybe you’ve experienced it when you watched Rudy or Miracle, when you crossed a finish line for a PR that you worked hard for, or witnessed a “physically challenged” athlete cross a finish line. Perhaps you felt #sportscry for a friend or family member like I did watching Brian become an Ironman in Lake Placid, as it typically anoints itself related to the accomplishment of a goal or hearing an inspiring story. #sportscry truly embodies everything that running and triathlon has meant for me and is a connection I feel towards my fellow athletes, becoming a personal mantra that I even wore on my tri kit for Ironman Wisconsin.

Ironman’s slogan is that “Anything is Possible” and it truly is. It’s also said that once you swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles, you can “brag for the rest of your life.”

What I hope is that I will never forget my motivation and inspiration to begin moving along on this emotional journey to become an Ironman and that instead of bragging to others, I can channel the power of #sportscry to inspire for the rest of my life. I hope you’ll do the same!

Tweet me about your own #sportscry experience at @BradleyGarrison

Brad Garrison
Kansas City, MO
Ironman Wisconsin 2014 Finisher – Bib #1684

September 20, 2014

Ironman Maryland Is Underway

I’m up early thinking about my friends Jim and Katherine swimming their asses off right now at Ironman Maryland. They should both be well on their way to swimming 2.4 miles for a little warm up this morning.

I know exactly what they’re going through and hopefully they are relaxed as I think that is always the key to the swim. I have the “Swim Finish” pulled up for Maryland and it’s really cool to listen in and watch what’s going on.

I can’t wait until they add more cameras to the scene. It’s amazing how many people told me they watched me at the finish and I’m sure there would have been interest in watching before the swim and seeing who’s in the crowd, etc…

Here are a couple things I’ve heard while watching this morning:

– They just said some guy is competing in his 100th IRONMAN today! He’s finished every IRONMAN from around the world at least once.

One hundred Ironman’s? That’s just insane. I mean, that’s 3 a year for 30 years. Is that even possible? Maybe they are including 70.3s?

– 800 of the 1,500 competitors are in their first Ironman.

– The 12th ranked competitive eater is racing today

– First swimmer out of the water in 50:10. Bill Bishop from Chicago and he has a pretty big lead. The announcers seemed kind of blown away by his time.

September 10, 2014

Ironman Wisconsin Swim Start Crowd

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These are all screen grabs from the video I’m working on. Hope you enjoy.

Ironman Wisconsin Swim Start — They were lined 8 deep to watch racers run up the helix after the Swim.

Ironman Wisconsin Helix — This is a wide shot from near the Swim Exit

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September 9, 2014

Ironman Wisconsin 2014 Pictures

The Mass Swim Start at Wisconsin is one of the coolest sporting spectacles you’ll ever see. If you don’t believe me, ask my mother.

This Pro triathlete, Pedro Gomes. I posted this picture on Twitter with the caption “3rd Place Pro,” and somehow he found it and personally thanked me. Pretty cool move.

State Street has that European Cafe flavor and it was bustling all afternoon for Ironman Wisconsin. “My people” never miss a reason to have a party and they were throwing down in Madison.

I happened to be standing by the Run Out when first pro off the bike, Konstantin Bachor, glided by with a big smile. I didn’t move until the next runner came by and it seemed like forever. I truly started to wonder if Bachor was an impostor. He wasn’t and held on for 4th place.

The 3 big hills at Wisconsin aren’t “that” bad, but they are nice little climbs in the middle of a challenging course. I was lucky enough to hang out at the third one where people are absolutely bonkers with their support. There’s nothing like laughing while you grind your way up a tough hill.

I grew up in Wisconsin and only last year realized the true beauty of the state capitol. It is absolutely massive and the perfect backdrop for this finish line.

The crowds were genuinely overwhelming and made it very hard for me to get good video footage.

These were from my walk around on Saturday night. The calm before the storm, including a rare nighttime shot of bike transition.

September 8, 2014

My Day Spectating Ironman Wisconsin #IMWI #IMOO

This is just a quickie, but I had to say a little something about this phenomenal day. I showed up around 6 am with my mind on the money shot. I had thought about this for months. I wanted to get an incredible overhead view of the swim gaggle as they set out to sea. There was only one problem. There were so many damn people there I couldn’t get a good shot.

Eight deep everywhere I looked. I was running around like a guy looking for his toe covers in transition. It was a madhouse! I’m going up and down the stairs, back and forth, all over that damn Helix and I couldn’t find one shot worth shooting.

I was starting to get seriously bummed. I drove 10 hours from Nashville and I wouldn’t get the one shot I wanted most? I even pleaded with the Ironman VIP area to give me 10 minutes in Swanksville. I mean it’s not like I don’t give them endless attention and praise nearly every day of the year. But, they wouldn’t let me in, and in fairness it was volunteers, I’m sure the head honcho would have graciously offered the Catbird seat, but I didn’t have time to wait.

I finally landed in a stairwell and shot the incredible start through the glass. I think it will work out find, but not idea. Here’s a sample.

I knew there was a nice crowd last year while I raced, but I just had no idea how nuts this place was. Without any “real access” my shooting was severely challenged. Hopefully I can make something of the video, and thankfully, with a crazy stroke of luck I met two Crushing Iron readers who totally hooked me up for the bike. Tom connected me with Ryan who took me right to the 3rd of the “Three Bitches” somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.

These people are kind of crazy in the greatest of ways. Screaming things like “I bet you wish you were still in the water!” as cyclists focused every ounce of energy on climbing that hill. Costumes ruled the day and I can’t help but feel a sense of pride when I watch literally hundreds of fellow Wisconsinites so excited to strange men and women get to the top of the hill.

After the bike, Ryan dropped me off and I went right to the Run Out and within two minutes I saw the first pro, Konstantin Bachor, hit the pavement. He was ELEVEN minutes ahead and had just set a bike course record of 4:31:13. He smiled, ran by, and gave me a friendly slap to the head as if to say, “See you in a few minutes.”

I rolled up and down State Street mesmerized by all the energy and excitement. It was a perfect day, loaded with a comfortable Wisconsin sun and spectators were soaking it in.

It’s going to be very hard not pulling the trigger tomorrow.

May 19, 2014

Rev3 Knoxville 2014 – A Few Pictures

I have a ton of thoughts about this weekend at the Rev3 Race in Knoxville, but have been a little tired. Until I hunt and gather my opinions on Knoxville, the Pros, the Holiday Inn, and the race, here are a few pictures (including the group custom finisher shots) as a visual guide.

November 12, 2013

Ironman Wisconsin Swim Start 2013 – Video #IMWI

This was the moment I thought about a thousand times, the Ironman Wisconsin Swim Start. The thought of being in that water with nearly 3,000 swimmers just blew my mind and it was everything I expected. Here’s a short trailer for the documentary I hope to finish sometime before I die. Special thanks to Roger Jokela and my brother, Chris Tarrolly for shooting this video and saving the film.

More Crushing Iron video can be found here.

September 22, 2013

Epic Ironman in Lake Tahoe

Edit: If you took (or know who took) this photo, please let me know and I will give you credit.

It is an absolutely gorgeous day in Nashville. I just rode my “other bike” a 2008 Triumph Bonneville around for a while, now I’m at the coffee shop writing on my new Chrome Book tracking Ironman Lake Tahoe (which is sure to go down in history as one of the most memorable) on my phone.

I was watching the weather leading up to this and the forecasts were brutal. 31 degrees at cannon time? Seriously? Unbelievable. And so AWESOME. Look at this Swim Start photo!

I just can’t imagine what was going through their minds at this moment. Well, on some level I can. There is a switch that must be flipped or you’re doomed. This sport is very mental and this kind of day will stretch your capacity to the limits.

I have to admit, even though I know most racers must have been pissed or downright frightened by the cold, there was a big part of me that really wanted to be in the race because it will surely go down in the IM annals as epic.

Aside from the awesomeness of the freakish swim, I’m tracking the bike and there is a section of the course where the PROS are averaging 8 mph. Must be a brutal hill because the next splits are in the mid-30s. Here’s Chris McDonald’s @IronTrac about halfway through the run.

I guarantee you that, no matter how much they’re hating it right now, everyone that finishes this race will look back as one of the most prideful moments of their life. Racing Ironman is “survival enough” without having frozen feet for most of the race. I just hope there’s a nice fireplace in the ski lodge to enjoy a hot coco with friends and family when they’re done.

To all the new Ironmen that sucked it up to scrape and claw your way to the Finish Line today, congratulations . . . we are watching in envy, respect, and awe.

Edit: I just realized that Maik TWELSIEK, who won IMWI took 2nd at Tahoe just two weeks later. Nice work, man. I am seriously impressed. I remember seeing Maik on the run and while we didn’t really exchange high fives or anything, I could tell he was thinking, “Man, Mike needs to work on his running form in 2014.” You got it, man!

Tag: swim start