Appreciating the Achievement.

Well, what can I say. After landing back in wet, windy & cold Melbourne with the Temperature being 10 degrees Celsius I definitely enjoyed the warmer climate over at Kona.

After reading and hearing about how tough the WORLD IRONMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS are, I don't think I had any idea about it. It is something you have to experience to appreciate, even just as a spectator. With the temperature soaring to 44 deg out on the Queen K Hwy, it is something that reading about will never give justice.

My week was magnificent watching the best apply their trade and all the age groupers strutting their stuff, and the strutting was everywhere. And not just the strutting, the bling bling was also out in full force. Many thousands of $$$$$ were on display.

Inspiration and admiration are the first two words that come to mind in thinking about race day and the competitors. Motivation is one that soon follows along with determination. I will start with inspiration first. By seeing all the "handicapped" athletes start the race all the way to finish the race was phenomenal. The following two athletes are a prime example:


The athlete left: Rudy Garcia-Tolson. He has no hamstrings or quads, the only muscles he has from his knee to hip are his gluts. Unfortunately, Rudy didn't make the bike cut off, no surprising due to this fact.








This other athlete was obviously feeling the pain, however, he finished. An amazing effort for the day.

And these two were not the only feats of amazement, the wheel chair athletes carving up the pavement was also a great site!!

Admiration is the next phase that I want to discuss. Well, the two winners, the quality of them both. One (Chrissie) loves the crowd and gives back as she receives. As soon as she got onto the bike, the race was won. She still acknowledged every single person out there and raced with her traditional smile. Her victory speech was also one to cherish.

Craig Alexanders 2nd victory was an amazing feat in itself, coming from over 12min behind at the start of the run to win. The composure of the guy; words cannot describe. Also being an Australian added a great patriotic touch to the race for me.

Both these two champions were at the finish line for the final competitors, like many other pros I must add. What a fantastic way to give back to the sport.

As for a personal aspect, seeing Carla finish her first IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP is something that I will never forget. Knowing the training that she put in leading up to this race and getting ill two weeks out, just shows the heart and determination that she has. Her time of just over 11hr 20min made me speechless, and like Chrissie, I could tell that she loved it out there. A smile was from ear to ear every time I saw her and also the photos that I have seen. An effort that has given me motivation to drive me to get there one day. The achievement is one that she will play down, unfortunately due to the fact that this race is not just about the day. It is also about the journey from qualification right up to race morning and then crossing that finish line.

Another two small mentions to be had, one for Greer Sansom, from Geelong was the only athlete that I knew who raced. Well Done Greer (below left). And to the poor soul who punctured no more then 30 metres after mounting his steed, which ended up right in front of me. He was there for a good 5-7 minutes.

Many more photos will be posted over the following weeks, especially ones that are relevant to me, the BIG FELLAS!!!

For now...

X-Man