Thisrnyear I had the pleasure of accompanying two athletes I coach to thernWorld Championships in Kona. One, athlete, Melodie Cronenberg,rnqualified in her age group and the other, Sara Levin, won a lotteryrnspot. rn

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(Jackie at one of our mini-triathlons)

Whatrnis it like to coach someone to World Championships? It is the icing onrnthe cake. It is an exciting finale to a long process. Getting anrnathlete ready for any event and watching them complete it after a longrnbuild up process, overcoming obstacles and staying focused is anrnincredibly rewarding endeavor. Getting an athlete to do an Ironman is arnspecial challenge particularly when they weren’t an athlete before.rnHelping someone get to Kona is beyond special. This year I helpedrnMelodie qualify in her age group just 3 weeks before WorldrnChampionships. rn

World championships are truly a racernlike no other. For one it is held in one of the most beautiful placesrnon earth. The climate is comfortably warm for the most part. It isrneveryone’s “A” race. The athletes are as uptight as the locals arernrelaxed. The fresh fish and local fruit are both bountiful and amazing.rnHowever, it is the Hawaiian culture that differentiates this race fromrnall other triathlons. It is more of an experience than a race. There isrnsomething special about the history and spirituality that touchesrnalmost everyone who visits and most certainly all that race it. rn

Standingrnon the sea wall during the swim start in Kona, the native Hawaiianrnmusic drives high energy percussion into the wildly screaming crowd.rnAll senses for fans and athletes alike are heightened to maximum. Thernenergy stays that way all day long until the last athlete crosses thernline and is given the last lei and the last finisher medal. Many timesrnthroughout the day I had to wipe tears away as I watched countlessrnstories of courage, grit and determination. Watching the firstrnwheelchair athlete finish and then seeing him behind the scenes in thernathlete zone was very moving. He was completely spent unable to utter arnsingle word. I watched a gentleman in his 60s finish with the 10 hourrnguys. He told me he was very tired in his French accent. Naturally,rnthere were athletes from all over the world. Many had sacrificed muchrnjust to get to the starting line. Many gave much to get to the finish.rnEveryone gave just a little more than they thought was possible becausernthis was Kona, World Championships. These athletes are the best of thernbest. rn

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Bothrnof the people I took had great races. Sara Levin who races in the 35-39rnage group had an Ironman PR of 13:07. Melodie Cronenberg who is in thernF 60-64 age group, pulled off a 15:35 three weeks after IMUK and with arnbad case of plantar fasciitis to boot. These details are important butrnpale in comparison to what they symbolize. These athletes set highrnstandards and achieved them. For myself, all the hard work, planning,rnstructuring, training and advising were well worth the effort just tornbe a small part of these two athletes dream come true. For all whorndream of some day going to this race, it is worth it. It is anrnincredible experience to be part of whether you ever race or not. Tornvolunteer or otherwise participate and be part of the crowd are allrngreat options. rn

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Photos by Tapio and Tammy club members that make this a regular eventrn