View from the top

Technology is an amazing thing. It lets us preview race courses in ways which we could barely dream about just 10 years ago. Thanks to the miracle of Google Maps, we can see the race sites as they appear from space. From SPACE!

For example, look at this section of the Ironman Coeur d'Alene bike course. Notice the lush, thick forest. The serene lake. Absolutely beautiful.



Now take a peek at Ironman Wisconsin. Amazing farmland everywhere you look. Picture-perfect landscapes. This is America's Heartland, and we were a part of it.



Here's the Kona course. Desert. Dirt. Pretty much nothing but death for as far as the eye can see.



I've watched plenty of the Ironman World Championships on DVD, and I've seen lots of footage of the bike course. I knew it was barren, but the aerial view just REALLY makes it look bad. Hawaii has arguably some of the most beautiful scenery on the entire planet, yet the race has to go through the testing grounds for the Mars landers.

Such is the irony, or Ironmany, of the Kona World Championships.