Sold-out Ironman 70.3 Augusta returns to Savannah River with contract now through 2030

On Sunday, September 27, a sold-out field of about 3,000 athletes will enter the Savannah River near the Sharon Jones Amphitheater and start the 1.2-mile down-current swim that opens IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta. It is the first race since the Augusta Sports Council extended the event through 2030.

The 70.3-mile course then sends riders through rural and south Augusta on a 56-mile bike leg, and brings them back downtown for a 13.1-mile run along the Augusta Riverwalk and the North Augusta Greeneway.

What drivers should know

WJBF's preview listed temporary closures and lane restrictions on Reynolds Street, 13th Street at Georgia Avenue, Gordon Highway, and U.S. 278, along with restricted access to the Augusta Riverwalk and the North Augusta Greeneway. The same report flagged downtown streets on the bike and run courses — 5th, 3rd, Taylor, Watkins, Sibley, Telfair, Reynolds, and 13th — plus key corridors in South Richmond County.

That means race day is not just on the river and the trails. It runs through the middle of a normal Sunday in Augusta, and drivers who need to cross town should plan around the course.

Locked in through 2030

The new part is the calendar. The Augusta Sports Council lists the race as renewed through 2030, turning what had been a year-to-year draw into a fixed piece of the city's sports calendar.

The sell-out shows the demand behind that commitment. WJBF reported about 3,000 athletes were expected, and the field was full before race day. A contract through 2030 is only as good as the fields it can keep filling; Augusta already had its answer before the first swimmer enters the river.

For the Savannah River corridor, the 2030 date matters more than any single race morning. It means the downtown riverbank and the Greeneway will keep getting this event — and the thousands of athletes who come with it — for the rest of the decade.