Watching an IRONMAN race is an endurance event all on its own. It requires a lot of planning to follow your athlete on a course that features a 1.4-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run, but it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Whether you’re following a particular athlete or simply there to support them all, here are some tips to help with your IRONMAN Chattanooga viewing experience.

Find a map of the IRONMAN 70.3 course in Chattanooga here. 

The Swim

IRONMAN 70.3

Because of the swim’s unique point-to-point route, you can watch almost every stroke if you’re so inclined. We recommend renting a bike from Bike Chattanooga for the day because it will get you everywhere you need to go. There are docking stations all over downtown, and a day pass will cost you just $8.

Spectators will have a great view of the entire swim as they walk or bike along side the swimmers on the Chattanooga Riverwalk. You'll be able to see the athletes exit the Tennessee River at Ross’s Landing before beginning their run. Some options for you along the route include:

  • Stop by the Lookout Rowing Club, which offers high ground to watch your athlete make his or her way downstream. You’ll be close enough to pick out individuals if you’re really talented.

  • From the overlook at the Hunter Museum of American Art and the Walnut Street Bridge you can see the river and also get a sprawling view of North Chattanooga. You can see the swim exit from here — and the athletes can sense it getting close, too. Just one more slight kink in the river separates them from their bike.

  • The Market Street Bridge offers the perfect bird’s eye view of swimmers as they finish this portion of the race. You can see them exit the water and head into transition.

The Bike
Chattanooga Ironman participants rides bike on road with field behind them.

The bike portion of IRONMAN Chattanooga typically offers spectators a break. The course takes riders 11 miles south of town before beginning two 47-mile loops in north Georgia. The athletes will climb Lookout Mountain and enjoy a ride through historic downtown Chickamauga before finishing back at Ross's Landing. This is a great chance to grab coffee and breakfast at one of the many local eateries like Milk & Honey, or  Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant which are all within walking distance of the course. Some options to see the athletes in action during the bike include:

  • If you want to venture off the course but still be close to the action, head to the First Tennessee Pavilion. The Chattanooga Market and Chew Chew Dog Park come alive on Sundays, with local merchants selling items like hand-crafted art, fresh produce, and everything in between. You’ll get to see athletes finishing the ride by the time the market is open, and it’s easy to get back to transition from here.

  • If you’re willing to drive, Mountain Cove Farms is the furthest point on the bike course and features some of the most beautiful, secluded countryside in the whole area. You can see athletes make the turn to head back north on both loops. The country store here is a favorite of local cyclists, too. However, you have only two good options for viewing here: Come early, bring a picnic lunch and wait for the last cyclists—or drive further south and take Highway 157 over Lookout Mountain back to Chattanooga.

  • The transition area—specifically, just outside of transition—is a great place to see the athletes in action. Located at Ross’ Landing, not only do the athletes come through here twice (at the beginning and end), they’ll also be moving a little bit slower so you can shout some much-needed words of encouragement.

The Run

Spor_IRONMAN Run

Here’s where the IRONMAN really comes alive. Not to minimize the challenge of cycling 116 miles, but running through the finishing tape is what every triathlete dreams about. The more iconic, the better—and Chattanooga's course is one that the athletes won’t soon forget.

You’ll have anywhere from 3.5 to 7 hours to watch your runner, so there’s no need to stake out the finish line just yet. Have dinner and drinks at a Frazier Avenue eatery, like Brewhaus where you can sit on the back porch and watch athletes crossing the Walnut Street Bridge.

As athletes start the run, they begin on a fairly tranquil section of the Riverwalk—the same section from which you watched them swim. It’ll be a reminder of how far they’ve come, and how far they have left to run. Ride your city bike to the first turnaround (about four miles in) at the corner of Riverport Road and Amnicola Highway. Athletes will face some small rises back into town before crossing Veteran’s Bridge. Then the fun starts.  Other places to watch the run include:

  • The Bluff View Art District is a great hang-out spot for watching the action from a distance. Watch runners cross Veteran's Bridge from the two-acre River Gallery Sculpture Garden with a Rembrandt's coffee and pastry in hand. 

  • Riverview Park is a great spot for keeping young kids entertained during a day that’s long and tiring for everybody. This park is just a block from the run course, where you could see an athlete up to four times.

  • Get up close and personal with the athletes on the Walnut Street Bridge. As they run toward the city’s skyline, there’s nothing better than the support of friends, family, and total strangers. If it’s their first loop, they’ll be excited to hit the halfway point. And if it’s their second loop, watch out—because they might give you a massive, sweaty bear hug, with the finish line less than a mile away.

The Finish Line

IRONMAN

An IRONMAN finish line is like nothing else you’ve ever experienced. The pros usually finish in 8 or 9 hours, while competitive age group athletes are in the 10 to 14-hour range. But, the dedicated troopers who finish closer to the midnight cutoff really electrify the finish line. It’s so thrilling, in fact, that many of the athletes who finish by dinner time will come back and ring in the last finishers. There’s nothing like hearing the announcer shout, “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” loud enough for all of Chattanooga to take note. This is where grown men cry and tiny women roar like lions. You may know them, you may not. But you’ve taken a 17-hour journey with them, and your cheers will forever echo in their memory of when they became an IRONMAN.

When the fire has died down, hungry athletes and families will be searching for late-night sustenance. Check out Hi-Fi Clyde's, the Flying Squirrel, or Hair of the Dog to remedy the midnight munchies and a pint of beer for your reward for a job well done!