BIKEIOWA provides Course Support to IMT Des Moines Marathon
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Fri October 13 2017
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Posted Oct 13, 2017
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This weekend BIKEIOWA.com will provide the Bicycle Course Support for the IMT Des Moines Marathon for the 16th year!
Over 60 cyclists will provide support for 8,000+ athletes on the Full and Half marathons as well as the 5k and 5 mile runs.
What is Bicycle Course Support? Every cyclist is assigned a "section-pace" to ride. A section=pace may consist of a lead (3 1/2 hrs of faster), middle (3 1/2 to 5 1/2 hrs) or back-of-the-pack (5 1/2 - 7 hrs). We assign lead cyclissts for the race leaders, both male and female as well as wheelchair or blind assisted athletes.
Each cyclist rides the entire course as they remain with a certain 'section' of the race as it progresses. Many cyclists will finish their race and then double back to aid those at the end.
Each cyclist carries general first aid supplies, ensures crowd control, negotiates obstacles and aids the runners with any questions they may have.
Des Moines is Special - We are told that the IMT Des Moines Marathon is unique to have such a large Bicycle Course Support Group. To our knowledge, there is not another marathon in the country with as many personable Bicycle Course Supporter as Des Moines.
Cheer - If you see one of our Course Support cyclists on the course give them a thumbs up and a cheer! They are dedicating their Sunday to support athletes from all over the world. They will be wearing RED long-sleeved shirts.
BIKEIOWA.com has been offering Bicycle Course Support since the First Marathon on Oct 4th 2002. We've enjoyed watching the marathon grow from a small grassroots event to one of the premier running events in the USA! We are glad to be part of it!