Kona Remembered

I hope that you enjoyed our first annual IronBlog as much as we enjoyed producing it!

The 2006 Ford Ironman Triathlon World Championship produced 2 of the most exciting races that we've seen in years.   Michellie delivered a perfectly balanced performance, and Normann confirmed once again that the event can be won with a dominant bike ride. 

Check out my perspective of the race by looking at my photo album.

We look forward to seeing you next year!

Kona deconstructed

Every year I come to Kona for the Ironman (this is year seven for me – still but a paltry number compared to many of the tri journalists and athletes who have been coming to the Big Island since the early ’80s), I experience two visceral reactions: 1. It’s hot and 2. Where did all this traffic come from?

Yes, Kona has grown big time since the race first was held here in 1981, but add several thousand athletes and their friends and families to the mix and it’s gridlock city. And don’t even think about trying to drive along Ali’i if you want to travel at anything quicker than a slow walking pace.

Those of you who have been to Kona know what I’m talking about. But for those of you who don’t, let me try to create a mental picture of the town for you.

First Impressions: Kona 2006

We arrived in Kona last night in the middle of a deluge.  Rain was so heavy that no one wanted to leave the plane to make the mad dash across the runway to the terminal.  I'm talking cats & dogs... 

Competitor Magazine's Bob Babbitt and John Smith were on my flight, as was 3-time world champion Peter Reid.  We all got drenched as we sprinted to the luggage carousels to the shouts of "don't run!"  Right.

Earthquake Energy

I’ve started hundreds and hundreds of running, cycling and multi-sport events, and can now get to the starting line without those gut- wrenching butterflies that used to turn me inside out in the early years. Racing simply doesn’t horrify me any more. Maybe I’ve lost the oomph in my middle age, like an old cat. However, just arriving in Kona as a spectator immediately flips my stomach, reminding me of those sickening moments as a kid just prior to a race.

Reporter's notebook

You may or may not remember (or care, for that matter), when CNN's Anderson Cooper was reporting from the Lebanon-Israel border last summer during the fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. One of the more insightful segments of the coverage was Cooper's 'Reporter's Notebook', which provided some insight into the story behind the story -- what day-to-day life was like on the front line of the conflict.

No, I'm not going to cash in my Ironman press credentials for the role of  war correspondent this week--despite the fact that covering an Ironman may, at times, feel like a death march; thanks to the often-oppressive heat and humidity. (Every year in Kona I feel more decrepit and increasingly feeble while stuggling to shuffle through nine-minute miles during an easy three-mile jog down Ali'i Dr.) However, I will do my best to provide a more robust picture of what's happening on the ground.

Earthquake rocks Kona

(This article reprinted courtesy of TriAthlete Magazine.)

Oct. 15 – An earthquake has rocked the Big Island of Hawaii less than a week before the scheduled Ford Ironman World Championship on Saturday, Oct. 21. According to a report by the Associated Press, the quake, which was followed by several strong aftershocks, measured 6.3 on the Richter scale and was located 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua-Kona.