The Hardest Race on the Planet: The Ironman Triathlon
The Ironman Triathlon is the world’s toughest race; it features the same events as a regular triathlon but the distances are much longer. It is the most difficult thing that athletes can put their bodies and their minds through. The race is open to ordinary people, who are really not ordinary because it takes a certain type of person to compete in something as extreme as an Ironman race. A person taking part in the gruelling event has to train for months on end and has to make sure their bodies are in top physical condition. At the end of the day, the Ironman Triathlon is one of the most difficult yet most satisfying races in the world.
The triathlon is an Olympic sport and has been one for many years. However, people are never satisfied with doing a gruelling event like the triathlon. They need to push themselves to the limit and achieve something truly great. The triathlon actually started in 1974 when a group of friends started training together in three different events, swimming, cycling and running. The first triathlon event was held when all three disciplines were combined at Mission Bay, Southern California. In 1978, in Hawaii, people started to wonder which of the three events was the hardest to compete in. Arguments started to take place and thus, three different disciplines were rolled into one massive event. The three separate events that were held during the time in Hawaii were the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, which was 2.4 miles, the Oahu Bike Race, which was 112 miles long, and the Honolulu Marathon, which lasted 26.2 miles. These arguments turned these three events into the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. In 1982, the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon started to gain a lot of media coverage and interest started to grow. From the first race, in which only 12 out of 15 participants finished, the race grew to 3000 people last year.
The Ironman Triathlon is very popular these days and lots of people decide to sign up and take part in them. The hardest and most gruelling part of the Ironman event is the swim. It is a 2.4 mile swim in open water that drains almost all of the energy from an athlete. It is important to get out of the water as quickly as possible but also to pace yourself so as not to deplete all of your energy reserves. The second leg of the event is an intense bike ride over uneven terrain. It is very difficult to do, especially after a massive swim that has just taken place, but well-trained athletes are able to do this part of the race in about 5 hours. The final leg is the running aspect of the event. After swimming for 2.4 miles and cycling for five hours, now participants have to compete in a full marathon: 26.2 miles. If anyone has ever participated in a marathon, they will know how difficult it is to do, but it is almost impossible when a swim and bike ride precede it. By the time a participant reaches the marathon leg, they are running on pure mental strength as their bodies have given up a long time ago.
It is interesting to note the reasons why people compete in such a difficult and gruelling race. Some do it because it changes their lives in some way, some do it because it motivates them to do great things in their lives, others take part because they want to prove to themselves and others that they can do it and some do it because they want to keep their bodies in peak physical condition. Through it all, it takes a huge amount of determination, physical preparation and mental conditioning to complete. But for those that do take part and are able to cross that finish line, it is the best experience of their lives.
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