Race Report by: Steve Murray (Ironman Newbie)

It could not have been a better day for my first Ironman. Tom Mungham, another Duck, was also racing. We woke up to a calm ocean, very little wind and a projected mid-day high of 75 degrees – I’m sure the Ironman gods were being very gentle with me since it was my first time - much appreciated by the way!! There were 2,277 athletes racing, 100 Pros and over 1,000 1st timers. Thankfully I was not the only person looking like a deer in the headlights.

The swim was an amazing experience, although nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to go through. Even a summer rough water lake swim with a buddy canoeing beside me didn’t help. I told my friend after the Ironman that it would have been better if he had run me over with his canoe and whacked me in the face with his paddle every 30 seconds. That may have done the trick.

The Ducks did get me in shape for the swim. I knew I could get under 1:10 so I seeded myself somewhat in the front middle. From the time the gun went off to about the half km mark it was hand-to-hand combat. I was kicked and punched in the head, swam over and had my goggles knocked to the point that they filled up with water. This was not a situation where I could have stopped to fix my goggles unless I wanted to be run over by 1,000 swimmers charging up behind me. So, I swam the first 2 km with salt water sloshing around my eyeballs. It was a 2 loop swim course so I drained my goggles on the beach and ran back in for the second loop with dry, albeit sore eyes. The second loop was much better. I found my stroke and tracked down someone to draft. I popped out of the water at 1:03:08 – I was very happy and ready for the bike – all thanks to the Ducks. Tom also came in with a great time of 1:05:30.

The bike was flat and fast. Not much happened during the bike except for line ups at the ‘Johnny-on-Spots’. You’d think a lot of people would just run into the bush. Well not this year. Apparently one athlete last year exposed himself in front of a lawyer’s kids. Bad move. This year if you were caught relieving yourself in public you’d be arrested. So there was lots of line ups and time wasted - although one guy in front of me decided to save some time by going on his bike seat. My first thought was ‘Man…he sure is sweating a lot” Maybe next year we’ll see more toilets on the course.

The bike is my weak link. Breaking 6 hours was my goal and I did it in 5 hours and 56 minutes so I was very pleased. Tom had a killer time of 4:53:42. Not too shabby.

As for the run - it was a piece of cake...NOT! I saw some very strong runners go by but a lot were walking, some even had friends walking with them to help them along. I managed to run the entire course but obviously not at my usual speed. I saw people in tears being helped out by other runners and one woman fainted right beside me. We stayed with her until she came to and the medical team showed up. There was also alot of goodwill happening on the course. This is the only sport where you start the race like a pit bull and finish like Mother Theresa.

The ending was like a dream. Darkening skies, loud music, people cheering and dancing on the streets. Some very sloshed women where even trying to hand out shots of beer to passing athletes. Although I didn’t see one athlete take a shot. Weird.

As I approached the last 500 meters the noise got loader and the crowds got bigger. There were complete strangers screaming my name and trying to ‘high five’ me. It was very surreal and a moment I will never forget. As I crossed the finish line (sorry - this is where it gets heavy) I held up a picture of my sister who is battling breast cancer. I figured that there is no other place in the world where so many people come together with the same mind-boggling amounts of self-determination, positive thinking, commitment and physical strength and that if there was any chance that some of that positive energy gets to my sister, then I’ve done my job. I’m sure I’m not the only athlete taking advantage of the situation for that very same reason. To say it was a very emotional time for my family and I is an understatement.

So there you have it. I finished in 11 hours and 43 minutes. And Tom finished in 10 hours and 50 minutes. I got my medal, ate my pizza, and went to sleep. It was the first time my 4 year-old actually tucked me in. My only fear is that I’ve been hallucinating all this time and I’m going to snap out of it with 20 KM still to do on the run. Gulp!

Was it a hard road to become an Ironman – YES.

Will I do another Ironman – YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!