Originally written in German. Translated to English by AI — please excuse any awkward phrasing.

So there it was — Ironman Hawaii, the Triathlon World Championship. Right in the thick of it…

A detailed report with photos will follow sometime in the next few days. Right now I’m too wrecked to form clear thoughts. The race in brief:

  • Up at 4:30am, caught a shuttle right away, at body marking by 4:45. Stood in the wrong line three times, oh well.

  • Then prepped the bike

  • Had plenty of time to watch and experience the pro start live. Note to self: don’t stand right next to the start cannon — it gets loud

  • Lined up right after to get into the water

  • Positioned myself in the middle and fairly far back — I wanted a relaxed swim and to enjoy the atmosphere. That worked out perfectly, no big scuffles, drafted in someone’s wake all the way back

  • After 1:10h I climbed out of the Pacific, right on schedule

  • In the first transition I took my time — showering, sunscreen etc.

  • The first few kilometers on the bike through town were very very crowded

  • On the highway things improved, but there were still a lot of groups riding together and things got pretty unfair at times

  • Almost no wind going to Hawi, the return as far as Kawaihae also very very pleasant

  • After that it got noticeably windier with crosswind

  • Lost four water bottles along the way — definite room for improvement there

  • Bike time is absolutely satisfactory

  • Despite SPF 50+ sunscreen I got the worst sunburn of my life — it’s really burning

  • On the run, Alii Drive in town was the hottest section — the Queen-K and the Energy Lab were much more pleasant by comparison

  • The first half marathon went reasonably well, after that it got progressively harder. The missing training and prior races became more and more noticeable

  • After km 35 things got really rough — in the end I was just glad I didn’t have to walk

  • The hardest part was Palani downhill around km 40/41 — that really hurt

  • The finish line was absolutely sensational — the reward for years of hard work (and yes, I teared up with joy for a moment :))

Right, time for a proper rest now — everything hurts, most of all the sunburn.