Ironman: A Moment You Never Forget

“I remember exactly where I was on the course when I knew I would finish my first Ironman. It was special. A really emotional moment.”

Did you have a moment like this?

After hours and hours of racing. After months and months of preparation. Did you reach a point where you suddenly knew, beyond any doubt, that you were going to make it? That you were going to cross that finish line?

Did you get emotional too?

I did.

Ironman Switzerland, 2009.

The final section of a four-lap run course through the middle of Zurich. About 3km from the finish, alongside the tram tracks, I had my moment.

Goosebumps.
Moist eyes.
A lump in my throat.
An almighty roar on the inside.

Then a thought arrived completely uninvited.

I’m actually going to do this.

Not I might.

Not If nothing goes wrong.

Not Hopefully.

I was going to become an Ironman.

I felt like I could have leapt over a tall building in a single bound.

I was so close.

I was going to complete this insane event. The race I’d first seen on television as a teenager on Transworld Sports. I remember watching with my mouth slightly open, fascinated by these athletes who seemed to belong to another world.

They weren’t ordinary people.

They were adventurers. Explorers. The sort of people who climbed Everest or crossed oceans. Ironman wasn’t something people like me did.

Or so I thought.

And yet here I was.

Three thousand metres from the finish line, I realised that impossible had quietly become inevitable.

I had gone from being the teenager watching in disbelief… to becoming one of those athletes myself.

One of those “nutters.”

And I couldn’t have been happier about it.

It’s funny how quickly we normalise these things.

We spend time with other triathletes. Some have finished ten Ironmans. Some have raced faster than we ever will. Conversations naturally become, “What time did you do?” or “Which one are you doing next?” or “How many is that now?”

Without really noticing, Ironman starts to feel… ordinary.

Just another race.

But it isn’t.

Especially the first one.

Your first Ironman deserves to be remembered as something much bigger than a finishing time.

Because years later, I don’t remember what pace I was running. I can’t remember what I ate at the final aid station. I couldn’t even tell you exactly how long I had left. But I can still picture that stretch of road alongside the tram tracks in Zurich. I can still remember exactly where I was when the impossible became possible.

That’s the moment that stayed with me.

For all the first-timers out there, I genuinely hope you get your moment.

Of course, the red carpet and the finish line are unforgettable. Hearing your name. Crossing the line. Becoming an Ironman. That’s the celebration everyone sees. But somewhere before then, I hope you experience something even more personal.

A quiet moment when it suddenly dawns on you.

You’ve done enough.
You’ve overcome enough.
You’re going to make it.

The moment you knew.

Good luck.

And when it happens, take it in.

Because years from now, you probably won’t remember every split, every gel or every kilometre. But I suspect you’ll remember exactly where you were when you realised you were about to achieve something you once believed was impossible.

I hope you come and join me in the “nutters club!” 😀