Ironman races are widely considered to be among the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. It consists of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike ride and a marathon run of 26.22-mile (42.20 km), raced in that order. While Ironman is the most famous Iron distance race, run by WTC, the World Triathlon Corporation, there are other Iron distance races, of which probably the best known is the Challenge Family series.
The first triathlon took place in the mid seventies in southern California in the mid-1970s and among those taking part wasUS Naval Officer John Collins. He was later deployed to Hawai’i where there were three endurance events being hosted: the Honolulu Marathon, the Waikiki Rough Water Swim and the Around-Oahu Bike Ride. To answer good natured arguments about whether swimmers, cyclists or runners were the fittest, Collins suggested putting all the events together into one apparently impossible endurance race. The winner of the race would be named “Ironman.”
By 1981 the number of people taking part had grown from a few dozen to more than a thousand, thanks to media coverage by ABC TV and Sports Illustrated magazine. In 1981, the race was moved from Honolulu on Oahu to Kona, on the big island of Hawai’i. The move added another challenge to an already challenging race – the Big Island’s extensive black lava fields rest in fierce, hot winds which can make the bike leg and the run even harder.
Officially sanctioned Ironman events, meanwhile, had spread around the world. New Zealand was the first country outside the United States to run an Ironman race and many other countries soon followed suit. Today, there are more than three dozen Ironman Triathlon races throughout the world that enable qualification for the Ironman World Championships.
Iron distance races aren’t cheap – an entry fee of US$600 ior more is just the beginning. Add into that travel costs, and the cost of equipment and training and you begin to get an idea that Iron distance racing requires commitment with a capital C.
And then there’s the training. While there are no hard and fast rules, you’re probably talking about anything up to 25 hours of training a week, for at least three months before the race. And that means not only sacrifice and commitment from the athlete but from their friends and family who have to put up with the athlete being missing at weird times of the day. And night,
So why do it? Ironman is more than a sport. It’s more than a challenge. It’s a way of life. You join a unique family. You make friends from all over the world. And completing an Ironman is like nothing else.
