I woke up very early this Sunday to work as a volunteer in Ironman Brazil 2008. It was a good opportunity to the see the start, which I haven’t seen yet. Around 5:00 am, many athletes started to arrive at the transition area to check their bikes; pump the tyres and make final adjustments.
It was a lovely morning, not too cold and a nice clear sky. The start was set to 7:00 am at Jurerê beach and there were many people watching it.
When the race started, 1250 ironmen and ironwomen jumped on the water to swimn 3,9 km; a beautiful image with the sunrise at the background.
The second part of the race was a 180 km by bike and last but not least a 42 km running.
When you see those people, it gives you the feeling to start training and maybe one day go for it. Even elder people and physically disabled face the challenge. But one thing is clear for me: you have to train frequently and hard, and you also need to spend money on it. Good bikes are quite expensive, you need to buy special wear and accessories and the race fee costs around USD 500.
However it must be definitely fun and a great achievement. You can just see that by looking at their faces.

“One chance is all you need.” — Jesse Owens

Race Results
MEN
1º) Eduardo Sturla (ARG): 8h28min24seg
2º) Olaf Sabatschus (ALE) a 8h38min56seg
3º) Benjamin Sanson (FRA) a 8h41min32seg
4º) Peter Vabrousek (CZE) a 8h53min57seg
5º) Ivan Furtado (BRA) a 8h55min01seg
WOMEN
1º) Fernanda Keller (BRA) 9h42min49seg
2º) Kelly C. Lear-Kaul (USA) 9h52min39seg
3º) Hillary Biscay (USA) 9h56min07seg
4º) Ladislav Cisarovska (CZE) 10h06min09seg
5º) Kristin Lie (NOR) 10h07min49seg