Ask anyone about Kailua-Kona’s Keish Doi and they will say, he is a man built for IRONMAN. One glance at the 48-year-old’s long resume highlighting an amazing triathlon career over the last 12 years is simply inspiring.
Fifty total IRONMAN finishes, 10-consecutive Kona IRONMAN World Championships, an average of 5-6 IRONMAN races per year — all culminating with the honor of being last year’s top Big Island’s finisher.
“The biggest thing for me is the challenge,” Doi said. “It’s a major accomplishment for anyone to finish an IRONMAN. I feel very fortunate to be able to finish IRONMANs and so my goal is to keep doing it until I can’t. I also think it’s a great lifestyle. It keeps people healthy, you meet great people and you get to travel.”
Doi’s athletic career began at the age of 13 as a bike racer and continued on through college eventually hitting the Velodrome in his mid-twenties. Velodrome racing, or indoor track cycling, is designed for speed with steeply banked oval tracks comprising of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights allowing racers to peak near 60 miles per hour.
His proficiency on the bike culminated with a dream come true – qualifying for the 1996 Olympic Trials. But it wouldn’t be long before Doi felt burnt out, leaving him craving for a new challenge and a new sport.
“My first IRONMAN was in 2003,” Doi said. “I always wanted to do Hawaii’s IRONMAN especially after watching it on TV. I watched the famous 1982 race when Julie Moss crawled to the finish line. I thought it was a great event, it inspired me, and I had that in the back of my mind all during my cycling career. Once I started tiring from bike racing, I started running. Eventually I ran a marathon and from there I thought, why don’t I try an IRONMAN.”
Doi said that he only attempted one Olympic Distance and half-IRONMAN race before jumping into the full IRONMAN.
“I was hooked,” he said. “My goals were to do Hawaii and it actually took me three tries to qualify. In 2005 was my first Hawaii IRONMAN and I’ve done it every year since. This year will mark my 11th time in a row doing it. So to me, triathlon means IRONMAN.”
Doi says that he typically completes a swim, bike, and run everyday and usually doesn’t take time off unless he is traveling or in the “off-season,” when he allows his body to take a full month to recover. Daily training sessions routinely consist of 4-7 hours, longer on the weekends, leaving many to wonder what he does to sustain his multisport lifestyle and how he keeps himself so motivated.
“I’m a software engineer,” he said. “So I work mainly on mainland time hours which is usually very early in the morning from 3-10 a.m., but then I get to train all afternoon. My first and most important expectation is to enjoy myself and have fun. I think the best thing about IRONMAN for me is that I enjoy doing the training and racing. Once I stop enjoying it, I won’t do it anymore. Of course I like to challenge myself to get faster with better times but that’s less important. I think if you focus too much on the time then you won’t enjoy yourself.”
Although Doi has spent most of his life in California before moving to Kona in 2012, he feels proud to be a Big Island resident racing the world championships on his home turf and admits to feeling a little nervous before race day.
“I do get nervous before race day but it’s different because it’s not as scary because I’ve done it so many times,” he said. “Finishing Kona is very important. It’s a very satisfying and fulfilling feeling. It’s the culmination of the whole year of training and racing. It’s the world championships but also a great opportunity to race at home, basically in your backyard in front of all your friends and family. So it’s definitely the most enjoyable of all races and most rewarding.”
On Sept.27, Doi completed his 50th race – IRONMAN Chattanooga in Tennessee – finishing in an impressive time of 11 hours and 38 minutes.
But don’t think he’s done just yet as his racing season is far from over. With next week’s world championships marking his 11th start in Kona, Doi plans to celebrate the year on a high with his 52nd race at IRONMAN Malaysia on November 14.
Yes, many would agree, Doi is certainly more than just an IRONMAN – he is an “IRON machine”.
