Ironman Racine Competition Means Road Closures On Sunday

If you are traveling on the major roads in Caledonia, Mount Pleasant, Sturtevant, Racine and Wind Point on Sunday, you would be smart to consult these maps before heading out.

The Ironman Racine triathlon will be held Sunday and 2,220 participants are expected to swim, run and bike their hearts out. This means local residents will have to cope with road closures as the race takes place and area law enforcement agencies are asking for residents to plan ahead if they expect to get where they need to go.

“It’s going to be a nightmare as far as traffic flow goes in these communities,” said Sgt. Robert Kittel, of the Caledonia Police Department. “And we’ll need residents to be patient.”

Kari Dawson, the volunteer director for the Ironman Racine competition and sports director for Real Racine, said the event would be an inconvenience because of the road closures.

The sold out event includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike course, and a 13.1-mile run.

The swim starts at 7 a.m., but the bicycle portion of the race would be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the run would follow the bicycle race and last until about 4 p.m. Most of the bicycle course is in Caledonia, but some of the race will be in Mount Pleasant, Sturtevant and Racine. The run starts at North Beach and goes towards Wind Point Lighthouse, which requires runners to go out and back twice along Michigan Avenue, Main Street to 3 Mile Road and back.

Click here for the swim map, the bicycle map and the run map.

Traffic will be affected and the entire road will be closed on Main Street at Three Mile Road going northeast from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Avoid that intersection of North Main and Three Mile Road if you don’t want to drive yourself nuts,” Dawson said.

Kittel suggested that people that live along the route should plan accordingly, familiarize yourself with the maps and leave their homes early if they need to be somewhere.

Alternate routes include:

• Highway 32
• Three Mile Road
• North Green Bay Road

Dawson said this is the third year for the Ironman competition, which had previously been called the Spirit of Racine. They are anticipating hot temperatures.

“But we’re used to it and we are ready to go,” Dawson said.

Spectators should know that the athletes aren’t allowed to accept anything from any non-sanctioned aid stations, per the race regulations.

“But come out and cheer for them, make some noise,” she said. “The racers love it when the homeowners come out of their homes to support them.”

If you live along the race route, feel free to contribute your observations to our Twitter Feed by sending them to @caledoniapatch. We’ll also be updating our feed frequently throughout the race. You can also upload your photos to our race day story. Check back on Saturday for the URL.