The motto says it all. "Normal limits do not apply." It's hard to say what makes the Ironman Lanzarote course so tough. There's heat, high winds, and a challenging bike course that winds its way up and down two mountains. A swim is a swim, and the 2-loop ocean swim is a great way to start the long day. The bike course is where things get really tough for the roughly 700 competitors. By the time all is said and done, they will have climbed more than 2,600 meters (that's 9,000 feet!). Oh, lest we forget, there is still the run. The out-and-back run course is relatively flat. What makes it so tough are the winds, and the heat ... and the fact that it's a marathon.