Ironman Hawaii 1978

The Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon as a premiere event of the Ironman Hawaii was on 18 February 1978, the Hawaiian island of Oahu to the capital Honolulu around instead and was the forerunner of 1981 on the neighboring island Big Iceland under from then on as a trademark protected name "Ironman World Championship ”event.

background

During the presentation ceremony of the "Oahu Perimeter Relay Runs", a relay race for five-member teams on a Monday night in February 1977 in the garden of Primo Brewery in Pearl City , some participants discussed in view of a fortnight later held Swim & Runs organized by the "Waikiki Swim Club ”and the“ Mid-Pacific Road Runners ”, as well as upcoming ultra-marathons and long-distance swimming between the Hawaiian islands about whether swimmers, runners or other athletes are the most enduring athletes. The Commander of the US Navy John Collins added the discussion that he had read that the Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx on the largest ever observed oxygen uptake dispose. Collins, who with his wife Judy had already taken part in triathlon events in 1974 at the San Diego Track Club Triathlon and in 1975 at the Optimist Triathlon in Coronado, suggested combining three already existing competitions on Oʻahu: the 3.86 kilometer (2 , 4 mile ) Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the 184 km (115 mile) “Around Oahu Bike Race” and the Honolulu Marathon . By shortening the bike route by three miles, it was possible to start the bike race at the exit from the water and end it at the Aloha Tower in Honolulu Harbor, which has been the starting point for the marathon since 1973. This shortened the bike distance to 180 kilometers (112 miles). Five interviewees spontaneously agreed to participate, a few more wanted to support as volunteers. Exhilarated by the idea, John Collins grabbed the microphone on stage, explained the plan to those present from the approximately one hundred squadrons that had participated, and explained that the first to achieve the goal would be the "Iron Man" - following on from that Nickname of a legendary runner from the Pearl Harbor naval yard .

organization

Over the months, the project was discussed regularly, but not implemented. John and Judy Collins had bought a house and there were always more urgent things to do. Finally, when Tom Knoll, one of Collins' Navy friends, reported that his recall to Okinawa had been announced for the coming spring, they decided to do it as soon as possible after the next Perimeter Relay. After some preliminary talks, on February 1, 1978, John Collins applied to the Honolulu Department of Transportation for approval of the event and received official approval a week later. A week before the event, the "Honolulu Advertiser", then Honolulu largest daily newspaper, a preliminary report under the heading "Three (huff) Races in one (puff) day" (published in a train three races gasp ). The swim start was the San Souci Beach between the swimming pool and the Outrigger Canoe Club in the south of Waikiki . A guide boat led the participants first around a reef to the west, then to the northwest to a buoy in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel and then to the exit at Fort Derussy Beach. In addition to the escort boats with lifeguards, each participant had to organize a personal companion in a paddle boat. Each participant received a bright, numbered swimming cap. The bike course ran around Makapuʻu Point towards the north coast to Haleʻiwa, on to Wahiawa and over the Farrington Highway to the Nimitz Highway and ended at the Aloha Tower. This is where the running route began, which ran on the original course of the Honolulu Marathon, although in contrast to this event, the streets there were closed to car traffic. Each participant had to organize a personal support vehicle for both the cycling and running routes, who were responsible for the individual catering during the event. Any kind of bicycle, tri-bike, skateboard or similar means of transport powered by muscle power was permitted on the bike course - but had to be organized by the athletes themselves. In addition to running and walking, crawling was expressly allowed on the running track. The entry fee was US $ 3. In order to participate, every athlete had to apply for membership in the Iron Man Triathlon Organizing Committee . The event was expressly advertised as a personal challenge and not as a sporting competition. Before the start, each participant received a competition description made from a few copied sheets of paper.

“Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles. Brag for the rest of your life! "

“Swim 3.8 km, cycle 180 km, run 42.2 km. Brag about it for the rest of your life! "

- Commander John Collins : handwritten note on the three-page competition description of each participant in the first Ironman Hawaii

Course of the competition

Collins had received a total of 18 registrations, 15 men started on the morning of February 18 at 7 a.m. John Collins was one of the participants himself, his wife Judy had planned to start, but had to withdraw the plan a few days before the start. His Navy colleague Tom Knoll was there, Henry Forrest from the Marines , doctor Sterling Lewis, bartender Ian Emberson, former SEALs soldier and current student at Honolulu University John Dunbar. Archie Hapai, also a student in Honolulu, came out of the water first, followed by John Dunbar. Gordon Haller, a former Navy soldier and fitness enthusiast who made his living taking nightly taxi rides, was accompanied by an eleven-year-old boy next door paddling on a surfboard while he was swimming. After swimming, he first used a shower at a nearby hotel before switching to the bike course. He used a racing bike that a supporter had rented for him. Since the translation turned out to be unsuitable for the route profile, he switched to his touring bike on the way, which he usually rode to work. Haller was accompanied by two cars on the bike course - a rule that the participants agreed on beforehand. One of the 15 starters, Ralph Yawata, had to get out of the car because his support vehicle broke down. There were neither starting numbers nor road closures, all participants had to adhere to the right of way and other traffic rules. It was the responsibility of the individual to organize the meals provided by companions during the race - participants who had no support in this regard sometimes took a break in fast-food restaurants during the race. Before switching to the running track, Gordon Haller first jumped into a fountain to cool off, then treated himself to a massage from his team and asked a journalist who was present. At the time, he could not have known that he would have the fastest cycling time of all participants. But he knew that the only participant was the former SEALs soldier John Dunbar, a student at the University of Honolulu and also a passionate marathon runner, just minutes ahead of him. Since Haller's fastest marathon time was faster than the Dunbars, he was sure that victory would be possible. After 17 and again after 20 miles - once during a toilet stop by Dunbar, the other time when Dunbar had a cramp massage - Haller caught up with Dunbar on the route, but had to let him go again. At 34 km he finally overtook him. Since Dunbar's companions had run out of other drinks, they had given him beer. Haller, on the other hand, had two companions who provided him with water and cola.

Haller passed the goal - a normal traffic sign, there was no finish arc, no finish line on the road or anything like that - as the winner in 11:46:58 hours. After the race, Haller told a journalist that cycling had been the worst, and that the traffic had sometimes forced him to dodge into the sand. In a curve towards the end of the track, he almost rolled over. Another of the 15 participants, John King, had actually been pushed off the road into a garbage dump, he was unharmed, but it took hours to get his bike back on the road.

"If ever there was a case of mind over matter, it was tried yesterday."

"If there ever was a question of will, it was dared yesterday."

- Dick Fishback : Author of the first Ironman article, published in the Honolulu Advertiser the day after the race

In 2007, almost thirty years later, Gordon Haller retrospectively commented on his race with the words "It's just an amazing experience ... certainly something I didn't expect to have happen way back in the beginning" ( It was an amazing experience ... certainly something that I would not have expected in this form at the beginning ).

Results

A total of 15 men took part in the competition, twelve of whom were able to finish the race. The winner was the 28-year-old taxi driver Gordon Haller . His winning time, accumulated from the individual results achieved in swimming, cycling and running, was 11:46:40 hours, while the official start list stated 11:46:00 hours and the local daily "Honolulu Advertiser" stated 11:46:58 hours.

space	Surname	swim	wheel	To run	total time
01.	Gordon Haller	1:20:40	06:56:00	3:30:00	11:46:40
02.	John Dunbar	1:00:15	07:04:00	4:03:00	12:20:27
03.	Dave Orlowski	1:09:15	07:51:00	4:59:00	13:59:13
04th	Ian Emberson	1:01:40	07: 47.00	5:15 pm	14:03:25
05.	Sterling Lewis	1: 02.30	07: 47.00	5:15 pm	14:04:35
06th	Tom Knoll	2: 13.05	08: 19.00	4: 13.00	14:45:11
07th	Henry Forrest	1: 36.42	08: 47.00	5: 06.00	15:30:14
08th.	Frank Day	1: 44.20	08: 45.00	6: 09.00	16:38:31
09.	John Collins	1: 31.15	09: 15.00	6: 14.00	17:00:38
10.	Archie Hapai	0: 57.35	08: 06.00	8: 20.00	17:24:22
11.	Daniel Hendrickson	1: 35.35	11:39 a.m.	6: 48.00	20:03:28
12.	Harold Irving	1: 05.30	11: 04.00	8: 08.00	21:00:38
DNF	John King	2:02:20	11:13:00
	John Lloyd	1:37:15	09:00:00
	Ralph Yawata	1:05:55

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Iron Man World Triathlon Championship" Trademark Details ( Memento from September 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ IRONMAN Hawaii: Beginnings , in: ironman-hawaii.com , accessed on March 17, 2014 (English).
3. ^ Sanction permit, entry form and athlete guide first annual Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon 1979 .
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Iron-Man Triathlon: Haller leads 15 . In: The Honolulu Advertiser . 19th February 1978.
5. ↑ Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles. Brag for the rest of your life! handwritten note on the three-page competition description of each participant in the first Ironman Hawaii
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Gordon Haller: The goal was a disappointment . In: Der Tagesspiegel . October 12, 2013.
7. ↑ Herbert Krabel: Original Ironman Henry Forrest . In: slowtwitch.com . August 22, 2008.
8. ↑ USA TODAY - Original Ironman still racing hard
9. ↑ Gerald Haigh and Jane AC West: Primary Sports Assemblies: 40 Sport-themed Assemblies to Inspire and Engage . Optimus Education, 2011, ISBN 978-1-905538-94-2 , pp. 89 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
10. ↑ Starter List Transcription, Iron Man 1978 ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: thiswastriathlon.org , accessed on March 17, 2014 (English). 
11. ^ 1978 Ironman Race Results , in: ironman-hawaii.com , accessed on March 17, 2014 (English).
12. ↑ Ironman Hawaii: World Championship 1978 ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: trisport.dk , accessed on March 17, 2014 (English).