Why Do The Ironman? Part 5

I first heard of Sister Madonna Budder through Phil Keoghan’s (host of ‘The Amazing Race’) book ‘No Opportunity Wasted’. Sister Budder is the 80-year-old nun who has completed many Ironman triathlons including the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in Kona. I thought: if she could do it at her age, I could do it! However, I could not even comprehend how much preparation and training was involved in completing the 226K multi-discipline event. Years later, I met this fit and inspiring competitor at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida in 2008 and 2009. I had to do my best, and I did do my best with her racing side-by-side. I was absolutely stoked being with her in the race that I, earlier, earned a qualification for.

Integrated within every Ironman World Championship DVD are powerfully inspiring stories about competitors who survived near-death ordeals, physical challenges, or are near-death. Jon ‘Blazeman’ Blais defied impending death and a crippling medical condition to complete his personal quest one year; and watch the event from his wheelchair in the next. We celebrate his memory by rolling on our belles, across the finishing-line. 4-time Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington did the ‘Blazeman Roll’ in almost every one of her wins (symbolic of her fight against ALS disease), and stayed on after her victory to cheer on the remainder of the field.

Chrissie's biography which chronicles her meteoric rise from a woman with control issues to world-class champion athlete.

The father-and-son team, ‘The Hoyts’ is a synergistic collaboration that fulfills the human hunger to achieve and accomplish. Father tows and pushes his son through a complete Ironman for his son feels so much alive to be part of a race that saw its humble beginnings in 1978. One is smitten by their love and mutual respect for each other, braving the elements and challenging the odds to complete the race.

These amazing and inspiring people in Ironman help bring out the best in us. It is through their thoughts, words and deeds that we feel what we feel, and are humanized in the process. Ironman is more than a demanding personal physical challenge. It is a celebration of the human spirit that defies unthinkable odds, to emerge victorious and celebrating.

Your Finishing Pose

Chrissy Wellington completes her win with the Blazeman Roll (in memory of the brave Ironman John Blaise who was stricken with Lou Gehrig Disease). Greg Welch did a high heel click when he crossed the line for his Kona championship win. Craig ‘Crowie’ Alexander celebrated like-wise with a similar diamond-legged jump this year. Macca stabbed the air with both his index-fingers when he won his first Ironman world championships in 2007.

Wilson embraces a familiar milestone (Courtesy: PhotoPix).

Your pose when you cross the line matters only to you. Whether you smile, grin, grimace or wince you made it. To go so far, for so long, indicates your true grit. Even if you did not complete in your attempt (due to injury and bodily dysfunction), the weeks of lonely, pain-staking workouts must account for something. Nobody has a right to wrest it away from your calloused hands. If you have to compete for it, so be it. It is a privilege you earned and you have every right to will yourself through the line, with or without assistance.

Vijay pumps his fist in his first IM finish (Courtesy: PhotoPix).

Register for your event. Train hard for it. Show up for race day. Be steadfast and resolute. Keep your eye on the prize. Jog. Walk. Crawl on your belly if you must. Just do what you need to do. Just focus on the end-point and reel yourself in. Your dream to complete is your magnet, that attracts you there with your plans and preparation. The suffering that you undergo is part of your journey, that adds to your character development and perspective of your world.

Soak in the sun. Bathe in your joy. Shower in your moments! Immerse yourself in your freedom. Plunge into your future. That is your destiny.

The runner in the background is headed for his dream.