EVENT DATE : 23 February 2008
Lotto Ironman Malaysia takes place on Langkawi, a popular island resort destination in Malaysia. It's tough not because of the course, which consists of a very warm swim, a rolling bike and a relatively flat run course. It's tough because it can get really hot, especially during the run. How hot? In 2001 temperatures that reached 43 degrees Celsius (which is very close to 110 degrees Fahrenheit for anyone who thinks in those terms).
The day begins with a two-loop swim in Kuah Bay which starts and finishes alongside a giant eagle statue that dominates the Jetty Point port area.
Once they are out of the water, the athletes run up a short distance from jetty to T1, grab their bikes, and get started on the three-loop bike course. The cyclist after Seaview Hotel will make a right turn at the traffic light and will take a left turn on LISRAM highway. The profile of this highway has an incline of 10 degrees for about 100 meters up and downhill. Once upon reaching the end of this highway cyclist have to take a left turn and will make a U-turn after the Langkawi Technical School where the First Bike Aid Station with drinks, foods, electrolyte are served. The Special Need will also be made availabel around this area.
The "loops" are actually out and back along this stretches that take the athletes from here to the other side after Datai junction at KM 13 they turn around and come back on this stretch, wich they make 3 loops and on the final loop athletes will take Ayer Hangat road after the roundabout back to finish the bike course.
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It is the run that makes the race in Langkawi so tough. The terrain isn't that challenging - it's the heat that the athletes face as they go through the marathon that makes things difficult. After the fourth loop is complete, they run one kilometer back to the jetty, and end the day at the beautiful finish line which is just meters short of the spectacular eagle statue, a welcome beacon at the end of what will no-doubt be a tough day of racing.
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