New half-marathon coming to Asheville and new Half-Ironman race coming to Lake Logan in 204

Getting word on two big new races for the Asheville area. The first is a Half-Ironman race, set for Aug. 2 at Lake Logan. As far as I know, this is the first Half-Ironman in the Asheville area. Earlier this year, Asheville officials made a bid to attract a full Ironman race to Lake Lure. The bid was unsuccessful.

More on the Lake Logan Half here. What is a Half-Ironman, you ask? From wiki:

An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The “70.3” refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments is half the distance of that segment in an Ironman triathlon.

There’s also a new half-marathon coming to Asheville next summer. I’m not sure of the date. It is being organized by the folks who organize the popular Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, S.C. The race there is a 10-K across a scenic bridge. As far as I know, there’s only one half-marathon in Asheville right now, the one that’s been held for several years now by the Asheville Citizen-Times.

These new races arrive as Asheville closes out a year with an ever-increasing array of outdoor races. This year was the first year for not one but two full marathons – one on the Biltmore Estate and one held in downtown Asheville in conjunction with the Citizen-Times half-marathon.