THE INSPIRATION OF EFFORT

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to be in Kona for the 33rd Annual Ironman Triathlon.  Started in 1978 by Navy Commander John Collins to test the limits of physical endurance, the race combined three popular athletic events: the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater swim, the 115-mile Round-the-Island bicycle race and the Honolulu Marathon.  Collins shaved off 3 miles of the bike race so it would end at the Aloha Tower, the traditional start of the Marathon.  My college schoolmate, Gordon Haller, a Navy communications specialist, won the first Ironman in a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds.

By 1982, the race was moved to Kona and the "Ironman" races became a world-wide phenomena.  Television coverage attracted hundreds of elite athletes to compete to win the coveted title of Ironman Champion.  When corporate sponsorship began kicking in six-figure prize money, triathlon competition became a full-fledged professional sport.  This year's winner, Craig Alexander, shaved almost 4 hours off of Gordon Haller's winning time, breaking the course record with a 8:03:56 finish.

The real drama of Ironman is really created by the people who you wouldn't expect to see at an endurance competition that will cover 140.6 miles.   People like 81 year-old Lew Hollander, who finished just 14 minutes ahead of the 17 hour cutoff time (the event starts at 7 a.m.; you must finish the swim in 2 hours and 20 minutes, finish the bike by 5:30 p.m. and finish the marathon by midnight to be an official Ironman finisher).  Minutes behind Lew were France Cokan and Lyle Roberts another pair of 80 year-olds, who comprised the entire "80 and over" age group.   Seventy-seven year old Harriet Anderson was the oldest woman finisher, crossing the finish line just two minutes before the deadline.

But the moment that will stick in my memory forever didn't happen at the finish line.  After the majority of the athletes had started the 112-mile bike course, I went back to the pier to watch the final group of swimmers come in.  Exhausted after being in the ocean over two hours, each of the last swimmers struggled to get to the shore before the 2 hour, 20 minute cutoff time.  At the 2:17 mark, there was only one swimmer left in the water (3 others were pulled out of the water and didn't finish), 57-year old Gary Tucci.   Still 100 yards off shore, he seemed to pause in the water to try to summon up the energy give one last burst to the finish.  Hundreds of people lined the pier and seawall, while the announcer yelled encouragement over the loudspeaker.  With everything he had, Tucci started his surge to finish line. His strokes were labored with 50 yards to go and he was slowing to a near stop at the 30 yard mark.  With his arms cramping up and despite the encouragement of hundreds around him, time expired with 20 yards to go.  There was an audible gasp among the crowd and I saw many (including myself) choking back the tears.  He ultimately made his way to shore and collapsed in disappointment.   Every competitor has to finish the swim section to be included in the final results, so Gary Tucci's name doesn't even appear in the official times.

It was interesting to me that of all the success stories of the physically challenged, the elderly and the athletes that had overcome great obstacles to be listed among the finishers, I was most inspired by the guy who didn't even finish the first leg.  Inspiration is the part of us that harbors our hopes, our dreams and our visions, that's why we are touched so deeply by those who risk it all even when the odds are stacked against them.  Success is always the ultimate goal, but to have a chance, to have an opportunity to give it our best shot, to take the stage just once in a lifetime is a huge victory in its own right.

Gary Tucci made me realize that I've probably been more inspired by the people who I've watched fall short of their dreams than those who have enjoyed phenomenal success.  My Dad submitted many short antidotes and stories to Readers Digest in hopes they would publish one of them.  And though it never happened, his effort motivated me to carry his dream to be a writer.  Hearing my college buddy, Eric Witt sing at the top of his lungs in spite of the fact he couldn't carry a tune a wheelbarrow, inspired me to play the guitar and sing, something that brings me great joy today.

I'm sure somewhere out there Gary Tucci is kicking himself for failing at his dream of being an Ironman.  But he has no idea that the hundreds of people that will read his story and will ultimately be inspired by his gutsy effort.  It's because inspiration is the genesis of everything that is good in our lives and even in our failures, we energize the hopes and dreams of others simply by trying.

Thanks for the inspiration, Gary.