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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, October 17, 2003

From 15 athletes to 1,500

 •  Through the years
 •  Facts

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The 112-mile bicycling portion of the triathlon is sandwiched between the swim and the 26.2-mile run.

Advertiser library photo • Oct. 18, 1986

Swimming is the first portion of the Ironman, with triathletes taking to the ocean for a 2.4-mile swim.

Advertiser library photo • Oct. 17, 1987

Mark Allen has won the Ironman six times.

Advertiser library photo • 1989

"We had speculated that the maximum number of likely participants would be 100 to 200."
— Judy Collins. Race co-founder

Twenty-five years ago, 15 triathletes entered the inaugural Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon, and 10 volunteers helped organize the race.

Tomorrow, a limited field of 1,500 triathletes will enter the Ironman Triathlon World Championships, and more than 5,500 volunteers will assist.

"It has truly become a world-class event," said race director Diana Bertsch. "It's like Kona turns into a different world on this one day. It's a day when the whole town shuts down, but the whole town comes together to make this work."

John and Judy Collins never imagined it would come to this.

Who's better?

The Collins' created the first Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon in 1978 as a way to resolve a debate among friends: Who are the better athletes — runners or swimmers?

That first triathlon was held on O'ahu, and combined three of Hawai'i's most popular endurance events: Waikiki Rough Water Swim, Around O'ahu Bike Race and the Honolulu Marathon.

"Uppermost in our minds that first year were safety and enjoyment," Judy Collins said. "We hoped that no one would be hurt and that the participants would enjoy this endurance triathlon enough to want to come back to do it again the next year."

In the second year, 15 triathletes again entered, but the event received national recognition in a 10-page article in Sports Illustrated. In the third year, there were more than 100 entries.

"We had speculated that the maximum number of likely participants would be 100 to 200," Judy said.

Move from 'Oahu

By the fourth year, the event was moved to Kailua, Kona, to escape the busy roadways of Honolulu. By the fifth year, more than 800 triathletes were participating, and the event was broadcast on national television.

"The first year I raced, you simply filled in the application and sent it in with a check and you were in," said six-time champion Mark Allen. "Not so now."

Now, you have to be either really good or really lucky. Because the field is now limited to 1,600, triathletes have to either qualify for Kona at other triathlons earlier in the year, or be selected in a lottery.

"I think (triathlons) are so popular because it is a challenge that just about everyone has access to," Allen said. "It uses your entire body and tests your mind and spirit as well. It kind of has the same allure that gold has, in that there are so many ways to approach personal perfection that you could spend a lifetime getting there."

Just getting from start to finish of the Ironman might seem like a lifetime to some.

Daunting challenge

The course has always consisted of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run — the distances set forth by the Collinses in 1978, and now the standard for all Ironman triathlons around the world.

Gordon Haller won the first triathlon in 11 hours, 46 minutes, 40 seconds. Last year, Timothy DeBoom won with a time of 8:29:56.

In the first few years of the event, some finishers took more than 24 hours to complete the course. Now, there is a 17-hour cutoff, and more than 90 percent of the entries usually make it.

"We are surprised each year at the fast times," Judy Collins said. "We were surprised at Gordon Haller's time 25 years ago."

Time factors

The Collins' cite four factors for the evolution of times: cross-training regimens, the periodization of the training and race seasons, the scientifically based nutrition taken during endurance events, and an increase in the number of long-distance swimmers.

Although the first triathlon was staged in 1978, next week's race will be the 27th (there were two races in 1982).

Allen, who now coaches triathletes, said another part of the allure is the beauty of the course combined with the grueling conditions of Kona.

"The Big Island and all its energy, power, and forces of nature that meet there are what makes that race so special," he said. "Some people look for ways to make things easier or less raw. But if you take that element out of the race, then it loses its heart and would become a sanitized version of the real thing."

Bertsch agrees, and she has seen the Kona race from all angles. She started as a spectator on her honeymoon in 1990. Two years later, she moved to the Big Island and served as an Ironman volunteer. In 1995, she participated in the triathlon. Two years later, she joined the Ironman staff. This year, she became race director.

'Gets in your blood'

"This is something that gets in your blood," she said. "Just to be a part of it — no matter which part — makes you feel special."

And as for the debate that started it all?

"In the process of trying to answer the swimmer vs. runner question, a new athlete has emerged who is the most fit," John Collins said. "The cross-trained athlete."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.

• • •

Through the years

1978: John and Judy Collins create the inaugural Ironman by combining the courses of three existing events: Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 miles), Around-O'ahu Bike Race (112 miles) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). Fifteen triathletes — all men — start the first Ironman; 12 finish. Gordon Haller wins with a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds.

1979: Sports Illustrated prints a 10-page feature article on the second Ironman, creating national and international interest. Lyn Lemaire places fifth overall and becomes the first female to enter and finish the Ironman.

1980: ABC's Wide World of Sports televises the event. Dave Scott of California wins the first of his six championships.

1981: Valerie Silk takes over supervision of the race and moves the Ironman to Kailua, Kona.

1982 (February): Julie Moss appears on her way to the women's championship, but collapses from dehydration yards from the finish line. Kathleen McCartney passes Moss to take the women's title. Moss crawls across the finish line in what race officials still describe as "the most memorable moment in race history."

1982 (October): Race owners move the event to October to give the triathletes a cooler climate.

1986: Paula Newby-Fraser of Zimbabwe wins the first of her record eight women's titles.

1989: Mark Allen wins the first of his six championships.

1992: Paula Newby-Fraser wins her fifth women's championship in 8:55:28, a record that still stands. It is the first time a female completes the course in less than nine hours.

1996: Luc Van Lierde of Belgium wins the Ironman in his first attempt and sets the course record of 8:04:08.

1997: The Physically Challenged Division is introduced. Using a hand-cranked bike and a wheelchair, John MacLean is the first winner of that division.

2001: Three weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Tim DeBoom of Colorado becomes the first American winner since 1995. The crowd chants "USA! USA!" as DeBoom makes the stretch run.

2002: Natascha Badman of Switzerland wins her fourth women's championship; DeBoom wins his second consecutive title.

• • •

Facts

What: A 2.4-mile ocean swim, followed by a 112-mile bike, and then a 26.2-mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to complete the course.

Who: Approximately 1,600 competitors from all over the world.

When: Tomorrow, 7 a.m. start First finishers expected between 3-3:30 p.m.

Where: Kailua, Kona on the Big Island. Race starts and finishes near the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel.

Purse: $430,000 total; the first male and female finishers receive $100,000 each.