The IronFan Experience: Perspective from the crowd of the 2007 Wisconsin Ironman

This past weekend was spent in the most loveliest of cities, Madison, WI where we witnessed the spectical that is IRONMAN! In case you might be thinking Strongest Man competition like Claire's preschool teacher thought, think again! Think... up before dawn, treading water for a half an hour, a loud cannon, swimming amongst thousands of other endurance athletes who are crazy just like you for an hour or more.

Then running out of the water up a parking garage spiral to the top changing your clothes, hopping on a really expensive bike and riding four to six hours ... or so... then riding back up the spiral and handing that really expensive bike to a complete stranger only to change your shoes quickly. Run into a porta-john while someone is slathering sunscreen on your body...then run for three to six hours or more. At midnight, your race is done if you want it to be or not...because, I ask you, who doesn't want to stop after 17 hours of constant movement?

The truth is watching my brother Stephen in his first and surely not last Ironman experience, a dream of his which he accomplished with precision and grace and sheer will power I might add, was awe-inspiring. While at the same time a little frightening. I do not have this dream. I do not inspire to be an Ironman. I DO have great respect for the people who choose to challenge themselves in that way.

I do want to share some of what I saw. I saw people who I have worked out with, who are really hard-core and much much stronger than me, look at me while I was cheering for them on the run course with the blankest of eyes. You could feel how badly it hurt to be still moving after eleven to twelve hours with six miles left to run. The look in their eyes changes near the finish line out of sheer joy that ... Thank GOD! It is FINALLY OVER! and they suddenly have a spring in their step that they haven't experienced all day.

Those are the moments that you see on TV and online. The unreported rawness of Ironman Wisconsin is seen up and down State Street. They don't show people throwing up and being carried or dragged to the med tents at the finish or riding the bike course with a separated shoulder in pure agony. The reason why most of the people who finish Ironman triathlons, let alone start them is because they are stubborn sons-of-b!t@hes that are driven. DRIVEN by some force that is not known to most people.

There was some truly visceral moments this past weekend that I still can't get out of my head. The sound of 2205 people swimming five stories below me in Lake Monona. It sounds like a washing machine or a rapids in a rushing river. The word churning comes to mind. The bike course was mostly out of reach except for a flat straight passage where the riders went through at 25-40 miles per hour. The blur of colors flying past me was fantastic. You could tell that after the first loop many of the competitors were still having a good time. Only just starting to feel what they were doing. The run course was much slower paced than the bike obviously. You could get up and run with them which I did a couple times with Steve. While you are moving along the course you can see why the runners had such blank stares. There were thousands of bodies and faces watching them that it just didn't make sense after time. You could almost smell the salt that was crystallizing all over their bodies. It was only when I held up a sign that read "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN" did some of the runners look up and smile. With 134 miles under their treads up to that point and 6.4 more to go, being reminded that what they want is only six lousy miles away was good not only for them but for their loved ones who have been standing for thirteen hours and nervously waiting, hoping that whoever they were waiting for was okay.

I loved it every time Steve noticed us. Apparently we were hard to miss us, a party of twelve strong screaming our brains out. His face lit up and he just seemed lighter. That made the seven hour drive to and from Madison worth it. Knowing that somehow maybe just a little bit we were helping him make it through this enormous goal of his.

I am proud of my brother and his accomplishment. I hope that he is happy and feeling stronger every second. XOXO