Running a marathon was considered the ultimate test of endurance by many. The advent of the Ironman in 1978 changed that forever.
Adding a 26 mile run to the end of a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike was a game changer. No longer would swimmers, cyclists and runners argue about who was the better athlete….because now the answer was simple. The Ironman Triathlon became the ultimate test for the endurance athlete.
This book tells the story of the epic battle between Mark Allan and Dave Scott at the Kona Ironman in 1989.
For the endurance athlete, this story presents a contrast of two very different people and training regimes:
Dave Scott was the maniac child who chose to race his school bus on his bike and kept at it until he could beat that bus. He trained hard and then trained harder. There was no “taking it easy” to build endurance for a grown up Dave Scott. His confidence reigned supreme. He knew that he could beat anyone and it didn’t matter that they were better athletes. Dave Scott willed his way to victory.
Mark Allan was a supremely talented swimmer who was as weak mentally as Dave Scott was strong. Lesser swimmers knew they could beat him because as soon as someone got so much as half a stroke on him, he collapsed. He was a quitter.
The buildup to the big day is gripping. Mark Allan had won the Ironman distance (and even beaten Dave Scott) but never at Kona. Dave Scott was a six time champion at Kona. A flat tire, an untimely injury or wilting in the face of Dave Scott’s surge would always deny Mark Allan the victory at Kona. He even got to the point where he though ancient Hawaiian deities had placed a curse upon him.
On this day they went mano a mano and recorded the two fastest times ever. The winner would have beaten the other man on his best day….as it should be. They came out of the swim together and came off the bike together. Through 23 miles of the marathon there was no daylight between them. Despite the fact that the narrative takes us through 8 hours, it is thrilling.
(Those who don’t want to know who won should avoid the video I’m posting here.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOVGVMiwPSA
I found the leadup to the race very interesting and informative. Distance runners are used to hearing contradictory advice (stretch vs don’t stretch, Epsom salt baths are great vs they’re useless). These two men had very different approaches and training methods. There is much to be said for both and a lot of the science is explored.
After the conclusion of the race, the book goes on for a while into their post Iron War lives. I found most of it somewhat anti-climactic and wondered why he didn’t end the story shortly after the race. But then I found a great quote which runners will appreciate: (page 286)
“Human beings are the creatures that try harder and never stop trying. We try when it’s hopeless. We try when it doesn’t make any sense. And when we succeed in trying harder than we have ever tried before, we try harder still. We are Cindarella, and Rocky, and the Little Engine that Could. We are beautiful in this way. Heartbreakingly beautiful.”
The author observes that endurance athletes strive for a sense of community…but it is a community of pain and suffering. We endure together and suffer together. The joy that we feel at the end of a race comes FROM the suffering. We recount stories of how we suffered and feel good about it. We suffer longer and feel more joy about it when we are in the company of others doing the same thing.
This sounds bizarre and leads to questions about our sanity, but there is a beauty to every race and every struggle. Some will understand that….pity the others.
This book is highly recommended for distance runners and other endurance athletes. Others might simply wonder why some friends of Allan and Scott didn’t stage an intervention.
Thumbs up on the book and I want to sign up for a triathlon!
Fantastic review Chuck - You have certainly sparked my interest in reading this epic tussle!
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