More than 1,500 triathletes are set to compete today in the seventh-annual Ironman 70.3 Kansas at Clinton State Park.

The professional race will start at 6:30 a.m. at Clinton Lake’s south boat dock with a 1.2-mile swim. The swimming leg will loop back to the dock, where the triathletes will then take off on a 56-mile bike ride. The bike course will stretch across the Clinton Lake dam and venture into southwestern Douglas County before taking the competitors back to the park. The race will conclude with a 13.1-mile run through Campground 3.

While the men’s and women’s champions from 2013, Craig Alexander and Emma-Kate Lidbury, are not competing today, race director Ryan Robinson said that the half-Ironman will still feature some of the world’s top triathletes.

“Rachel Joyce will be here, and she won the race, I believe, a couple of years back,” Robinson said. “We’ve got a stacked field this year.”

Joyce, born in Mexico City and raised in the United Kingdom, was the runner-up in the 2013 Ironman World Championship and won Ironman 70.3 Kansas in 2012.

The age-group race is scheduled to start eight minutes after the gun goes off for the professional triathlon. An awards ceremony will follow at 3:30 p.m. at Campground 3, pending the time of the final finisher.

The top-40 finishers will qualify for the Ironman World Championship Aug. 17 in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

Triathlon features local ties

Along with athletes such as Joyce, who have had success at the international level, Ironman 70.3 Kansas will include several top in-state competitors.

Jessica Jacobs, a professional triathlete since 2007, resides at Fort Leavenworth with her husband, Maj. Michael Jacobs. Jessica was an Army officer as well before turning pro and has gone on to win three full and three half-Ironmans.

The former logistics officer said there are several similarities between military and triathlon training.

“In the military, you’re told what to do, and a lot of times you just don’t question it. You just do it because that’s exactly how you need to execute an order,” Jessica said. “That’s how it is with triathlons. You just have a long day ahead of you, especially when you’re doing a half Ironman or a whole Ironman.”

Jessica is returning to Ironman Kansas 70.3 for the first time since the inaugural race in 2008. She knows the course has changed since the first time she competed at the Clinton, but she is looking forward to the challenge.

“I think it has gotten a lot more popular through the years as a Midwest race,” Jessica said. “We don’t have a whole lot of Midwest racing, so people kind of gravitate toward Kansas in June because they are so eager.”

Along with putting in her own preparation, Jessica has been coaching troops who are stationed at Fort Leavenworth to compete in today’s event.

Maj. Dervan Taafe-McMenamy has competed in one sprint and one Olympic-distance triathlon, but today will be her first half-Ironman.

“I think it is going to be a very challenging race, physically and mentally,” Taafe-McMenamy said. “I think there is going to be a lot of great competition there, so I’m really excited about seeing the field of athletes and getting exposed to some really competitive triathletes.”

Maj. Josh Mendoza has also been training with Jessica while he has been stationed at Fort Leavenworth. Like Taafe-McMenamy, Mendoza has competed in sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, but today will be his first half-Ironman.

“(Triathlon training) is much more intense because there is a lot more endurance and more hours,” Mendoza said. “With military training, you have to run, be able to do some pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups, whereas the half-Ironman is total body.”