LIHUE — When the gun goes off for the Ironman World Championship on Saturday, two Kauai men will be among the estimated field of 2,000. The friends from the North Shore trained hard and are thrilled to be there. Both
LIHUE — When the gun goes off for the Ironman World Championship on Saturday, two Kauai men will be among the estimated field of 2,000.
The friends from the North Shore trained hard and are thrilled to be there. Both have high hopes for a great day.
Their race day plans, though, are different.
“I’m going to enjoy every minute of it,” said 39-year-old Will Stedman.
“I’m definitely going to race as hard as I can,” said 60-year-old Leo McCarthy. “If something great happens, we’ll see.”
Great things have happened at the 140.6-mile race that starts and finishes in Kona. Some of the world’s fittest and finest athletes will see who’s fastest over a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. For others, it’s more of competition against themselves and a chance to be part of one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world.
This will be Stedman’s first try at the Ironman championship, while it will be McCarthy’s fifth.
The Kilauea men were chosen in a lottery system after qualifying when they finished “Honu,” a half-Ironman on the Big Island on May 30.
Each logged hundreds of hours in preparation for the grueling race.
McCarthy said he likes to compete in the big race in Kona every five years and loves that the event is in the Hawaiian Islands. It’s a demanding day that requires discipline and sacrifice to both be at the starting line and to finish.
It’s an opportunity go out and do his best and compete with so many top athletes. While he plans to give it his all, McCarthy said he has no expectations. The heat, the humidity, the winds are notoriously difficult.
“It’s a really good race not to expect anything,” he said.
It’s not exactly a fun time out there, either.
“It’s just too tough,” McCarthy said. “Even for the super talented, it’s still elusive. If you’re really competing, or trying, it’s a tough one.”
While he didn’t record an abundance of miles to get ready, he did make those training days count. In other words, he worked his tail off and is feeling fast and fit.
“Everything I did this year was quality,” said McCarthy, who in September competed in an Olympic distance triathlon championship race in Chicago.
McCarthy, in his younger days, knocked out training weeks of 300 miles of biking, 14 miles of swimming and 40-plus running.
He’s eased off a bit.
“Once you’re done all that mileage, and you have it inside you, I don’t think it’s necessary,” he said.
Stedman, a finisher of more than 20 marathons, is excited to be on the Big Island this week. He and his wife, Maddie, and their three children are there, along with more friends on hand to cheer him on.
“My wife is so proud of me,” he said.
They arrived early to enjoy the environment and live in the moment.
He’s feeling “fantastic.”
“I love it here. I love racing here,” Stedman said. “This is huge.”
He and his wife preach and practice being active and exercising and even organized a fun run as a school fundraiser. They’re believers in being positive and staying motivated.
Stedman, referred to as “Mr. Steady” by his pal McCarthy, said he’s prepared well — about 12-15 hours a week for the past several months — for Saturday’s Ironman.
His goal, more than anything, is survive the day and then, celebrate.
“I just want to finish,” he said.
McCarthy has no doubts Stedman will.
“He’s going to do great,” he said.
