The Ironman

One of my most favorite sporting events in the world takes place today, and no, it’s not the opening game of the World Series or the Temple-Northern Illinois game.

Today is Ironman day. The day some of the badest men and women on the planet turn up on the Hawaiian Island of Kona to swim for 2.4 miles, cycle for 112, all to warm themselves up for a marathon.

Pretty damn cool.

To avoid confusion, though, it should be noted that an “Ironman” is any race that consists of the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run. The Ironman event in Hawaii is the sports’ world championship and, like the Boston Marathon or Olympic Trials, requires relatively strict qualifying standards for entry. That means the crème de la crème of the triathlon are typically in Hawaii for the event.

In fact, there are 22 Ironman events around the globe each year, including six in the United States. However, aspirants for Hawaii can qualify not only at the Ironman events, but also one of the shorter half-Ironmans or Olympic distance events (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run).

Needless to say, if one were to qualify for Hawaii, one goes.

Unfortunately, The Ironman, as the Hawaiian race is known, is not televised until next month when NBC can edit and dramaticize the event. Needless to say, there are tons of human-interest stories at The Ironman, as well as the always grueling and exciting race for the World Championship. Aside from that, athletes that most would never hear about, like Dave Scott and the irrepressible Mark Allen have created careers out of their numerous victories in Hawaii.

At the same time, Allen’s wife, Julie Moss, became a legend at The Ironman. Moss’ claim to fame came in the ’82 Ironman when, dehydrated, she tried to crawl to the finish line to win the race only to be passed just before the line.

Words don’t do it justice:



So until I get to Hawaii (I have to learn how to swim without sinking first), my Saturday will be spent watching the race on the Internet before tuning into the first game of the World Series.

I think I’ll skip the Temple-Northern Illinois game.

Apropos of nothing, the USATF could learn a lot of promoting its sport and its athletes by copying the playbook of the World Triathlon Corporation. For that matter, so too could most of the major league sports. The Ironman web site is one of the best "league" sports sites out there.

Chicago eve
For the endurance junkies out there, check out the ChasingKIMBIA site, which has been documenting a few of the contender's preparation for Sunday's Chicago Marathon.

I'm also standing by my predictions of a sub-2:10 for Brian Sell, a top 3 finish for American Abdi Abdirahman, and a victory for Japan-based Kenyan Daniel Njenga.