����vlog

YORK. WELL, IT IS GOING TO BE A BUSY, JAM PACKED NEXT FEW DAYS IN DES MOINES. THE IRONMAN RACE IS BACK THIS WEEKEND. THE COMPETITORS ARE TOUGH, AREN’T THEY? ����vlog OLIVIA TYLER WENT TO CHECK OUT THE FINAL PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY FOR ONE OF THE BIGGEST EVENTS FOR ATHLETES IN CENTRAL IOWA. IRONMAN IS UNDERWAY. THE 70.3 MILE RACE IS TAKING OVER DES MOINES THIS WEEKEND, AND ALL THREE EVENTS START RIGHT HERE BEHIND ME AT GRAY’S LAKE. THE RACE ISN’T UNTIL SUNDAY, BUT EVENTS DO START TODAY. ATHLETES CAN CHECK IN AND HIT THE INFORMATION TENT AND PARTICIPATE IN BRIEFINGS. THE RUN COURSE IS 13.1 MILES LONG. TWO LAPS. THE BIKE COURSE IS EXTRA LONG, 56 MILES. IT ALSO STARTS AND FINISHES AT GRAY’S LAKE, BUT GOES ALL THE WAY OUT TO SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE PARKWAY AND TRIATHLETES WILL SWIM THE REST IN THE LAKE COME SUNDAY. EVERYONE IS WELCOME, EVEN IF YOU AREN’T COMPETING. IT’S A LONG RACE, AND ORGANIZERS SAY ATHLETES CAN USE THE MOTIVATION. THE CITY IS EXPECTING A WEEKEND OF COMMUNITY. IRONMAN IS HAPPENING ALONGSIDE PRIDE FEST, THE DOWNTOWN FARMERS MARKET AND THE GREEK FOOD FAIR. DES MOINES IS A LARGE ENOUGH METRO AREA. WE CAN DO MULTIPLE EVENTS. YOU KNOW, LAST WEEKEND YOU HAD THE PRINCIPAL CHARITY CLASSIC AND THE DAM TO DAM AND FARMERS MARKET AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF GOING ON. AND THE IOWA CUBS WERE IN TOWN. SO, YOU KNOW, IT CAN HANDLE ALL THAT. YOU’RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF ROAD CLOSURES AROUND DOWNTOWN FOR THE RACE. SO BASICALLY, IF YOU CAN WALK AROUND TOWN THIS WEEKEND, YOU SHOULD WALK. EXACTLY. GET YOUR WALKING SHOES ON. YOU CAN FIND A LIST OF SUNDAY’S ROAD CLOSURES AND THEIR EXACT TIMING ON OUR WEBSITE, OR OUR ����vlog MOBILE APP IN DES MOINES. OLIVIA TYLER, ����vlog EIGHT NEWS IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. OH, THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON DOWNTOWN. YOU CAN SEE THE ROAD CLOSURES ON YOUR SCREEN RIGHT NOW. THIS IS FOR THE RUNNING PORTION. THE FIRST ROAD TO BE CLOSED IS FLEUR DRIVE BETWEEN BELL AVENUE AND MLK JUNIOR PARKWAY. THAT STARTS AT 4 A.M. IF YOU ARE HEADED TO THE AIRPORT ON DES MOINES SOUTH SIDE, YOU CAN GET ON FLEUR DRIVE FROM ARMY POST ROAD OR HIGHWAY FIVE, AND THE ROADS WILL BE SHUT DOWN FOR THE BICYCLING PORTION. HERE YOU SEE YOU SEE THE MAP. 6:00 TOMORROW MORNING WILL BE THE FIRST CLOSURE AT THE CRIED NEAR TRAIL. THAT’S THE ENTIRE LOOP AROUND GR