Ironman Championship, Kona, HI, Oct 8, 2011

Over 1,850 athletes representing more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states started the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship. Competitors ranged in age from 18 to 81 years old.

This international endurance race started here in Kona in 1977.  Read more of the history at the end of this blog.

This is the big event on Kona (besides the Kona coffee festival which is Nov 4^th to the 11^th).  I didn't want to miss it.   My challenge was figuring out a way to view the event.  It is held all over the island, from 6:30am to late at night. Traffic is blocked in most places, and parking is a big problem at the start and finish area.  What can we do?


Dorothy at Finish

I asked local people what they did to see it.  Most said they tried to stay away.  Some have volunteered to pass out water at aid stations.  They said they wouldn’t do it again because you were working your but off for hours in the hot sun and didn't see much but wet, intense, athletes.  Others said you could just sit on shore and watch the swimmers, then come back to the dock at the finish, around 2:00pm.  They couldn’t tell me where they parked or how to drive there on the blocked roads, without staying overnight.  I was told the most fun was to watch the finishers who come in around 10:00pm, struggling, but so happy to have made it.

Bike check line

Friday before the race, David and I were in Kona town getting a pedicure at Piper's and wandered over to the pier to see what was going on because we kept seeing people with bike gear on and bikes with numbers on them.  The closer we got, the more bikes.  Then we figured out that this was the bicycle check in for the Ironman.  The racers go through a line where their bike and gear is checked by officials, and assigned a parking space on the pier where they then left it to be picked up at the changeover after the swim. 

Bike company reps

Along this route there were people sitting in chairs with notepads.  We peeked and saw that they were bike gear representatives, who were counting the Trek bikes vs the other models, the kinds of helmets, shoes, clothing, etc.  There were lots of media as well, taking photos and interviews.  One thing that surprised me was running into a guy who had Coach on his shirt.  There are about 100 or so professional Ironmen and women, and I guess they hire Coaches!   The male and female winners took home a prize of $110,000.  Second place was $55,000 each.

This man said he was 73

We talked to a young lady (I thought she was in her early 30’s, but her profile said she was 43).  Angela, from Wisconsin, had qualified this year.  It was her first Kona Ironman.  She liked the idea of a Hawaiian vacation and the opportunity to participate in the championship event. She had the Ironman logo tatooed on her leg.

She told us the basic prices of some of the gear:  $5,000 for the bike frame; $1,000 for each wheel;  $1,500 for the bike computer;  $150 for the seat.   Mucho for the clothing, shoes, etc.  Shipping the bike was $350.00.  Then you can count the hotel, airfare, meals if you want, and the entry fee of $650.00.

Typical Ironman bike

We missed the parade, and some of the other events held that week, mainly because they were reported in the paper the day afterwards.  We must have missed the whole list of events.  Being at the bike check-in was probably the best place to actually see and meet the racers, so we were glad we did it.

This couple avoided photos and had low bib numbers.  She came in third.

The day of the race, I googled and found a site that followed the race all day.  Ironman Live! was extremely helpful, with a running commentary, twitter message updates, a way to track each individual racer, as well as follow the leaders as little dots on a GPS map!

5 mile check

Getting water

Around lunch I went to Keauhou to get the mail and decided to drive down Alii Drive as far as I could go to see if I could see any runners.  I was able to park near the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort Hotel where the hotel sponsored an aid station, water station, and the 5 mile turnaround.  I saw over 100 racers go by.  After swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles, they were now all racing a marathon.  By the five mile marker, most of the ones I saw were actually running.  They grabbed ice water  and mostly poured it onto their head or down their shirt front.  Some took ice cubes to put in their hat or shirt.  Some of them had white sponges stuck in their shirt to catch the sweat or the cool water.  They must have been regulation sponges because they were all the same.  I picked one up off the pavement for a souvenir. The electronic button that each racer wears gets recorded at this station and is one of the places on the internet to see how your racer was doing.   After awhile I had to leave because I forgot to put on suntan lotion, and cups were everywhere on the pavement and I thought they may enlist me to help pick them up while dodging determined runners. 

Back at home, I made it just in time to see Craig Alexander, the winner, cross the finish line.  He set a course record of 8:03:56.  He collapsed afterwards and didn’t get up for awhile.  Dr. Enrique, Steve Braund’s friend who volunteers each year in the medical tent, got to take care of him after the race.  He was dehydrated so they gave him an IV.  His bib number was 1.  One reporter kept wanting to ask Craig if he knew he might set a course record as he came around the finish.  The question was never answered.  

The professional athletes are seeded by number and are given a half hour head start.  And bib #1 came in first!  Pete Jacobs, also from Australia, was second with bib #11.  Andreas Raelert, bib 10, from Germany, was third.  These men ranged in age from 38, 30 and 35.

For the women, Chrissie Wellington, age 34, bib 102, from Great Britain came in first.  She was jubilant.  She wore here very large ceremonial lei with pride.  Traditionally dressed Hawaiians presented the winners with these beautiful leis and escorted them through the crowds.   Second place was Miranda Carfrae of Australia, 30 years old wearing bib 101.  Liandra Cave was third, 33 years old from Great Britain wearing bib 107.

None of these winners were in the top 5 in biking.  None of them were in the top 5 in swimming, nor running.  It seems that the running section is where the winning takes place, but the overall winner is the one who can keep on going like an Energizer bunny.

Here are the results for Angela, whom we followed:

Schmidt, Angie USA USA     1127 bib#                35 (place in age group)            11:19:24 overall time                  

1:14:35 swim         5:41:21 bike           4:15:57 run

As Angie ran over the finish line, they announced  “Angie Schmidt, you are an Ironman”.

1,859 athletes started, 1,855 came out of the water and 4 did not make the swim cut off

• 1,854 athletes started the bike

• 1,818 athletes started the run

• Finisher Rate: 1773/1859 = 95.4% finisher rate

• Last Official Finisher: Gary Hermansen - 16:58:59

• Fastest Transition: T1 1:46 T2 2:01 Total: 3:47 Luke McKenzie

• Longest time spent in transitions: T1 8:13 T2 48:14 Total: 56:27

• Finishers by Gender: SEX = F 476 SEX = M 1297

The inaugural “Hawaiian IRON MAN Triathlon” was conceptualized in 1977 as a way to challenge athletes who had seen success at a local biathlon. San Diego-based John Collins proposed combining the three toughest endurance races in Hawai’i – the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim, 112 miles of the Around-O’ahu Bike Race and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon – into one event.

On Feb. 18, 1978, 15 people came to Waikiki to take on the Ironman challenge. Prior to racing, each received three sheets of paper with a few rules and a course description. The last page read: “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!”

In 1981, the race moved from the tranquil shores of Waikiki to the barren lava fields of Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Along the Kona Coast, black lava rock dominates the panorama, and athletes battle the “ho’omumuku” crosswinds of 45 mph, 95 degree temperatures and a scorching sun.

Now in its 34th year, the Ironman World Championship centers on the dedication and courage exhibited by participants who demonstrate the Ironman mantra that “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.”