First Impressions: Panama

The view of downtown Panama City from the run course. Looks better from here! Photo: Kurt Hoy

Steve Godwin stands on the pier near the start. The view is up the canal. Racers will cross the bridge during the bike leg of Sunday's Ironman 70.3 Panama. Follow Steve on Twitter @sgodwinfilms for updates throughout the weekend. Photo: Kurt Hoy

The old "muelle" at the swim start. Swimmers head to the left. To the right is the bridge over the canal. Water quality is much better here than closer to downtown Panama City. Photo: Kurt Hoy

A view of the pier at the start of the swim. Ironman 70.3 Panama. Photo: Kurt Hoy

The sign on the right says that the pier will be closed for two hours on Sunday morning. Photo: Kurt Hoy

On Sunday, the pier will belong to Ironman. Today, it's business as usual—selling tickets for boat rides up the canal. Photo: Kurt Hoy

This is the narrow strip of land that makes up the run course. It's flat, with views of the canal and downtown Panama City. This is also the safest place to run and ride. Traffic in the city is crazy. Photo: Kurt Hoy

Only a handful of athletes were on the course Thursday. Photo: Kurt Hoy

The pool at the Riu hotel was all tanning and texting on Thursday morning. Later in the day, pros like Magali Tisserye, Leanda Cave, and Chris Lieto loosened up here. It's even rumored that one Dónde Juan Pelota swam a few laps in this very pool. There's an Olympic pool in Panama City, a short taxi ride from the hotel. Photo: Kurt Hoy (Twitter updates from Panama: @kurthoy)

Locals play a game of soccer in an oceanfront field near the run turnaround. Photo: Kurt Hoy

The run course is made up of two laps on the Amador Causeway. This is the turnaround. Photo: Kurt Hoy

Around sunset (6 pm), a ship passes under the bridge that racers will cross twice on the out-and-back bike course at Ironman 70.3 Panama. Photo: Kurt Hoy