Coeur d'Alene's first half-Iron triathlon takes place Sunday

Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene is right around the corner, which means a lot of people are going to be in the Lake City this weekend.

The race - a shortened version of the full Ironman triathlon - is happening Sunday and about 20,000 spectators are expected to turn out.

About two thirds of the 3,043 race participants are coming from out of the area. The full Ironman, now being held in August, attracts 1,600 to 1,700 registered competitors.

The overall economic impact of the full Ironman race each year is $7 to $8 million. Although twice as many athletes will participate in this weekend’s half-Iron, the city and the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce expect the financial impact to the area to be about half the amount garnered by the full Ironman.

“A lot of that comes from the length of time people stay in the community,” said Sam Taylor, Coeur d’Alene deputy city administrator. “People stay here for about four-and-a-half days for the full Ironman and about two-and-a-half days for the half.”

However, like Coeur d’Alene Chamber President Steve Wilson said, this is the first year the half-Ironman will be here, so estimates are based on other races in other locations.

“There have not been any studies on this race here before,” he said.

He said statistics from other half-Iron host cities show people who travel there for the race tend to stay for less time than they do for the full Ironman races.

“But this place being the destination it is, people might stay longer than expected,” Wilson said.

Due to the 2,000 or so participants and their family and friends that are coming to support them, restaurants and hotels are expected to get a higher economic benefit from the event.

Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene will cost the city $21,750. But, by working and fundraising with a private group, the North Idaho Sports Commission, the city’s goal is to not have to spend any money.

Another big way this race will affect Coeur d’Alene is the traffic impacts.

Sherman Avenue will be closed from First Street to Second Street from 6 a.m. Saturday to Sunday at 7 p.m.

Traffic on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive from Sherman Avenue to the Higgens Point boat launch will be restricted Sunday from 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. There will be bike traffic in both the northbound and southbound lanes.

Also, traffic on U.S. 95 will be delayed due to the bike course taking up the northbound lanes from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Flaggers will direct traffic at intersections along the course and speed limits will be reduced to 45 mph during race hours. There will be no parking allowed on the shoulder of Highway 95 during the race.

The Ironman 70.3 begins with a 1.2-mile swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene. Athletes then transition to a 56-mile bike ride that first follows the North Idaho Centennial Trail out Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive to the Higgens Point cul de sac. Athletes then turn around and head back to cross town continuing on Northwest Boulevard until they turn south on U.S. 95 traveling to a point not far past Setters Road, where they turn around and return to town. The final leg of the race involves a two-lap, 13.1-mile run that goes through McEuen Park and out to Silver Beach Marina on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive.

More detailed race maps can be found at www.ironman.com/coeurdalene.

Athlete check-in will be Friday, June 24 from noon to 7 p.m. and Saturday, June 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at City Park.

Gear check-in and body marking starts as early as 4:30 a.m. on race day, Sunday, June 26.

The pros will start at 6 a.m. and everyone else will do a rolling start at 6:20 a.m.

The mandatory gear checkout will be from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at City Park and the awards ceremony will be at 3 p.m. at City Park.