Written by: Kimberly Eberl
Posted: Thursday, 27 March 2008
Page 3 of 5
Iowa
From July 20-26, 2008, Americans roll to the rolling prairie state of Iowa for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). During the seven day bicycle ride across the state, you’ll see the simple beauty of Iowa in the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world.Ryan Ball, 24, of Chicago says, “Every small town in Iowa gets involved in RAGBRAI, from hosting special festivals for bicyclists to allowing cyclists to stay with them. It’s a can’t miss experience.” Lance Armstrong himself even journeyed in the RAGBRAI and you can learn more at www.ragbrai.org.
Iowa has more than just a fields of bicycle and baseball dreams. It also hosts the internationally known Drake Relays. The track and field championships at Drake bring the best of the best for several days of endurance competition starting April 23. Amateur athletes can lace their sneakers for the 8K and half marathon races on April 26, which start and finish outside of Drake Stadium. Des Moines and the Quad City both host competitive and relatively flat marathons. The Dam to Dam 20K on May 31, is hailed as Iowa’s largest distance classic. Runners journey through the Iowa countryside and end in downtown Des Moines.
Not to be outdone by Drake, Ames, home of Iowa State University, hosts Midnight Madness, evening 5K and 10K runs in sweltering July. Closer to Chicago, The Bix 7 in Quad Cities is a hugely popular 7 miler with 15,000 participants strong. Iowa’s Pigman Triathlon series, which take place June 1 and August 17, are the best triathlons hands down in the corn husker state.
What's the appeal of endurance sports? It's hard to say, but it's easy to see that more and more athletes are getting hooked on 24-hour bike rides, ultraruns and any other way they can get an endurance fix. 
