Ironmen are CRAZY

So this weekend I got to see what I consider the most extreme sporting event in the world, the Ironman triathalon. I know that this may not fall under the category of “Sports Issues” but I believe that ironmen and women are deserving of a little bit of spotlight. Of course I didn’t compete but my brother, Dave, and my cousin, Jon, did. After driving 2 ½ hours at 3 o’clock in the morning, I woke up with the rest of my family to watch Dave and Jon swim 2 ½, bike 112, and run 26.2 miles. This event took place in Matoon, IL where flat land and no hills are a safe bet. The name of the race was the Great Illini Challenge. It took competitors between 10 hours and 24 minutes and 17 hours and 12 minutes to finish. Dave took 11 hours and 32 minutes to complete the ironman and he finished 11th in overall and 2nd in his age group. Jon finished 24th overall. for an ironman involves swimming, biking and running everyday. Running 20 miles a few times a week is not out of the ordinary along with a few centuries, or 100 mile bike rides, mixed in. The ages of competitors ranged from 21 to 61 years of age and the winner was a 50 year old man who finished 12 minutes ahead of the second place finisher. Something I learned recently is that there is a difference between and Ironman triathalon and an ironman distance triathalon. Ironman triathalons are sponsored by Ironman Corporation. Dave and Jon competed in an ironman distance triathalon which is the same distance but the only difference is that it isn’t sponsored by ironman corporation. Ironman sponsored triathalon’s are found all over the world in many different countries and a few states in the U.S.

There are many risks that come with competing in an ironman and it most definitely isn’t for anyone. Many people could train for as long and as hard as possible but when it comes to competing in a 12 hour race, serious injuries can occur. Fortunately, at the race last weekend no one was seriously injured however many people were not able to finish. Finishing an ironman is a large enough accomplishment and often times the competitor doesn’t even care about their finishing place. Seeing these men and women push their bodies to such a limit made me admire them incredibly.