Thousands Preparing For IRONMAN Tulsa

We're less than a month away from Ironman's first race in Tulsa.

Thousands of athletes are preparing to take off on a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, then run a marathon here in Green Country. Athletes will cross the finish line right here at Guthrie Green on May 23rd, but there's a lot going on behind the scenes to make this day a success!

Tulsa Native, Noel Mulkey, is down to his last few weeks of training ahead of the first Ironman race in his hometown.

"I've been training upwards of 20 to 30 hours a week for this, I do 4-5 bikes a week, I swim almost 6 days a week and I am running 5 to 6 days a week too,” said Mulkey.

Mulkey has been detailing his training process on TikTok and had the chance to race twice in 2020 after Ironman Tulsa was postponed until 2021. 

"It feels like there's a little bit more pressure now since we have been waiting so long,” said Mulkey. “I think everyone is antsy, on all the Facebook groups everyone is super excited."

The race on May 23rd starts with a 2.4-mile swim in Keystone Lake at Keystone State Park. Athletes will then hop on their bikes for a 112-mile bike ride through Creek, Osage, and Tulsa Counties.  Then they'll drop their bikes off at OSU Tulsa before running a marathon along Riverside, finishing at Guthrie Green.

"The city just plays out really well to something our athletes will enjoy,” said Ironman Regional Director Scott Langen, “The course itself has just the right amount of challenge so this will not be a cake walk by any stretch of the imagination"

Organizers say due to the pandemic, it will be an athlete-only experience, meaning only athletes and volunteers will be allowed in the course areas, but they are always in need of volunteers.

"There's a wealth of positions available and they all come with donation amounts to charity so if you have a group involved then we can donate to your charity and help the community even greater,” said Langen.

The Ironman race in Tulsa has 75 qualifier spots to the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

If you want to volunteer at Ironman Tulsa, you can email Imtulsa@ironmanvolunteers.com or by CLICKING HERE