_ 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 TRIATHLON - Ohio:

Delaware, Ohio offers athletes looking for a low-key IRONMAN 70.3 the perfect mix of urban amenities and rural Midwestern charm. Its downtown shopping district, including the Delaware Commons pedestrian mall and downtown Delaware, contains an increasing number of large retail stores and restaurants. 

The IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio triathlon begins with a single-loop, 1.2-mile swim in the calm waters of Delaware Lake. Athletes will then embark on a flat and fast 56-mile bike course that includes a few technical sections along the way. The course will wind through Delaware, Marion and Morrow counties before returning to Transition 2, located at Ohio Wesleyan University's Selby Stadium. Finally, athletes will take on a double-loop, 13.1-mile run course with gently rolling hills. The course offers scenic country views and an amazing finish in front of Selby Stadium.

In many ways the quintessential American university town, Delaware, located less than 30 miles north of the capital city of Columbus, offers bookstores, a historical cinema, coffee shops, organic food stores, and many restaurants. Downtown stores meet almost any need. There are hardware stores, bookstores, a cycling shop, a candy shop, a fair trade shop, and gourmet gift shops. Delaware residents support a popular farmer's market, professional theaters, the Ballet Met, the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Opera Columbus, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Delaware Community Chorus, and many theater opportunities. The city also hosts one of the main flea markets in the area every Sunday afternoon, and is also famous for The Little Brown Jug, an internationally known horse race which is part of the Triple Crown of harness racing.