The inaugural running of Ironman China and the Ironman 70.3 China triathlons is scheduled to take place in less than two weeks; on April 20, 2008 to be exact. This will be fourth Ironman race scheduled to take place in the month of April in 2008. The races are set to take place on island of Hainan a vacation gem set in the South China Sea, basically China's version of Hawaii. The island features pristine blue waters teeming with reef fish and unspoiled white-sand beaches set against a lush tropical background, . It is a rapidly developing international destination with world-class facilities, including five-star resort hotels. Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province, offers all the facilities important to a triathlon, such as roads, communications, high-speed Internet service, and governmental cooperation. All factors considered, Haikou is a world-class venue with all the amenities necessary to make your stay enjoyable.

There are many first's tied to these two events. After many attempts, this will be the first time China get's its own Ironman race off the ground and it will be the first time an Ironman 70.3 race has been staged in the country as well. Also unique is that both race will take place on the same day and will be the first time that a full-distance Ironman and Ironman 70.3 race will be staged at the same venue on the same day. Roughly 700 people have decided to register for these races without much knowledge of the area and the course. Of the 700 triathletes roughly 185 of them will be from the host country while nearly 100 of them will be from the United States the rest of the participants are comprised of a broad mix of participants from around the world.

Many triathletes do some sort of research before choosing to participate in a race, especially for these types of distances. In this case we don't know much about the area, the course, the organization and what it takes to get there but we will sure find out once the race is over with race coverage, pictures and blog posts all over the internet. For those participating and wondering what the area might look like here is a course preview video for the Ironman China and Ironman 70.3 China triathlon races.