The Crawl

In 1997 two women battled it out for the top ironman spot in Hawaii. This crazy video shows what happens when your body is failing, but your will is not. Has there ever been another race where someone won by crawling? Don't worry mom, this won't happen to me. Note: This may be hard to watch.

Putting Ironman on the map

Julie Moss partially made the Ironman famous by her struggle to get to the finish line in 1982. She was trying to hold onto the lead, but her body was shutting down. A warning, this video is a little bit difficult to watch.

Cyclists, Runners, or Swimmers: Who is the better athlete?

Although the first triathlon was in 1974, the first Ironman triathlon was in Hawaii in 1978.

The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Running Relay. The participants were runners and swimmers, whose members had long been debating which athletes were more fit, runners or swimmers.

On this occasion, US Navy Commander John Collins pointed out that a recent article in Sports Illustrated magazine had declared that Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian cyclist, had the highest recorded "oxygen uptake" of any athlete ever measured, so perhaps cyclists were more fit than anyone.

CDR Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi.), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi.; originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 mi.).

Collins said, "Whoever finishes first, we'll call him the Iron Man." Of the fifteen men to start, twelve completed the race. Gordon Haller was the first to earn the title Ironman by completing the course in under 12 hours.

Gordon was a runner. The debate is over.

Or not. John Dunbar, a Navy Seal and all-around athlete, had a chance to win, but he ran out of water during the run and his crew gave him beer instead.

Race Details

Date: 08/30/09.
Location: Penticton, BC.
Distance: 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26.2 mi run.
Time goal: Will be shooting for 12 hours, but will be happy with survival.

Charity: Ahmsa

I am dedicating this ironman to ahmsa (formerly fusion), which is a charity we are passionate about that helps impoverished Colombia with community enterprise development. Please give generously. Every dollar effects their ability to give poor families work in Colombia.

Please email me at bikingforacause@gmail.com with contribution amounts.

Thank you so much for giving during these hard times. If I can raise $3,000 I will do the race backwards.... jk.

Ironman Canada

Ironman Canada is August 30, 2009. This is my first race of this magnitude. Wish me luck. It was only a couple years ago that I thought an Ironman was out of the question because it literally seemed insane. I am not sure why it appears within reach now, but I am committed to finish.