The Island of Hawaii is the largest in the island chain of the state of Hawaii. Hawaii is famous for many things, including being the birthplace of President Barack Obama. Oh, unless you are Donald Trump, Joe Arpaio or any of the 'birthers' who believe a less obvious story, that Obama was born in Kenya and the evidence of his birth was planted in a Hawaiian hospital and the local newspapers so that one day a Muslim-Fascist-Socialist-Communist could become President of the United States (or something like that - I don't have a tin-foil hat so I don't get all the updates).
The Big Island (as it is also known) is home to the annual Ironman World Triathlon Championships and has been since 1981 when the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km, originally a two-day event), and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2mi./42km) were combined into one continuous event (The bike stage was reduced by 3 miles to link it to the start of the marathon course in the original location on Oahu). The swim start and run finish are marked by the permanent sign (shown above) on Aliʻi Drive in Kailua-Kona.
The bike turnaround is 56 miles away at the tip of the island in Hawi, marked only by a small shop called As Hawi Turns:
There have been many memorable moments in Hawaiian Ironman history but none more than in 1989 when Mark Allen and Dave Scott raced side-by-side for 138 miles before Allen pulled away on the run, finishing in 8:09:15, just 58 seconds ahead of Scott. Here's some grainy footage of the key moment:
Allen's and Scott's achievements are remarkable. Their run times of 2:40:04 and 2:41:03 respectively have yet to be beaten in the Hawaiian Ironman, 23 years later!
What do you eat after a Hawaiian Ironman? Try Dave's Coffee Shack:
And ask for the Loco Moco. This dish comes in many varieties but the key elements are white rice, hamburger meat and brown gravy. This one shows a fried egg, and sides of mac n cheese and noodles (in case there weren't enough carbs):
Don't try this before a Hawaiian Ironman!