Sunday’s run along Alii Drive with my 18-month-old son in the jogger made it hard for me to believe that just 12 hours earlier, this familiar stretch of pavement was the heart of an international playing field for the world’s best endurance athletes.
What was a confetti display of white sponges, paper cups and sticky gel wraps, was no longer. Faded chalk markings on Alii Drive with names and bib numbers of favorite athletes seemed to be the only scars left behind of what was a battlefield of pure willpower and sheer determination.
The day after the IRONMAN World Championship has become a unique experience. Some are inspired to embark on an Ironman journey of their own. Other noncompetitors take advantage of a chance to swim, bike or run along triathlon’s most famous course. And for the finishers, it becomes an occasion to reflect upon the achievement of a dream, after months and years of hard work.
It is what I call the Ironman afterglow.
Even after 15 years of volunteering and spending virtually my entire life watching this incredible display of the human spirit, I still get goose bumps upon hearing the firing of the cannon at the start of the race, or teary-eyed watching the final hour of those fulfilling lifetime dreams. I guess you can say it’s in my blood.
Watching my father run down Alii Drive in 1985 will forever be a day that I will remember. It was a lot different then — speed suits, aerodynamic bikes and compression gear were not yet part of the equation. It was a lot simpler. Speedos, 10-speed road bikes and high-cut running shorts were the name of the game.
My father fulfilled his dream of becoming an Ironman finisher and 24 years later, I did the same. It’s hard to express what one feels after accomplishing such a daunting challenge, so I thought it would be best to catch up with several Big Island residents while they are still amid the peak of Ironman afterglow.
“It was the best race day that I’ve ever had,” Michael Karson said. “I credit that to my nutrition as I couldn’t believe how good I felt out there.”
Karson, a Kailua-Kona resident who completed his first world championship race in 14 hours, 27 minutes and 1 second, said he listened to the advice given to him by six-time Ironman World Champion Natascha Badmann of Switzerland.
“She told me that whenever I feel like I’m fading, mentally or physically, that I would need to eat and get nutrition in,” he said. “It worked.”
Waikoloa’s Rob Van Geen (15:33:04) echoed Karson’s strategy.
“In all of the Ironmans that I’ve done, that was the best I felt,” said Van Geen who completed his fourth world championship. “I just stuck with eating bananas and water the whole time and never felt bloated or had any stomach issues.”
Kailua-Kona’s Anita Leao (12:20:01) said that following her training program leading up to the event helped toward a great experience for her Ironman debut.
“It was such a fun and happy day,” Leao said. “Being able to see my family and friends out there was so exciting. As tough as it was, I didn’t have any negative thoughts throughout the race and I felt really good. I was waiting to feel really bad but that never happened.”
Daniel Piccuta, who uses triathlon as a fun way to stay in shape, said he was carried along by the thrill of being in a race of such magnitude and by the cheers of so many Big Island spectators.
“I never imagined that anything could be so impossibly hard, and so startlingly fun, all at the same time,” Piccuta said. “But nothing really prepared me for the moment of turning that corner onto Alii Drive and running up through the cheering crowd, full of family, friends and neighbors.”
Just 40 seconds separated Piccuta (15:09:17) and Captain Cook’s Peter Bresciani (15:09:57). But for Bresciani, finishing signified a personal victory after doctors removed cancer from his vocal cords nearly two years ago, and just 15 months post recovery from a broken collar bone.
“It was magic for me to do it and finish,” said the 66-year-old. “I had the best time. Although I felt tired during the race, I was never in pain. I’ve been watching people do it for 20 years and it seemed like you needed to be superhuman to do it. To finally be able to be on the inside of this race instead of watching it from the outside was the best.”
Pamela Harlow felt that because she entered the race as a participant and not a competitor, she didn’t feel any pressure to meet a time goal and enjoyed cruising in to finish with a time of 14:13:38.
“I had a very long, fun day of play,” Harlow said. “I wanted to make the most of it as this is probably something I won’t do again. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it — I did. I just think there are many other adventures out there that I would like to do and Ironman was one of them.”
Hawaii Island’s top age group and male finisher was Kailua-Kona’s Keish Doi. Doi, who has 45 career Ironman finishes, smiled his way across the finish line to his 10th world championship race in an impressive time of 10:13:49.
“My goal was to enjoy myself and that was exactly what I did,” Doi said. “ I had fun the whole time and maybe that is why I didn’t notice how bad the conditions were.”
Doi added another reason he had so much fun out there was the incredible and amazing support of his hometown.
“It’s just an honor to be able to participate in an event of this magnitude,” he said. “And to be able to do it in my own backyard, in front of family, friends and neighbors was a dream come true.”
Mayor Billy Kenoi’s dramatic finish into the arms of his wife, Takako, and three children — with 5 minutes and 47 seconds to spare — summed up what that meant for Hawaii’s first “Iron Mayor.”
“I was honored to be out there on the course with the most inspiring and amazing athletes in the world,” said Kenoi, who finished in 16:54:13. “It was humbling to see so many give it their very best. I was able to get to the finish line because every aid station was filled with cheering, positive, and energetic volunteers that kept me going. I cannot thank everyone enough for their kindness, generosity, and support. Smiling, love, and aloha — that was the key.”
With everything from experiencing the most awe-inspiring swim start in beautiful Kailua Bay, battling ferocious winds and searing heat along the bike course of Queen Kaahumanu Highway, and running through a finish line infused with such passion and raw emotion, you can bet this year’s afterglow will last years — or even a lifetime for those involved.
Just ask my dad — nearly 30 years post-Ironman — and he still reminisces as if it were yesterday.