Saturday, October 11, 2008
My morning started at early. VERY early. By 4am I was dressed and ready to go for the long, but exciting day ahead. With the help of my friend Starbucks double shot caffeine + energy
drink I was ready for some carpe diem action!
At 5:30am the VIP suite opened up to all of special people donning the coveted VIP wristband. Breakfast was served while everyone was staking claim to a seat where they could see one of the two flat screen TVs showing the live coverage of the race.
About 45 minutes before the start of the race an armed forces airplane dropped two Navy Seals with parachutes into the Pacific below. One of the parachuters was interest story David Goggins, a Navy Seal who prior to this had only done an Ultraman (an event that trumps the Ironman in terms of distance). He and his fellow Seal swam from their dropping point back to shore, where they would later join the rest of the age groupers for the start of the race.
At this time we closed up shop for a little over an hour and herded the VIPs over to the pier to view the mass swim start. The
view was spectacular with 1,700 athletes bobbing in the ocean, their bright green swim caps making them look like buoys floating in the water. The sound of Mike Reilly’s voice booming over the speakers wishing the athletes luck and promising to see them at the finish, and the helicopters swarming overhead for the media footage overwhelmed me with excitement. After the singing of the national anthem, the cannon went off, and the day (less than 9 hours for the pros, but as many as 17 hours for others) began.
Like a raging stampede of wild horses, 1,700 bodies surged through the Pacific waters. What a sight to behold!
About 30 minutes after the swim start we led the VIPs back to the suite where they could watch the swim action on television. Throughout the day many people came in and out of the suite taking breaks from the relentless heat outdoors. It was nice to get to watch the race on the television as it unfolded because of the great views, but I did miss being out on the actual course cheering the athletes on. The majority of the day was spent catering to the guests and replenishing food and drinks.
Late in the afternoon we closed down the suite for the day and headed to the finish line, where the 140.6-mile journey ends. We were down there early enough to watch last year’s male runner up “Crowie” (Craig Alexander) of Australia take 1st for the men, and defending female champ Chrissie Wellington of Great Britain take 1st for the women.
Thanks to our all access wristbands, we were able to be down by the finish line with a front row view. As athlete after athlete stepped across the line and as the phrase “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” echoed down Ali’I it just kept getting better and better. Of course, the most exciting time of the day was between 9pm and midnight, when the crowd’s energy is all that gets the last finishers home. And we were all there, even the pros and other age group athletes who had finished long before stood with the crowd cheering on the last finishers.
I think that what makes the last hour of this event so incredible is the raw emotion and determination of the athletes that you witness. We’re talking regular men and women… attorneys, doctors, teachers, soldiers, mothers, cancer-survivors, challenged athletes…all covering the same 140.6 miles is less than 17 hours. At no other event have I so genuinely cheered complete strangers on. This wasn’t like “Go Yankees!” or “Yeah Lakers!” No, this was something more. “Human” is really the best word to describe the experience. It really is a testament to what amazing things people can accomplish with hard work, dedication and a support system. When you see 70-something-year-olds shuffling across the line or hand cycle athletes with no legs that have literally covered 140.6 miles using ONLY THEIR ARMS, the Ironman mantra rings true, “Anything is possible.”
And that was my Kona experience.
