Friday, October 23, 2009

What is an Ironman?

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races consisting of a 2.4 miles (3.86 km) swim, a 112 miles (180.25 km) bike and a marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) run, raced in that order and without a break.
I’ve been surprised that whenever I mention an Ironman competition many people have no idea what it is and what it consists of. I guess because it’s been my dream to compete in an Ironman since the race first moved to Kona on the big island of Hawaii in 1982. That year (four years after the very first Ironman competition) the world saw images of Julie Moss collapsing just short of victory. While eventual winner Kathleen McCartney passed her to win, Julie valiantly stood, stumbled, fell and finally crawled the final yards to cross the finish line sending a powerful image of will and determination to finish this difficult event.
With this image etched on my mind I've been asking myself for years, can I finish an Ironman?