Steffen Brocks knows the IRONMAN World Championship course pretty well. It’s his backyard training ground. He knows the exact distance from the front door of his house to Hawi and the Natural Energy Lab — both landmarks of the iconic endurance event.
A few friends, and some other 2,300 athletes joined Brocks for his 140.6-mile swim, bike and run routine at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona on Saturday.
Brocks finished as the top Big Island athlete at the world championship event, stopping the clock at 10 hours 27 minutes and 48 seconds.
The Kona resident — who splits time between the Big Island and Portland — ranked 63rd in his 45-49 age group, and finished 618 overall.
It was Brocks’ 10th time finishing the world championship race and 56th IRONMAN race overall. He said it wasn’t his best time, and he would have liked to go under 10 hours, but still felt fortunate after the finish.
“There are people who would give anything to race here. It’s so special to race in Kona, and I’ve been able to do it 10 times now. I’m pretty blessed to have done that,” Brocks said. “Even as a hobby, you have to take it seriously. If I’m not doing my best, I wouldn’t be giving the race the respect it deserves.”
Brocks wasn’t quick to take off after the race. His wife, Mary Stupi, was still on the course. She came in a few hours later, at 14:04:45.
“She really, really embraced it,” Brocks said of his wife, who got in through a Kona lottery spot. “It’s really cool. I’m very proud of her.”
Brocks is a training partner and good friend of last year’s top Big Island finisher Keish Doi. Doi finished as the fourth Big Islander on Saturday, less than an hour behind Brocks. The finish added just a bit of fuel to the friendly rivalry the Kona duo have had going over the years. However, Brocks was humble in his victory.
“I know he has been a little banged up running. If he’s not running well, I don’t really count it,” Brocks said with a smile. “I like beating him fair and square.”
Doi was happy to see his friend succeed.
“It was a tough day,” Doi said. “The swim and bike were really fun, but I have an ankle injury so it was pretty hard to run. I think it still turned out pretty good. Any day you finish an IRONMAN is a great day.
“Steffen is a great athlete and a good friend of mine. It was nice to see him have a good day. Maybe we can go at it again next year.”
Alejandro Novoa finished as the second Big Islander, and Thomas Wipp was third.
The 14th hour of the race saw the most Hawaii Island athletes come in. Jean Orlowski, Erik Basden, Una Burns, Gerd Weber, Kevin Prater, William Stedman and Shirley Pratt all came in within the hour.
Other notable finishers
Sean Astin, known for his roles in “The Goonies,” “Rudy,” and “The Lord of the Rings”, finished the IRONMAN World Championship in 15:30:31.
“It’s official, I am an IRONMAN,” Astin wrote on Twitter after the race. “It was a magical day.”
Legendary Italian race car driver and paracyclist Alex Zanardi finished as the first physically challenged athlete, breaking the finishing tape along Alii Drive at 9:40:37.
Emmy award winning actress Katherine Kelly Lang finished the 140.6-mile trek in 15:57:11.
Tammy Nicholson — who was told she would never walk again after a serious car accident 11 years ago — finished in 11:12:07.
Kyrsten Sinema became the first sitting US Representative to complete the race, coming in at 15:02:47
Michael Wilson, who had an 11-year professional career in the Australian football league, lit up the course with a time of 9:57:16.
Local finishers:
Steffen Brocks 10:27:48
Alejandro Novoa 10:44:26
Thomas Wipp 10:49:52
Keish Doi 11:21:15
Mike Sullivan 11:23:34
Sal Salmi 11:56:31
Jacob Head 12:16:16
Sylvia Ravaglia 12:25:12
Billy Rickards 12:50:28
Adam Ankrum 12:54:17
Richard Duncan 13:35:19
Susan Nixon 13:37:22
Mary Stupi 14:04:45
Jean Orlowski 14:27:13
Erik Basden 14:33:52
Una Burns 14:38:33
Gerd Weber 14:39:19
Kevin Prater 14:51:21
William Stedman 14:51:27
Shirley Pratt 14:51:48
Casey Francis 15:06:11
Eddie Ombac 15:06:59
Alexis Ballinger 15:12:43
Vinnie Mikoloski 15:52:28
Travis Obrey 16:26:53
Cecilia Weber 16:00:38
Chuck Wood 16:43:38