Trevor Foley raises the Ironman Lake Placid banner after crossing the finish line on the Olympic Speedskating Oval on Sunday (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — Ironman Lake Placid, the second-longest-running Ironman event in North America, is set to return for its 26th edition on Sunday, July 20.

Around 2,300 competitors from all over the world take part in the 140.6-mile Ironman race that consists of a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run, according to Race Director Greg Borzilleri.

The field size is a bit smaller than in years past, but Borzilleri said that’s the intention.

“(It’s) due to restrictions from the requests of the community,” he said.

Since this race’s inception in 1999, there has always been an abundance of local triathletes willing to take on the long challenge. This year is no different, as there are 20 individuals from the Tri-Lakes and the surrounding areas eager to compete.

“The fact that we have locals competing is fun,” Borzilleri said. “And it’s good to get them back in.”

He added that some of these competitors have done an Ironman before, like father-and-son duo Brian and Colin Delaney, while others, like Mike Morrison — who works with Borzilleri at Bike Lake Placid — are doing their first-ever triathlon. Spectators will be able to follow certain athletes in real-time using the Ironman app.

The race will also feature professional athletes once again, including last year’s champions, Trevor Foley and Danielle Lewis. Foley set the Ironman Lake Placid course record in 2024, becoming the first person to finish this event in under 8 hours. Meanwhile, it was Lewis’s first full-distance Ironman victory after passing the 2022 champion Sarah True in the running portion. In total, there are 52 professional men competing and 28 professional women.

The event will offer a maximum of 5,000 points towards Ironman Pro Series standings, a $125,000 prize purse and four qualifying slots for each gender to the Ironman World Championship triathlon — in Nice, France, for the men’s race and Kona, Hawaii, for the women’s race.

While the entire course has undergone some changes in its soon-to-be 26 runnings — namely, to the biking portion and finish area — that won’t be the case this time around, as Borzilleri said it’s the exact same as last year’s.

Ironman competitors will kick off the day with two 1.2-mile laps on Mirror Lake, before removing their bodysuits at the beach with the help of volunteers and racing toward the bike transition on the Olympic Speedskating Oval.

Athletes will then ride from the oval toward Mount Van Hoevenberg. They will then make their way toward Jay, before taking a right on the covered bridge and traveling up Stickney Bridge Road, before taking a left on state Route 9N, followed by a right on state Route 86 toward Wilmington.

The racers will make a few turns on Bilhuber Road and Haselton Road before heading back to Lake Placid for a second lap. During the run, the competitors will run from the oval to Riverside Drive, before turning back around and going down Mirror Lake Drive to finish their first loop.

The race will start at the municipal beach on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid just before 7 a.m. and officially finish at midnight.

Also, this weekend will be the Ironkids Dip-n-Dash and Fun Run on Friday. Borzilleri said this just so happens to be his favorite event.

“We’d love to have as many people bring their kids out and watch the Dip-n-Dash and get their kids in the Ironkids portion because the Dip-n-Dash is sold out,” he said. “But there are still slots in the fun run portion.”

For more information about Ironman Lake Placid, visit ironman.com/im-lake-placid.