The City of Sandusky is excited to welcome IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio back to the shores of Lake Erie on Sunday, July 23, 2023.

The half-ironman event consists of a 1.2-mile swim in the Sandusky Bay, a 56-mile bike through rural farmland roads of Erie and Sandusky Counties, and a 13.1-mile run through the historic Kilbourne Plat of Sandusky.

Athletes and their families will begin arriving in the area Thursday with more than 1,500 athletes expected to participate.

“We are so excited for the return of the IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio event to Sandusky next week," said City of Sandusky Recreation Superintendent Jason Werling. “From the local businesses to our neighborhoods, our city shined in 2022 during the first year of the event. We can’t wait to showcase our city and the Shores & Islands Ohio region to this year’s group of athletes and their friends and family for this year’s event. We couldn’t support the triathlon without the hundreds of local volunteers who keep the athletes safe and hydrated along the swim, bike and run routes.”

Visit the IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio website for more information about the race.

There will be various parking restrictions and road closures throughout the area for the race.

Pre-Race Day Closures
The following downtown parking lots and streets will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning on the date listed through Sunday, July 23:

Shelby Street Boat Launch Overflow Lot – Monday, July 17
Jackson Street Pier – Wednesday, July 19
Paper District Marina Lot – Thursday, July 20
100 Blocks of Columbus Ave. & E. Water St. – Friday, July 21

Race Day Road Closures & Parking Restrictions
Run Course:
Parking restrictions will go into effect at 6:00 PM on Saturday, July 22 through 6:00 PM Sunday, July 23 on the run course streets. The streets will be closed to all vehicular traffic on Sunday, July 23 from 7:45 AM – 4:30 PM. Residents will not be able to drive on or cross these streets during that time. If any residents who live on one of the run course streets expect to need vehicle access during Sunday morning or afternoon, it is recommended to park their vehicle on an adjacent street. All properties located along the run course were mailed a copy of the 2023 Traffic Impact Guide explaining the details of the street closures. (Red streets on map.)

Bike Course:
Only a select few street segments will close for the bike race, which will be closed to vehicle traffic from 6:00 AM – 1:30 PM on Sunday, July 23, 2023. Parking restrictions will go into effect at 6:00 PM on Saturday, July 22 through 6:00 PM Sunday, July 23 on these streets. (Purple streets on map.)
The majority of the bike course streets will remain open to traffic, but there will be delays from 6:30 AM to 1:00pm on Sunday.

Downtown Access Streets (Green streets on the map):
Downtown and other areas of the Kilbourne Plat area can be accessed by designated access streets. Shoreline Drive, Water St., and Jefferson St. can be accessed from Meigs St. Washington St. can be accessed via Camp St. or Tiffin Ave.

Google Maps and Waze will account for road closures and detours on race morning.

Downtown Road Closure Map

Traffic Impact Guide