Little Cow Harbor
4 Mile Run

March 4th 2000

First Female
21st Overall

23:57

Donna McMahon (female winner) - Little Cow - William Foder (Race Director) - Carlos Castro (male winner)

St. Patrick's Run

3/19/00

18:39

1st female

13th overall of 329 runners

Hawaii Ironman 2000

Hawaii, it was so good to be back, such a beautiful place to visit, to train, to get married and to have the most incredible race in the universe. After arriving in Kona on Saturday 10/7, I was looking forward to the next week of events and of course the race a week later. I knew I was well trained for the race and believed that after a week of tapering and acclimating (to the climate) I would be ready for a great race! This is the race of all races… this is the Ironman World Championship! It has the greatest field of triathletes who had to earn their way here by qualifying at other half and full Ironman events during the previous 12 months, and a small number of people who get in thru the Ironman lottery. The race also has the a huge prize purse; $350,000 total, a car, and the top few gain a spot in Ironman history.

            My husband and I (our 3^rd anniversary was on race day 10/14/00; we were married in Kona in 1997) had a great week of touring around the island, snorkeling, flying around the island (saw the lava enter the ocean which created clouds of steam) and light workouts while enjoying the beautiful scenery and waters. Alii Drive is the main road that follows the Kona coast for about 7 miles and is part of the racecourse. Many hotels are located on this road and it got busier as race day approached. There were athletes everywhere, from sunrise to sunset – riding bikes, running, and swimming at the pier – we all seemed to take over Kona! It looked like the race capital of the world.  I carried the flag in the Ironman Parade in which all the athletes march down about 2 miles of Alii Drive in groups by country (there were athletes from over 50 countries)        

All was going as planned until Thursday when I started feeling a sore throat. Well by Saturday (race day) it blossomed into a cold with a bad sore throat. I hoped it would subside as the day went on but it made my race uncomfortable and I was stuffy and had the sore throat all day. The Gatorade burned my throat and it was hard to swallow. My goals dropped as the day went on, but I was determined to finish in less than 11 hours.

When I did the race here in Hawaii in 1997 they said it was the worst conditions in 10 years… well that seemed like nothing compared to today. Reports are now that the conditions are the worst ever! I never felt winds like these before. The crosswinds were so powerful that I was afraid to go into the aero position for fear that I would be blown over (a few people did get blown over). By the end of the bike my hands were numb and tingling from holding the handlebars so tight!  It was a tough day but we all had to endure the conditions.

All in all, I had a fantastic time in Hawaii celebrating our anniversary and the whole race experience. Next time I think I will stay in a bubble the week before race day to ensure I’m healthy on race day!

More pictures to come! (Thumbnails - click to enlarge)