Excitement and anxiety. Dick Smith has been experiencing these two emotions for the past couple weeks. “It’s a normal reaction for someone in my situation,” he said. The 66-year-old athlete from Hanalei will be competing in today’s prestigious Ironman Triathlon
Excitement and anxiety. Dick Smith has been experiencing these two emotions for the past couple weeks.
“It’s a normal reaction for someone in my situation,” he said.
The 66-year-old athlete from Hanalei will be competing in today’s prestigious Ironman Triathlon World Championship on the Big Island among some of the world’s most elite athletes.
“Self doubt starts to creep in your mind,” Smith said. “You start to question ‘do I have what it takes to do it.’”
Nearly 1,800 competitors, from 49 countries and 51 states. Most qualify through the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 qualifying event series worldwide. More than 70,000 athletes enter one of the worldwide qualifying events annually. This year, a record 6,579 athletes entered the Ironman lottery, which awards 150 slots to U.S. citizens, 50 slots to international athletes and five slots to physically challenged athletes.
Smith was one of the lucky who got selected.
“I was in shock,” he told TGI when he found out. “I had to sit down.”
Since then, he’s been training constantly. He was obsessed with the triathlon before, but his selection took it to a new level.
His diet before was atypical for an athlete: M&Ms and Starbucks Coffee. He was on an online training program and altered his diet slightly in preparation.
“I’ve dropped the M&Ms but the Starbucks Coffee is still a part of it,” he said. “But as soon as it’s over, I’m picking the M&Ms right back up.”
The triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run. Contestants have 17 hours to finish. That’s reason for concern for Smith.
“I’m a little nervous because I’ve never done the full distance. I’ve only done half the distance to validate my lottery slot,” he said.
Each leg of the race has a time limit and the race must be completed before midnight tonight.
“The race starts bright and early at 7 a.m. and I have 17 hours to complete it. I’m shooting for a time of 16 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds,” he said. “All I want to do is come across that line. I just want to cross by midnight.”
Earlier in the week, Smith and his wife, Barbara, attended a dinner for the Ironman contestants aged 60 years or older. Smith couldn’t help but feel amazed by his company.
“I met people there who have done multiple Ironmans and they were all saying how fortunate they felt just to be in the event,” he said. “And I was thinking about myself and how at 66 years old, there’s now a huge population of people who are able to do this.”
He’s been battling a few injuries over the summer, but with proper care and training, he thinks he’s in OK shape for today.
“Everything is at the point where I want it to be right now,” he said.
But the toughest part for him right now is the bike ride. That’s the portion of the race that he is the weakest at and also the part that’s very unpredictable.
“What will make it harder or easier is the weather,” he said. “You’re either facing the wind or going with it. I talked to one person who said conditions were going to be good and I talked to one person who said it was going to be bad. So it’s up in the air right now.”
This is Smith’s first and last attempt at the Ironman. This has been his dream for many years and once he’s finished with it, he’ll retire. After dedicating most of his time over the years to training, he will take a break.
“My wife is here with me and she’s been my biggest supporter,” he said. “Once I’ve finished, we’re going on vacation. We’re going to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and since I graduated from the University of Michigan, we’re going to go there and then go to California. We’re going all out.”
Smith’s progress throughout the race can be tracked at www.ironmanlive.com.
“If you have any pull with the man upstairs, say one for me,” he said.
Going the distance
The Ironman Triathlon World Championship
The course: A 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race, 26.2-mile run.
Where: Kailua-Kona, the Big Island. The swim segment begins and ends at Kailua Pier. The bike race travels north on the Kona Coast through scorching lava fields and then along the Kohala Coast to the small village of Hawi, and then returns along the same route to transition. The marathon course travels through Kailua-Kona and onto the same highway, the Queen Ka‘ahumanu used for the bike course. Contestants run back into Kailua-Kona, coming down Ali‘i Drive to the cheers of more than 20,000 spectators at the finish line.
Who: Nearly 1,800 competitors, from 49 countries and 51 states. Most qualify through the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 Qualifying Event Series’ worldwide; more than 70,000 athletes enter one of the worldwide qualifying events annually.
This year, a record 6,579 athletes entered the Ironman lottery, which awards 150 slots to U.S. citizens, 50 slots to international athletes and five slots to physically challenged athletes.
The purse: A total prize purse of $580,000 is distributed among the top 10 male and female finishers. The first-place male and female finishers are rewarded $110,000, while the second place finishers both receive $55,000. For the first time in 2005, a total of $20,000 worth of Timex Ironman Watch bonuses were made available to athletes.
• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
