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The countdown is on \\u2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Traverse City is just one month away. Heather talks about how her training is going and catches up with Joel Gaff, an endurance athlete and longtime northern Michigan race organizer who is serving as race director of IRONMAN 70.3 Traverse City.

Some 2,500 athetes are signed on for the Aug. 25 event.

\\u201cIt\\u2019s really been a totally different game, in a good way and in a lot of ways,\\u201d Joel says of taking on this new position. \\u201cThere\\u2019s a large support team with me \\u2026 It\\u2019s an exciting and challenging new opportunity. It\\u2019s been fun.\\u201d

Joel\\u2019s company Endurance Evolution is behind several northern Michigan road and trail races, as well as this weekend\\u2019s Traverse City Triathlon on Old Mission Peninsula. Heather is participating in the Olympic distance triathlon at this weekend\\u2019s event, and Joel shares how he\\u2019s seen a big uptick in the number of athletes signed on for the Olympic distance -- likely to help them prepare for IRONMAN 70.3 Traverse City.

Joel goes into detail about each course -- the swim in West Bay, the bike in Leelanau County, and the run in downtown Traverse City and around Boardman Lake. He also shares the best spots for spectators to see their athletes, as well as the ideal locations for parking on race day.\\xa0

Learn more about IRONMAN 70.3 by listening to these previous MRG podcast episodes:

- Behind the Scenes of Next Summer\'s IRONMAN 70.3 Traverse City

- Kicking off IRONMAN 70.3 Training with Rebecca and Tony Venticinque

- IRONMAN 70.3 Training Update