THIS year’s summer calendar most definitely has not ended with the Races, as the returning Ironman 70.3 Ireland triathalon is set to extend the tourist season into September.

Both the County and City Councils have just published their proposed closure orders, mainly only affecting residents and motorists on the actual day of the event, Sunday, September 2.

However, the inconvenience for some will start with the closure of both Salthill car park and Claude Toft car park (playground) at 6am on August 30, to facilitate construction of the transition areas for the event.

While alternative parking will be provided along the prom, the local authority has warned that all vehicles must be removed on the evening before race-day. The car parks will reopen at 6pm on Monday, September 3.

Ironman 70.3 Ireland will begin with ‘wave starts’ from 7am with the 1.9km swim course from Blackrock along a route parallel to the land, before heading inland to the swim exit at Palmers Rock (Western House).

From there, competitors will run to the nearby transition area at the bottom of Salthill Park for the beginning of the 90km cycling event.

This route will bring them east through Upper Salthill, along St Mary’s Road and Newcastle Road. Then right onto Distillery Road, under the N6 at the university, before joining the N59 Clifden Road at Upper Newcastle, and on to Moycullen and Oughterard, turning at Maam Cross to come back along the same route.

To facilitate this, both local authorities have combined to close affected roads from 4am-
2pm on race-day.

Specifically, these will be the main road through Salthill village, from Seapoint to Lenaboy Gardens; Distillery Road, Newcastle Road Lower, Newcastle Road, and St Mary’s Road; the N59 from the Quincentenary Bridge to Maam Cross, including the road to Moycullen and Oughterard.

The 21.1km run course consists of three laps from the transition area in Salthill Park, east along the promenade, past the finish area near Seapoint, out to Claddagh Quay, returning via South Park along the promenade, turning at Black Rock and, after three laps, finish at Seapoint car park.

To facilitate this, on raceday, the road between Threadneedle Road to Nimmo’s Pier at Claddagh Quay, via Seapoint and the Galway Business School, will be closed from 4am-5pm.
Diversions will be in place, to ensure that motorists are not disrupted to a serious degree.

The race, which will be carried by 25 international TV networks, has attracted elite Irish athletes, Melaine Nocher, Philip Lavery, and Lorraine Manning, who will team up to share the swimming, cycling, and running events.

Meanwhile, Irish number one badminton player and Olympian, Scott Evans, will join Roseanna Davidson, and Sean O’Donoghue, on another very competitive team.

And, Olympian and two-time European Indoor 400m champion, David Gillick, who had to pull out of his London Olympic bid due to injury, will be joined by Brad Corbally and Angela Scanlon.

Ruaidhrí Geraghty, of local organisers E&R Events, says that it is still an event focussed on the average person. “It is great to have Olympians come to our event and mix it with the professional and elite Triathletes from around the world, but our race is based on the average person deciding that they are going to change their lives and fulfil a life-long ambition – this is what gives us the most satisfaction,” he says.

“There are very few sports in the world where the average Joe can line up with the best athletes in the world in their chosen sport, this is exactly what happens in an Ironman triathlon.”

To volunteer or take part, visit www.ironmanireland.com or add ‘Ironman Ireland’ on Facebook.