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HVCB |
Every year in October, hundreds of athletes arrive in Kailua-Kona to compete in a grueling endurance race called the Ironman Triathlon. This year's race, on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008 attracted about 1,700 competitors from 50 countries and all 50 states, all of whom must have qualified earlier to compete.
The Triathlon began at Kailua Pier where competitors will swim 2.4 miles across Kailua Bay. The next leg is a 112-mile bike race that follows a route north on the Kona Coast through scorching lava fields and then climbs up the Kohala Coast to the village of Hawi and back along the same route to Kona. The final lap is a 26.2 mile-run from Keauhou to Keahole Point to Kailua-Kona. Triathletes have 17 hours to finish the triathlon, but to win, times are closer to eight or nine hours.
This is an event that attracts competitors of all ages from 18 to 80. About 7,000 volunteers man the 140.6-mile race course and the event is televised worldwide to an audience of more than 50 million people.
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