IRONMAN is a sports phenomenon that has come to symbolize the very best of human striving, achievement and excellence. And race announcer Mike Reilly is known throughout the endurance sports world as the “Voice of IRONMAN.”

Every year, over three hundred thousand people around the world compete in a series of long-distance triathlons that test the outer limits of their physical abilities and mental toughness. Some do it for glory, some to test themselves, some to honor lost loved ones or colleagues, some to bring healing to their troubled lives.

Over the years, hundreds of IRONMAN athletes have shared their tales with Reilly. In this book, he tells some of the stories that have touched and inspired him, in the hope that they will do the same for the reader.

A young woman races in a contest against cancer that threatens her life. A soldier carries a flag through the full marathon distance to keep alive the memory of fallen comrades. Two of the sport’s most decorated champions do battle in the greatest head-to-head competition ever seen in any sport. Parents put their family back together after the loss of a child.

Reilly has witnessed it all, and brings it to life in a series of riveting stories that will have readers re-thinking their notions of what people are capable of when pushed to their limits.

Foreword  / 11

1. E Komo Mai  / 15

2. “You are an IRONMAN!”  / 31

3. Healing / 43

4. Iron Miracles / 59

5. Year 1 / 79

6. As if IRONMAN wasn’t tough enough already…  / 93

7. Clash of the Titans  / 113

8. Doing It for a Living / 125

9. Better, Not Older / 139

10. Racing for a Reason / 147

11. The Club / 153

12. Coping / 161

13. Transformation / 169

14. Letter from a Schoolchild / 183

15. Legend of the Fall / 185

16. This One Time? At IRONMAN? / 193

17. The Best Call I Ever Made / 213

18. Why I Do It / 219

Acknowledgements / 226

An IRONMAN triathlon is generally considered to be the toughest and most popular one-day sporting event in the world. It’s a 140.6-mile triathlon consisting of three disciplines, done consecutively, with no breaks:

1. Swim: 2.4 miles (3.8 km) in open water

2. Bike: 112 miles (180.2 km)

3. Run: 26.2 miles (42.2 km), a standard marathon

IRONMAN 70.3 is also a triathlon, with each leg half the distance of a full-distance IRONMAN race.

What started out as a private challenge for 15 individuals in 1978 has since grown into the largest series of endurance racing events in the world. There are 41 full-distance events in 24 countries, and 116 half-distance races in 46 countries. Some 200,000 people enter an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 race every year.

Both series have their own World Championship races. The IRONMAN contest, often referred to simply as “KONA,” takes place in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, every October. The IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship is held in a different country each year.