Lee Gruenfeld looks back at the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship with his camera instead of his pen
October 15th 2007
I fancy myself a writer, but there are some things words just can't capture. So, herewith a few visuals of a truly incredible day.
Dawn, and the calm before the storm. That's legendary surfer
Laird Hamilton paddling against the sun.
Body marking. There are 1,850 athletes and 1,850 remarkable stories.
There is actually method to this madness, hard as it might be to detect.
Powering up Palani for the second time, roughly Mile 10.
Out on the Queen K
The weather was spectacular, at least if you didn't count the heat,
humidity and wind. That leaves visibility, which was
essentially unlimited. This is Maui as seen from the
leeward side of Kohala Mountain on the way (by car) to Hawi.
Even the observatory domes on Mauna Kea were visible all day.
Not sure these people were all that interested in the view,
Aid station at the bike turnaround in Hawi
A lonely stretch of the Queen K just north of Waikoloa Village Road
Ignoring the scenery on Ali'i Drive, around Mile 7.
Almost to the top of Palani
Entrance to the Energy Lab.
Kyle Kawai and Tony Howard entertaining on behalf of
the motorcycle club manning an aid station at the lab.
Well said
When it gets dark, it gets really dark. But soon…
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The greatest sight an Ironman sees all day
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It's like this all the way to midnight.
Ironman legend Mark Allen
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This years women's champ Chris Wellington. (That's Craig
Alexander's wife next to her.)
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Ironman's very first double amputee finisher Scott Rigsby.
You wouldn't have thought this crowd could get any louder.
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Cherie Gruenfeld with "The Blazeman's" parents. John left us last year
but he left us with more than he could know.
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More fiery entertainment from Island Breeze. They get more
sophisticated and daring every year.
Dropout coordinator Charles Beeler with famous dropout and
Ironman Hall-of-Famer Bob "Babu" Babbitt
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A splendid time was had by all!
