I will preface this report with the fact that this was my first official Ironman and my first race back since being hit back in Aug. ’07.  Last year was IM China’s inaugural year and from what I was told, was launched into the record books as having the highest DNF in Ironman history at 20%. From the athletes that I talked to who did both last year and this year’s race, this years’ was much worse.  The information board posted a high of 113 degrees, and of the 355 athletes registered for the race, only 217 finished.

 
Demonstrators:
Although not protesting the race itself, many of the local villagers tried to disrupt the activities, including blocking all traffic to and from the host hotel and blocking the swim course on days leading up to the race.  There was talk about them trying to block the run course as well, so the day before the race the course was changed.  Even though it was inconvenient, it is very sad that the land that they have lived on and have there ancestors buried on is being taken from them to build hotels and having to work in such poor conditions.

Swim:
The swim was a 2 loop course in a river close to the city.  Although it didn’t feel polluted, is was so muddy that you couldn’t see past your elbow with your arm in the water.  The current was extremely strong so the race director decided to cut that one leg about in half, have people exit the water and run along the shore.  Even then, then strategy of most people seemed to be to swim close enough to the shore so you could walk that leg.  I had to hold on to a buoy line to rest and it felt like you were being pulled through the water.

Bike:
The bike was also a two loop course with most of it being on nice paved roads.  There was about a 3 mile stretch that went through a small village, and even though it had the worst road conditions, it had the best crowd support.  There was virtually none on the rest of the course. The steepest part was similar in grade and length to Torrey Pines inner loop.  The rest was rolling hills, like riding along the coast.  Despite putting on zinc oxide sunscreen that was supposed to last all day, I noticed my arms and legs getting sunburned by 11am.  I tried putting on more at the aid stations, but by then it was too late.  I almost think that putting more on just trapped the heat in.  There was a pretty significant side wind that felt to be up to 20 mph, and with the high temperature it was a hot wind.  It was an interesting sensation having trained my legs to go harder, but my body just not letting them.  They ran out of water on the bike course about 4 hours in to it.  They had some cold water you could dump on yourself, but nothing you could drink.  I personally thought they should have more aid stations closer together, or at least stagger them so your could access them more frequently.  There was also little roaming support as I saw a couple of athletes walking there bike, and I all I could do was tell the next aid station.

Run:
With my legs feeling good after the bike I thought I would be able to make up some time on the run, but that was not the case.  Again there was no shade and even the pros were walking.  Someone told me that 17 of the pros dropped out, and if that is true, then that would have been half of them.  The course was really flat, but it was too far in between aid stations.  At every one I was dumping cold water on my neck, arms, and legs, but just couldn’t seem to get my body to cool down.  I wasn’t able to take in much nutrition.  I only went through about 5 oz of what I brought with me, and then some cups of water or cola at a few of the aid stations.  There didn’t seem to be any walkie-talkies on the course as some athletes were trying to drop out of the race and they were told they had to walk another 2 km to the next aid station to do it!  Most of the medical staff didn’t speak English.  There were a number of times that I had to translate for an athlete as I was going through an aid station about where they hurt, or what they wanted done.  Even at the finish they were reluctant to give IVs.  Athletes were asking for them but were told that since their vitals weren’t dangerous, they had to just rest and drink water.

Despite the conditions of the day, I am glad that I did it.  My feet are blistered, I lost a few toenails, and my arms and legs are fried, but at least I was able to finish.  It was definitely not the time I wanted, but crossing that finish line after all that happened was unforgettable.  Thanks for all of the support and I’ll see you guys when I get back in the states!

- Scott

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2. Chrissie Wellington, Ironman Triathlon World Champion at Coastal!
3. Hyponatremia in Endurance Sports