BlogRunner: Ironman Hawaii – German Andreas Raelert 2nd best after Australian

Idyllic beaches, tanned women in hula skirts and a paradise for surfers – that’s our perception of Hawaii. Probably for most of us. But once a year it becomes a place of pain, sweat and exhaust. That’s when the Ironman Hawaii, the “world’s hardest triathlon”, takes place in Kailua-Kona. Like it did last Saturday, October 13^th.

The Ironman Hawaii is the oldest and most spectacular Ironman and has been held every year since 1978. Due to the special climate conditions, only the fittest athletes face up to this challenging torture. The athletes start swimming 3,86 kilometres through the bay of Kailua. After that they cycle 180,2 km from Kona to Hawi and back, followed by running 42,2 km (marathon distance!) in humid heat up to 40 degrees and facing partly strong upwinds.

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (US):

Größere Kartenansicht

Why do people go to these extremes?

Andreas Raelert from Rostock (GER), 2^nd best of this years Ironman contest said to Spiegel Online: “The feeling that you have by crossing the finish line is indescribable. Before that you blank out everything, you focus on the race, the head is your crucial driving factor.”

The 36-year old is currently Germany’s best triathlete of the Ironman-distance. After two third place nominations (2009 and 2011) and being ranked second in 2010, this year’s 2^nd place on the podium is the fourth title in a row for Raelert. But still he could not make his dream come true “to see the name Raelert on top of the results list”. This time only Pete Jacobs from Australia was faster than him. Jacobs made it to the finishing line after 8:18:37 hrs, only 5:03 minutes after him Raelert crossed the line.

But after all the German participants did well and impressed with four placements under the Top Ten!

And what about Iron”women”?

Leanda Cave (GB) won in 09:15:54 hrs. Sonja Tajsich from Regensburg (GER) missed the third place on the podium only by a minute.

Taking part in a Ironman Championship will probably never be a realistic target for me to aim for, but to train for a marathon is definitely on my list. It requires a lot of discipline, time and fitness - but I’ll get there someday!