To track me on race day you can go directly to www.ironmanlive.com. 

There will be a live webcast and a page called Athlete Tracker.  Simply enter my last name or #1028 and you should get my results. 

If you enter Female 40-44 you can see how all the women in my age group are doing. 

Check the blog also. I should have a "guest" blogger filling in for me. 

Thank you so much for being part of my day.  I know that the Hole In The Wall Gang Camps appreciates your support as much as I do. 

Mahalo Nui Loa!
Thank you,

Megan

What is the

The Ironman World Championship?

If you are a triathlete, there is no bigger day in this sport than the Ford Ironman World Championship. It is the race that defined our sport as it came of age, and continues to be the defining race in our sport for any avid triathlete.

To get to the starting line in Kona, you must either be very lucky and get yourself a spot through the lottery, or very talented, and win yourself a qualifying spot at one of the qualifying events held around the world.

Tens-of-thousands of triathletes try to get one of those coveted Ironman spots every year. Only 1,700 succeeded.

That means 1,800 "lucky" people get to test themselves on one of the biggest challenges the sports world has to offer ... 2.4-miles of swimming, 112-miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile marathon run through tough ocean waves, and challenging lava-covered terrain.

While there are thousands of triathlons around the world, it is this one that truly defines the sport. It all began at an Awards Ceremony for a relay running race in Honolulu in 1977. A group of local athletes discussed the idea of an endurance triathlon and combining three major events that already existed on the island. John Collins suggested combining them and making it a single-day event. Later that evening, Collins took the stage announcing the event and that "whoever finishes first, we will call him the IRONMAN." It has since become triathlon's Super Bowl, Wimbledon, World Series, World Cup, and Tour de France all rolled into one. What makes this event so unique is that "average" people get to compete alongside the best in the world.

see the news feature from WTNH here.  Iron Mom - Desiree Fontaine reports

Challenge Yourself

Change the Life of a Child

On October 11th, I will participate in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  This has been a 25 year dream of mine.  I qualified in my third Ironman race at the 2008 Ironman USA in Lake Placid.  Although qualifying required a lot of hard work and thousands of miles of training, I somehow feel "lucky" to be able to participate. 

3 years ago, in my first Ironman, I joined the Janus Charity Challenge.  Janus Funds partners with Ironman athletes around the world to help them raise money for charities of their choice.  In 2005, we were successful in raising almost $50,000 to aid Crohn's research.  As a large fundraiser, Janus committed another $2,000 to our efforts.

The Janus Charity Challenge allows Ironman athletes to take their passion, focus and commitment to another level. 

For the World Championships, I have chosen to support Team Hole in the Wall  benefiting the Hole in the Wall Camps.  The Camps are magical places where, in a nurturing, carefree, physically safe and medically sound setting, children with serious illnesses can kick back and just be kids.

Through the Camp programs, on-going outreach to hospitals and clinics, and other services for children, families and caregivers, the Camp serves more than 15,000 annually. All of their services are provided free of charge.

To date, more than 135,000 children from all 50 states and 32 countries have attended Hole in the Wall Camps free of charge.

 Watch video about the Hole in The Wall Gang Camps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGo-HDb0AHM  part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ2NEfCMxsc  Part 2