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Event Information:
The
Ironman South Africa is a year since
2000 in March or April held
triathlon sports event on the
Ironman distance (3.86 km swim,
180.2 km cycling, running 42.195
kilometers) in Port Elizabeth in
South Africa. The name "Ironman
Triathlon" refers to both the
original Ironman triathlon and the
annual Ironman World Championship.
Also called Ironman Hawaii, the
world championships of the event,
held annually in Hawaii since 1978
(with an additional race in 1982),
are now preceded by a series of
qualifying events. Ironman Triathlon
became known for its grueling
length, harsh race conditions, and
television coverage.
People
completing such an event within the
strict event time cutoffs are agreed
to be recognized as "Ironmen": the
plural "Ironmans" refers to
multiples of "Ironman" as a short
form of "Ironman Triathlon". In the
triathlon community an Ironman is
someone who has completed a race of
the appropriate distance, whether or
not it falls under the aegis of WTC.
The Ironman Triathlon is a grueling
event that pushes its participants
to the limits of endurance. Some,
however, find the prescribed
distances fall short of these
limits. Hence, events such as the
double iron triathlon have come
about.
The
South African Ironman is held in
Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth was
founded as a town in 1820 to house
British settlers as a way of
strengthening the border region
between the Cape Colony and the
Xhosa. It now forms part of the
Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan
Municipality which has a population
of over 1.3 million. "The Windy
City" has a subtropical climate with
light rain throughout the year.
Under the Koppen climate
classification, Port Elizabeth has
an oceanic climate. The area lies
between the winter rainfall,
Mediterranean climate zones of the
Western Cape and the summer rainfall
regions of eastern South Africa.
Winters are cool but mild and
summers are warm but considerably
less humid and hot than more
northerly parts of South Africa's
east coast.
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