A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Photo courtesy of Brightroom.com
Hagg Lake has hosted several endurance events over the years, including the USA Triathlon Age Group Championships in 2007
ADVERTISEMENTS
Move over, weekend warriors. Forest Grove could be teeming with hard bodies come September 2009 – for at least a week, anyway.
A group of civic boosters is heading up an attempt to bring the Ironman triathlon to Hagg Lake, nestled in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range just five miles southwest of town.
The race would be the last official qualifier for anyone aspiring to compete in next year’s Ironman World Championship, held in Kona, Hawaii.
An endurance event that’s not for the faint of heart, the Ironman is what USA Triathlon calls an “ultra distance” event – a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and, last but not least, a 26.2-mile run (also known as a marathon).
The Ironman is the most internationally renowned race of its kind, drawing people from all over the world to each race – especially to the world championship in Kona, which is next scheduled for Oct. 11, 2009.
If Forest Grove is fortunate enough to nail down “Ironman Oregon,” it would join just six other cities in the United States as official Kona qualifiers, said Gary Wallesen of Beaverton, who designed the course that was submitted with the city’s application.
Other Ironman races are held each year in Tempe, Ariz.; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Panama City Beach, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; Lake Placid, N.Y.; and Madison, Wis.
The World Triathlon Corp., based in Florida, would even give the local event its own web site, likely www.ironmanoregon.com. “It's a pretty big deal,” Wallesen said.
About 1,800 competitors would gather on the shore of Hagg Lake to vie for 70 to 100 slots at the Hawaii championship.
“We’ve been deeply involved and invested in this,” said Wallesen, a triathlete and marketing director for AthletesLounge in Hillsboro, a company that stages triathlons in the region. “I think (Forest Grove) submitted a pretty strong package.”
Besides its status as a qualifier for the Hawaii Ironman, a Forest Grove-based race would also be “an individual event that people are going to aspire to once in their lifetime,” Wallesen predicted.
Forest Grove is being considered along with Bend and Eugene as venues for the Oregon qualifier. Ironman officials plan to visit Forest Grove in six weeks to observe the site, the route and the town.
After that, they’ll make their final decision.
“I went through and did the logistics, and I think Forest Grove is the best (of the three),” Elena Uhing, a Forest Grove city councilor, said with a chuckle.
The chosen community will be laughing all the way to the bank. “Ironman itself will commit $100,000 for the host community to use however we see fit,” Uhing noted.
Town leaders predict the Ironman would represent an economic coup for the city, the Portland metro area and, ultimately, the entire state.
“Tourism in Oregon supplies about $3.3 billion to (the state) economy,” said Uhing. “It really is a huge asset to Oregon to have another event come here. We’re looking at about $10 million from this event in direct economic impact. It’s a nice amount of money.”
Uhing got involved in the application process several months ago, after overhearing a conversation at a Washington County Visitor’s Association office-warming party. A WCVA employee was discussing the possibility of the Ironman coming to Hagg Lake, and wondered out loud about where to place the finish line.
Uhing suggested the new athletic complex at Pacific University in Forest Grove’s Lincoln Park, figuring it would make a “fabulous finish line.”
Soon, Uhing sat down with City Manager Michael Sykes, Mayor Richard Kidd and Economic Development Coordinator Jeff King. After working out some details and gathering some information, they decided the Ironman was something the whole town needed to be involved in.
The Washington County Visitors Association, the Oregon Sports Authority (a state-funded organization that draws large-scale athletic events to the state) and Travel Oregon (a state travel and tourism organization) also joined the effort, working together to secure hotel rooms and resources needed for the triathlon.
“You had to be able to commit to a certain amount of rooms. Travel Oregon said they’d be willing to back us on that,” said Uhing. “We had to show (Ironman officials) that we would be able to accommodate that many people.”
Aside from finding housing for nearly 2,000 athletes – as well as 30,000 to 50,000 spectators – Forest Grove has to prove it has the sponsorships needed to host these people for a week.
According to Uhing, the WCVA, the Oregon Sports Authority and Tuality Healthcare have provided enough money to put Forest Grove in the running.
“Tuality is our official sponsor, and I will be looking for more sponsors,” she said. “I’m hoping for one more big one, but I still would like to see some small ones, because I think it gives the community a lot of visibility.”
1 | 2 Next Page >>
Find a paper
Enter a street name
or a 5 digit zip code
Browse archive
The Forest Grove News-Times
Sports feed
Facebook
Digg
Del.icio.us
Newsvine
Stumbleupon
Reddit
