IRONMAN 70.3 Arizona Schedule and Information

After 1-1/2 years of drama, the day has finally come. Today (Sunday, October 18) Ragen Chastain competes in IRONMAN 70.3 Arizona! Here is everything you need to know for race day. This post will be updated throughout the race tomorrow morning.

Weather

Forecasts are showing a high of around 90°F/32.2°C with mostly clear weather and the chance of brief thunderstorms during the day. We expect water temperatures in the mid to high 70s for the swim segment. Since Ragen will presumably not be going for any age group awards, she can wear her men’s 3XL wetsuit up to a maximum water temperature of 83.8°F/28.8°C.

Tempe Town Lake Water Temperature

Accuweather forecast for Tempe, AZ

Race Information

The race consists of three segments: a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run. Each competitor has 1:10 chip time to complete the swim segment. The bike cut-off is 5:30 after the final swim wave leaves, and the final cut-off is 8:30 chip time for each athlete. Transitions are included in the cut-offs for the next segment. Any athlete who fails to meet a segment cut-off will receive a DNF. There are also intermediate cut-offs in the bike and run portions, and the race staff reserve the right to remove any athlete from the course they deem incapable of completing a segment based on their location, time, and average speed.

Ragen’s bib number is 1045, and live athlete tracking with 13 bike splits and 8 run splits is available on the IRONMAN site. Please note that IRONMAN live tracking is known to be buggy, often not updating or giving weird results. Ragen is in wave 9 of the swim start (F 35-39), which leaves at 7:10 am. There is a timing mat at the swim entrance so we’ll know if she actually starts the race. Six waves of swimmers follow her wave and will have to pass her. Race results will be available on the official results page, and race photos will be posted on FinisherPix.

Schedule

All times are in MST. Ragen’s cut-offs are approximate since it will be based on chip time, but it should be within a few minutes.

6:30 am – Race starts

7:45 am – Ragen’s swim wave leaves

8:55 am – Ragen’s swim cut-off

8:50 am – Final swim cut-off for all waves

11:20 am – Intermediate bike cut-off

1:15 pm – Bike cut-off

2:40 pm – Intermediate run cut-off

4:15 pm – Ragen’s race cut-off

4:15 pm – Race ends

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UPDATES

0610 MST

I’ve just been informed that due to high water temperatures, all athletes who elect to wear their wetsuits will start together at 0745.

0640 MST

Ragen has her timing chip and athlete number painted.

0712 MST

Athletes from the first swim wave are coming in. The first finisher took 30:14!

0726 MST

Someone is at the helm of Ragen’s Facebook account deleting replies asking about the 11:45 start.

0745 MST

Ragen’s swim wave should be entering the water right now!

0758 MST

Ragen was apparently spotted starting the swim at 0745.

0820 MST

Ragen’s original swim wave cut-off, and the half-way point for her revised 0855 cut-off. The tracker has been a bit buggy, so we can probably expect a delay at 0855.

0835 MST

Tracker for the original swim wave still hasn’t updated, so expect a 15-20 minute delay after the revised 0855 cut-off.

0855 MST

Ragen’s swim cut-off. Now we await the tracker update.

0858 MST

The tracking data has finally updated for Ragen’s original swim wave, only 38 minutes late. 68/105 made it through.

0900 MST

Someone at the event confirms she made it out of the water.

0924 MST

Ragen is apparently standing around crying with a camera crew now.

0935 MST

Ragen is rolling out with Julianne. DNF. 1003 MST

Another photo of Ragen and Julianne being interviewed pre-race.

1029 MST

Update from Ragen!

1225 MST

We’re investigating the rumours of a boat rescue, but I’m fairly certain they’re based a troll comment about Ragen only finishing “1/3 of the race”. Ragen’s friend has posted photos of her finishing the swim. It’s certainly possible she was towed to shore, but I suspect she did actually get to the finish under her own power.