As cameras zoomed in to capture the very raw, agonizing, and dramatic final moments of a woman attempting to cross the finish line, Jeni Winegarner could not tear her eyes away from watching her television.
The year was 1982. It was the second year the Ironman World Championships was held in Kona — an event comprised of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run — and the only year the race featured two events, one held in February and the other in October.
Winegarner was mesmerized by the triathlon special aired on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and watched with eager anticipation as a helpless Julie Moss, who became severely dehydrated just two miles from the finish, staggered and eventually reduced to a crawl.
It turned out to be the most famous finish in Ironman history and one of the most incredible displays of the human spirit aired on television — a defining moment for the sport, for Moss, and also for Winegarner.
“It was first time I saw a triathlon,” Winegarner recalled. “Watching Julie Moss crawl across the finish line, hearing all about the Ironman race, seeing the epic finish and watching all of it on the Wide World of Sports that day, I thought, oh my god – this is my sport! I was 21, single, and with beer companies sponsoring all of the triathlons, I knew this was absolutely my sport.”
Winegarner grew up swimming and started running only when she went to college. But because she didn’t own a car, she biked practically everywhere. Triathlons seemed to be inevitable and a natural fit.
And after feeling inspired by Moss, Winegarner cut her triathlon teeth by competing in sprint distance races.
“Because I knew I could swim, bike and run, I only did sprint races for those first couple of years,” said the 61-year old Kailua-Kona resident. “In those early years, there really weren’t a whole slew of races to choose from, not like now. There were no 70.3s then. While I took some time off after having my three kids, I always found myself coming back to do triathlons. I’ve been racing for over 35 years.”
Winegarner said she qualified for her first Ironman World Championship race (IMWC) in 1996 after competing in her first Ironman race.
“I did my first race when I was 35 years old and surprised myself when I got a Kona slot at Ironman Canada,” she said. “But I didn’t go because Hawaii was just four weeks later. It was just too close. Getting a slot motivated me to continue training and then I finally went to Kona for the first time in 1998. Since then, I’ve competed in a total of three races — 1998, 2001, and 2013. This year will my fourth IMWC race and my 15th Ironman overall.”
Winegarner sets
new IMWC age
group record
“Magical” is how she described her third IMWC race in 2013. That year Winegarner smashed the women’s 55-59 age group record by 12 minutes and 25 seconds. Many who competed that year have described the conditions to be “absolutely perfect” as a staggering 14 age group records were broken, including female professional triathlete, Mirinda Carfare, setting a new women’s course record.
“That year turned out to be one of those perfect Kona days – the water was smooth, there was no wind on the bike, and then on the run, there were some clouds that rolled in so it wasn’t that hot,” Winegarner recalled. “I remember getting off the bike thinking how fast it went and how easy it felt. But no one was expecting a perfect day. Two weeks before the race, the temperatures rose into the high 90s and that was what was expected on race day.”
Winegarner said she knew who her competition would be that day and felt confident that she could make it into the top 10 in the women’s 55-59 age group. And if all of the stars aligned, then maybe a top five. However, at Mile 10 of the marathon, she received some unexpected news.
“Somebody yelled out that I was winning my age group,” she said. “I remember being so surprised and thinking, no, I can’t be. This is unbelievable – it’s not possible. Then when I came out of the Energy Lab, another person again said that I was winning.
“I think a lot of people were able to capitalize on that day. For me, my training was spot on, my nutrition was perfect, race conditions couldn’t have been better and I was healthy — all the stars fell into place. It certainly wasn’t an outcome I expected. I mean it was my best race and I was about to have a PR at the age of 56.”
Prior to that day, Winegarner said that her Ironman personal best hovered around the 11-hour mark. She went on to finish strong and became the new women’s 55-59 age group World Champion with her time of 10 hours, 33 minutes and 10 seconds.
As of today, her amazing record still stands.
The secret to her
success
Following her amazing accomplishment at the IMWC in 2013, Winegarner, who split time between homes in Alaska and Kona for nearly a decade, was named by USA Triathlon as the 2014 Women’s Grand Masters Triathlete of the Year and inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame.
When asked what she thought the secret to her success was, Winegarner said that instead of being focused on results or numbers, she has learned have fun while enjoying everything that the race has to offer — from the beautiful scenery, the energetic volunteers, to her friendly competition.
“I don’t wear a watch or ride with a bike computer,” she said. “Years ago, I used to look at a lot of data and technology, but I realized that racing wasn’t that much fun. I became a prisoner of the numbers. I would play these number games in my head the whole race. So if my time was off, or if I had power outage, it would just wreck my mental game and ruin my race. I would feel so disappointed in myself.”
Winegarner recalled that years ago, while competing in Ironman Arizona, she was having a great day until she encountered stomach issues during the second half of the marathon.
“I kept looking at my numbers and mile splits dropping and it just really ruined my race, it wasn’t fun,” she said. “Results wise, it was actually a good day. But because I focused so much on my numbers and data I was so unhappy. Since that day, I told myself that I would never wear anything because I don’t want to ever look at numbers and data again.
“Chrissie Wellington (four-time Ironman World champion) is another athlete that races without data and prefers to race on how she feels. I now race to enjoy the day and focus on how I feel instead of wasting a lot of time and energy on analyzing it. I know everybody has their own formula, but this now works for me.”
Winegarner plans
to have fun come
race day
Having moved here from Alaska last July and now living in Kailua-Kona on a permanent basis, Winegarner always felt that Kona was her “happy place.”
The last eight years hasn’t been easy for the mother of three and grandmother of five, as she found herself in a constant injury-recovery-rehab mode from having three separate shoulder injuries.
Winegarner said her first shoulder injury occurred in 2010 — a frightening experience when she physically ran into a Black Bear in the garage of her Alaska home.
“I went to get groceries out of my car,” Winegarner recalled. “When I went around the corner, a Black Bear was running out just as I was going into the garage. We just happened to be in the same space at the same time, it didn’t attack me – it was just trying to get out.
“It just sort of ran over me that caused me to twist around and fall on my shoulder. It ripped my shoulder at the joint. It was by far the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in my life.”
Since then, she’s had two other shoulder injuries. The second time, Winegarner said she was chasing her naked grandson after he bolted out of the locker room. While trying to grab him, she slipped, and again injured her shoulder. The third injury happened earlier this year and stemmed from a biking accident here in Kona.
“I was placed in a cuff during January and February, and actually only started getting back in March from zero fitness,” she said. “I’m nowhere near what I was in 2013, but I’m just hoping to go out and have a fun and aloha day, and just focus on feeling grateful to be able to participate in this race.
“I’ve done the swim 3-4 times so I know that I can do the swim. I’ve done a couple of a 100-mile bike rides so I know that I can do the bike. But my running is just not up to par so I’ll just have to see what the day delivers.”
Being that this will be her fourth rodeo competing in the IMWC, Winegarner shared some sound advice for those competing in Kona for the first time.
“Really focus on having fun. Kona is different from any other Ironman race. You really can’t take a previous race result and compare it to what you think you can do in Kona — it’s really apples and oranges. I think first timers should really focus on having a good time and not on the outcome.”