Maria Wilson, You Are An Ironman

This past weekend while Calgary was under water Jeff and I drove to Coeur d'Alene (CDA), Idaho and volunteered for the Ironman.

We drove to Creston, BC and visited with my mum and dad Friday (arriving in Creston around 11:30 p.m. Thursday night due to the flooding), the Saturday morning drove to CDA to pick up our volunteer t-shirt for our shift Sunday at 5 p.m. as catchers at the finish line.

Ironman Morning

Jeff and I woke at 5 p.m. and drove from Spokane (where our hotel was) to CDA to watch the start of the Ironman - the swim (my favorite party of IM).  It was a very organized swim start by age group and not the mass start you see in most Ironman events http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lity-YTZaRE

 

Once the swim was over it was off on the bikes (sorry forgot camera at the hotel).

 
After the bikes we went back to our hotel to rest for 2 hours till our catching shift started. 

Catcher at the Finish Line of Ironman

Well, when the athlete crosses the finish line at Ironman he/she is exhausted.  Some need help stopping as they have been moving so fast during the race they have a hard time coming to a full stop at the finish line and some need help after they stop just keeping upright.  It is a very rewarding volunteering job and the athlete is very appreciative thanking you over and over again and in some cases giving you a hug. 

Jeff and I started our shift at 5 p.m. and must have caught about 40 athletes between the two of us, that does not sound like a lot but there were about 30 catchers at the finish line at any given time and it takes you about 10-15 minutes to take care of each athlete.  In fact, Jeff volunteered till 11:30 a.m. catching and I worked till 8 p.m. - at 8 p.m. I was asked to help the announcer in the tower calling out the names of the athletes as they crossed the finish line, you know the guy who says "you are an ironman".  Well as the athletes crossed a certain section in the race, about a 200 meters before the finish line, their bib number came over a screen and I had to punch the number onto a computer so the announcer could read out their name and whatever info he had on this athlete.  It was really great cause I had the best seat in the house, I could see all the athletes as they came in and crossed the finish line.

The Best Part of the Ironman

Now the best part of the volunteering was during my catching shift.  A friend of mine Jennifer was in the race and I was hoping to catch her but, what are the chances?  Well pretty great actually, she came in under 12 hours and I heard her name as I was finishing up with another athlete, when I heard "Jennifer you are an Ironman" I booked it to the finish line to catch her.  We both broke down and cried, I was so happy that I had caught her it truly was a special moment for me.

11:30 PM

At 11:30 p.m. Jeff and I stopped our volunteering duties to join the party at the finish line to cheer in the last athletes in the last 1/2 hour of the race. Being at the finish line of an Ironman event is like not other finish line you have ever been too.  The spectators stay to cheer on everyone till the bitter end in Ironman, it truly is an inspirational moment in time as you can see from this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfm-lwhnjz8 

Ironman 2014

Well you guessed it, the day that I have been writing about finally came.  I signed up for Ironman 2014 on Monday morning @ 9:30 a.m.

I can honestly say that I am excited about this next adventure in my life!  I can't wait to cross that finish line on June 29, 2014 when the announcer says:

Maria Wilson from Calgary, Alberta

YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!