FEATURE STORY
ROB HILL
T
en years of qualifying, training,
tapering and racing at the Ironman
World Championship in Kailua-Kona,
Hawaii have provided so many
memories, friends, challenges to overcome
and so many lessons learned both in the
sport of triathlon and in life. The question is:
What is MY Hawaii? In other words, what does
this race mean to me personally?
Racing the Hawaii Ironman 10 consecutive
years was never a goal of mine, which in a
way made achieving it a lot easier. I focused
on one race at a time, one season at a time,
one Ironman preparation at a time.
When I first qualified for Hawaii at Ironman
Australia in 2007 and first experienced the
excitement and awe of racing in Kona, I made
a commitment that if I ever qualify again
for Hawaii I will respect the achievement
and accept the slot. I was also motivated
by something that has motivated me ever
since my first sprint triathlon in 1997: to get
better at this sport. I have been privileged
to have put together nine consecutive, solid
qualifying Ironman races since that first
one in 2007, and lucky (in a weird way) that
when things have gone drastically wrong,
or even just those race days where we feel
flat and unable to perform at our best, these
races have been at Kona in October. It’s a
bit frustrating when a good race in Hawaii
has become my main goal of the year, but
the upside has been that I have had that
opportunity again the next year to fulfil my
potential in Kona.
Each year when the plane lands at Kona
airport and I first breathe in the hot air, I feel
at home, all be it an oppressive, draining
home that provides a very tough place to
train or race. The only sessions I do that feel
comfortable in Kona are in the water! There is
something special about Kona which people
like Mark Allen have spoken much about:
the spirituality of the place, the land feels
raw and alive which I suspect is to do with
the newness of the land and the most active
volcano in the world that continues to add
land mass to the Big Island.
Beyond the physical preparation to do well
in October in Hawaii, there is a real benefit of
respecting the island, the conditions and the
difficulty of the race. Every year this Ironman
feels to me like a double Ironman compared
to racing the same distance back home. It is
the biggest challengeof the sport, with the
toughest competition you can face in a swimbike-run event.
My Hawaii is just this, facing up to all of
these challenges that cannot be found at
any other race and putting my reputation on
the line - again - to test myself in one of the
special places in the world!
TURIA PITT FINISHES HAWAII
Y
ou couldn’t write about Hawaii 2016 without mentioning the name
Turia Pitt.
Along with our own John Maclean, has there been a more
inspirational Australian athlete complete the Ironman World
Championship?
For over five years Pitt endured 200 operations after suffering severe burns
to 70% of her body in an Ultra Marathon in Western Australia. Pitt was told she
would never run again. Well she proved the doctors wrong and went on to
finish Hawaii in 14:37:30.
During the race Pitt needed to wear a special skin suit to help regulate her
temperature as well as use modified brakes on her bike due to the injuries to
her hands.
Turia Pitt is an Australian icon and watching her cross the line was one of the
most special finishes ever seen in Kona.
THE WRAP UP
S
o another year is done for Kona and while the athletes who finished on the famous Alii
Drive, under the Banyon Tree, rest and take stock of what they have achieved, over 30,000
athletes around the world are plotting and planning how they will get to Kona 2017.
Pick your qualifying race wisely, train smart and you too may just add your name to the
Hawaii Honour Roll of Finishers.
MULTISPORT MAGAZINE | 11