{"id":809419,"date":"2026-05-20T08:19:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/809419\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T08:19:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:19:23","slug":"ironman-jacksonville-a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-race-day-and-the-dolphins-didnt-disappoint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/809419\/","title":{"rendered":"IRONMAN Jacksonville: A behind-the-scenes look at race day (and the dolphins didn\u2019t disappoint)"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 For so many IRONMAN participants<\/a>, this test of strength and willpower is the ultimate high. News4Jax Anchor Joy Purdy got the chance to go behind the scenes on race day\u2014bringing you as close to the action as possible, from the swim start to the transition zone (and even a surprise dolphin sighting along the course).<\/p>\n

Meet our guide: Casey Taker<\/b><\/p>\n

Our \u201crace-day tour guide\u201d was Casey Taker, Ironman\u2019s community media specialist\u2014and an Ironman finisher herself.<\/p>\n

Casey greeted Joy energetically, as though it weren\u2019t really 6 in the morning. \u201cGood morning! Happy race day!\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey walked Joy through how the \u201cswim start\u201d works, including how athletes line up based on anticipated finish time\u2014similar to corrals at a running race\u2014so swimmers are grouped with others who swim at a similar pace.<\/p>\n

The swim start: strategy before the splash<\/b><\/p>\n

At the swim staging area, Casey explained why the lineup matters\u2014and how it helps keep the start organized and safer for athletes. Then the energy ramped up as the announcer welcomed competitors to the inaugural event, and the first athletes entered the water.<\/p>\n

Dolphins on the course<\/b><\/p>\n

While watching the action, we spotted dolphins in the water near the race route.<\/p>\n

Joy spotted them first this morning. \u201cOh my gosh\u2014look how many there are!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was one of those only-in-Jacksonville moments\u2014 and seemed like the dolphins were checking out what all the commotion was about.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>JSO shares lessons learned, what might change after Ironman Jacksonville traffic headaches<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Athletes with incredible stories<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the best parts of the morning was meeting competitors and supporters.<\/p>\n

Audrey Drake (Wisconsin)<\/b> said she\u2019s 66 years old (turning 67 in July)\u2014and this was her fifth Ironman.<\/p>\n

We also caught up with Brooke Bennett<\/b>, a three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer, who joked that while swimming is her strength, Ironman is a different kind of challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever \u2013- we\u2019re at an Ironman\u2026 and my day goes downhill.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Jacksonville City Councilman Raul Arias shared what it took to prepare. He\u2019s been training, \u201cfor about a year\u2014but hard core training the last 6 months\u2026 waking up at 5 in the morning, training for 3 hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transition time: where seconds matter<\/b><\/p>\n

After the swim, we moved to the transition area\u2014where swimmers exit the water, run up the ramp at a dock, and head toward their bikes at Memorial Park in Riverside. This is also where professional \u201cpeelers\u201d help strip wetsuits and speed suits off Ironman participants quickly to save racers precious time.<\/p>\n

From there, athletes hit the red carpet \u2013 which is an actual, red carpet leading into the park \u2013 then ran their awaiting bikes out toward the next stage of the race.<\/p>\n

The bike leg begins<\/b><\/p>\n

By late morning, the bikers were well underway\u2014leaving Riverside and heading toward Nocatee in St. Johns County, as the race stretched across our area.<\/p>\n

And yes\u2014Joy admits: She tapped out at that point. After being out there from about 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., she grabbed a trolley back to her car.<\/p>\n

A quick thank you<\/b><\/p>\n

Joy wants to give a big thank you to her 16-year-old daughter, who served as her photographer for the morning (she was volun-told) and helped capture the behind-the-scenes view of race day!<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 For so many IRONMAN participants, this test of strength and willpower is the ultimate high.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":809420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,182481,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-809419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-america","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-ironman","tag-jacksonville","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116605928649211519","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}