Kona Ironman 2007

10/11/07

Returning to Kona, HI for the 2nd year in a row was exhilarating (and I got to spend time with one of my favorite people in the world, Robe!)

All of the athletes are so inspirational and have their own unique stories...like the 21 year old, former All-State High School swimmer and was hit by a truck, died 8x on the operating table because his heart was pushed into the other side of his chest and was told he would never walk again. OR the 1st ever double leg amputee to finish at Kona!

This year, Sister Madonna missed the bike cut off by 1 minute and thus could not go on with the race. In transition she stopped to do an interview...imagine if the interviewer had asked one less question...






I started off my day before the sun rose with the athletes in body-marking...one guy that I stamped had only done 3 triathlons before Kona - go BIG or go home I guess...and I got to stamp the number 888, which I was pretty excited about seeing my lucky number is 8!






From there I headed to the pier to watch the start of the race where one of the athletes swam up and asked if I had anything to wipe his goggles with...I helped him out, of course! Laird Hamilton (famous surfer and married to Gabrielle Reese) paddled on a stand-up board with the leaders.








After the race I headed to the Women's transition tent where I helped spray the athletes with sunscreen (it was up to 120 degrees in the lava fields!) and got their bags in order. I even helped Chrissie Wellington (this year's winner!)







Last year I helped "catch" people that crossed the finish line, but this year I watched as the first person came across...Chris McCormack (USA) 8:15:39





















...and the last person (under 17:00:00). I got very emotional watching people cross in the "N"th hour and finally broke down when the fire dancers came out and sang a traditional Hawaiian song...signifying the end of the race...not everyone finishes in time:(












This year's female winner was Chrissie Wellington (Great Britian) 9:08:45. It was her first year as a Pro and only her 2nd Ironman EVER!!! She dedicated her win to her 101 year old Grandfather. I met her the next morning and got a pic with her, but Robe's camera was stolen later as was my picture on it! BUT what I can say, is that Chrissie is extremely nice and humble. Her speech at the awards dinner was outstanding...she talked about how she never excelled at any sport in school!!! AMAZING!

And, as a side note...as I was walking down the road, I saw this...is it an omen?!?