Spectacular Newfoundland Event Includes Defending Champs

Defending champions Alexander and Carfrae highlight field at Ironman 70.3 Newfoundland

With defending men's champion Craig Alexander set to take on a competitive men's field that includes Chris Legh, Richie Cunningham and Canadian favorite Brent McMahon, this weekend's Ironman 70.3 Newfoundland promises to be quite a race. That'll be at the front of the race, but you can be sure that the rest of the athletes competing on Sunday will enjoy a spectacular race experience, too. Defending women's champion, Mirinda Carfrae, last year's winner of the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3, will take on Canadian Sara Gross and Scotland's Catriona Morrison in the women's race.

Newfoundland is renowned for the hospitality shown to tourists and athletes alike, which certainly helps attract athletes to this event. That’s just one of the attractions, though – the course winds through the beautiful Humber River Valley Region of western Newfoundland, one of the prettiest spots in Canada.

For more than a decade Corner Brook hosted an ITU World Cup event and that experience is one of the reasons the 70.3 event debuted so successfully in 2007. The day starts at the sandy Pasadena Beach with a swim in Deer Lake – a warmer lake than was used for the old ITU swim in Corner Brook. (Water temperature is expected to be 19 C, which means the swim will be wetsuit legal but not too cold.)

The two-loop bike course meanders through a magnificent valley shouldered by forested mountains, the Marble Mountain Ski Resort and the mighty Humber River. It's highlighted by a stunning turnaround on a hilltop lookout that offers a view of Corner Brook and the Bay of Islands. Getting to that lookout is a challenge, though, considering there's a four km climb that goes up over 160 m.

Rounding out the race is a run course every bit as spectacular as the bike. The run follows the scenic shores of Deer Lake with views of both the golf course and Humber Valley Resort.