Another Hawaii Ironman is part of the record books. This year like every year there is something a little different about that race. Yes we have the heat and the wind but the Vog was something new. However I must say that the Vog did not hang around like it did most of the week. The morning was clear and during the afternoon it showed up and it made the run course rather cool. It actually drizzle on the run. That makes it hard to tell if this was Vog or actual rain clouds. But as far as I can tell the Vog did not have any ill effects on any of our athlketes and the Pro did not mention it either. So all was good from the Vog stand point.

The men’s pro race was a very clean race. There will not be any drafting allegations or anything like that this year. My top pick Llanos almost pull it off. However right after the bike I had a feeling that Craig Alexander was the one that can spoil the Llanos party and he sure did. The top cyclist had an off day. I am not sure if it was because the main group rode faster or because they did not ride as hard. Usually with a strong wind the cyclist can get a bigger advantage but this year their advantage was minimal. But it for sure was a very exciting race. At one point of the marathon there were 8 guys within 4 minutes of the lead. That is anyone’s race. Very exciting.

The woman’s race also had a twist. Chrissie Wellington had a flat and other girls just flew by. It looked like her race was over. She just stood on the side of the road waiting for help. Looking around and actually taking a potty break right on the side of the road. Smart actually. Then came a teammate of hers that tossed a CO2 cartridge so she can fill her tire. She got back on and caught the leaders again and later dropped them. The rest was history. Her run was another incredible feat. Early on she was on a 2:4ish pace. She ended up with a 2:57 which is only 3 minutes slower than the top American male in the race Andi Potts who was 9th.

Now to our athletes and their day. We had 41 racing and 40 finished. I am not sure what happened to our one non finisher. I will find out later. We had 5 guys break 10 hours which is an excellent feat on this windy day. Then we had an additional 9 athletes under 11 hours for a total of 16 under 11 hours.

We will have 4 athletes on the age group podium tonight as the podium is top 5 but we had 9 athletes in the top 10 of their age group.

As i mentioned on my blog I got a scooter and got out on the course so I managed to cheer many of the athletes and give them some updates. That was fun. A scooter is the way to go for Ironman. One year I had a bike but that was too much work. Is hot out there. Ahhhhh.

Anyway gang. Thanks for reading. I have to go home and see my family. It is also time to elect a new US president.