Ironman South Africa

First of all we need to discuss what exactly the Ironman is – It is a 4k swim, 180k bike, and a 42k (a marathon) run. For the people back home I will translate into miles… 2.4 m swim, 112 m bike and 26.2 m run.

The people who participate in this will burn a weeks worth of calories! And it takes them anywhere from 8-17 hours (since they start at 7 and the cutoff is at midnight).

I decided I wanted to see the start of the event so I woke up at 6 to start my walk down to the Hopi beach where they would be starting their swim in the ocean. (I got up way later then a couple of my friends who were at the pier at 5 in the morning to make sure they got a good spot – they were the first ones there!) I showed up just after they jumped into the water. I went down on the beach - close to where they were exiting/entering the water. I took my shoes off so that I could stand in the ocean and take pictures. The route was soooo far (4 k around 2 miles) and then as the first people (the professionals) got out of the water I found out that they had to do the course again! Everyone was wearing the same black wetsuit except one man who was just wearing board shorts.

After they were done swimming they had to hop on their bikes and ride 112 miles. That is ridiculous!! I watched some of them as they came out of the tunnel to start the bike course. I think at this point they were probably still thinking that doing the Ironman was an ok idea. It was about 9 at this point (2 hours after the race had started) and I was already tired so I met some friends for breakfast. I had a waffle with syrup and ice cream. After breakfast I walked back home so I could change into my swimming suit since it was turning into a hot day and I wanted to actually swim in the ocean (which I hadn’t done here yet and maybe only one other time in my life!) My friend Natasha picked me up around noon and we made our way back down to the event. We went to where a few of her friends had set up camp on Marine Drive where everything was happening. Everyone was still on the bikes when we got down there – so we cheered them on as they passed.. but they went by so fast that it was hard for us to cheer. I took lots of pictures and sat on the curb as they zoomed by. I was a little afraid they were going to hit me – especially after we saw one guy fall off of his bike. He was trying to get a drink and didn’t have any hands on his bike – he lost control and fell! But he got back up, took a couple of minutes, and kept on racing. (I guess when you pay 3,500 rand or about 550 dollars to do a race then you don’t let anything stop you!)

A little while later the first man (a professional) got off of his bike and started to run the marathon (26 miles). He ran right past where we were standing so we all cheered really loud. Then slowly more and more started to come and the first lady ran by – Chrissie Willington (or something like that I think – she was one touch chick). After another hour of cheering on the runners by calling out their name and slapping their hands we decided to head to the ocean. So we grabbed our towels and headed down to the beach. It was one of my first times actually getting in the ocean and it was wonderful – cold but so peaceful and relaxing. I felt much cooler after the swim and was ready to head back and cheer on some more bikers/runners.

Soon after we were done swimming we made our way to the finish line so that we would be able to see the first few people finish. The first man crossed the finish line in around 8 hours (so around 3 in the afternoon). AMAZING! He was so exhausted but still acknowledged the crowd and standing ovation. We waited around for the first woman to cross, which was Chrissie, who finished about 45 minutes after the first man. She set a record and so did the first man to cross. They were amazing. After I watched a few more finish I headed back to where Natasha was sitting. I kept on cheering and yelling for the people running.

It was one of the best times that I have had in P.E. I felt like it was a parade and it brought a lot of people out of their houses and down to cheer the Ironmen on! The people we were standing with were the best. They would yell “we have a walker” and then we would all start either chanting the person’s name or saying ‘go, go, go’ haha. Then Natasha started slapping people on the butt. She would yell ‘Go Mathew’ and then as he ran by she would slap him on the butt. The best was when on man went by and we were all cheering super loud and slapping his hand and Natasha slapped him on the butt.. then he turned around and said lets do that again. So he ran back by us again! Haha

I stayed their screaming people’s names and telling them they could do it and even sang them the song ‘you are the champions.’ It was such a fun event and I know that the people running appreciated it because several people would say thank you as they were huffing and puffing running by us. The race didn’t finish until midnight but I was to tried to stay that late. So I left around 8. There were still a lot of people running at that point just trying to finish because they all had to be done at midnight and if they didn’t cross the line by then – they didn’t finish. I would have liked to see the end when the last stragglers were pushing hard to finish but getting up at 6, standing, and cheering all day had me beat – I can’t even imagine how they were feeling!