Be part of something big - Volunteering at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships

Just last weekend, a German athlete secured the world championship title at the Ironman in Hawaii. After 3.86 km swimming, 180.2 km cycling, and a final marathon of 42.195 km, he crossed the finish line first on that day. I had very little contact with this special form of triathlon before.

But that changed.

Because this year, the world championships for the half distance of the Ironman, called the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, were actually held in my temporary university city of Port Elizabeth. And for the first time ever on the African continent!

I always find it very interesting and exciting to be involved in major sports events in some way. And this was a major event, a very big one! So I couldn't miss this opportunity to finally get to know the phenomenon of IRONMAN a little better. Weeks before the race, two other international students and I registered as volunteers with the official organizers of this event. A few days later, I also received information from Nelson Mandela University that, as a sports student, I could also help out at the Ironman's side events. Since any help was gratefully accepted, my two friends were also able to register there. The registration was completed, an initial information session was already attended, and thus we were officially part of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships!

Challenging, long, but also exciting and thrilling days lay ahead of us, which I was eagerly looking forward to.

This excitement increased especially when we were able to follow the preparations right on our doorstep from day to day. Because the half marathon part of the Ironman course ran just a few meters away from my dormitory! Everyday activities like going to university suddenly took on the character of the many, many flags and pennants with the Ironman logo. And even shopping for groceries was influenced. Our supermarket suddenly had isotonic drinks on offer that were not normally part of their range. Besides this entertaining discovery, we also had to make some sacrifices during this time.

There were no bananas.

Not a single one.

As part of the Ironman, over 6000 athletes traveled to our small coastal city. Often with family and friends. And everyone was passionate about sports. And athletes just love bananas. In fact, we could only get the first bananas a week after the races. But the atmosphere that came with these athletes who came from all over the world made up for this nutritional shortage. Wherever you looked, you could see people in sports clothing. Anyone wearing jeans stood out. The athletes showed that the Ironman organizers had thought of everything. The logo was omnipresent. On backpacks, T-shirts, pants, sweaters, and even socks, it was embroidered. And soon we would also be able to represent the event with dignity.

Because even though the women's and men's races took place on Saturday and Sunday, our Ironman experience started on the Thursday and Friday before. We were part of the Parade of Nations, the official opening ceremony of this year's world championships. This involved a walk of all athletes under the flag of their respective countries, which concluded on the beach in Port Elizabeth accompanied by the cheers of all spectators and friends. On Friday, we helped organize the IronKids race, an opportunity for children to emulate their role models and parents and demonstrate their fitness. After that, we also supported the helpers who organized the last training session on the beach before the swimming course.

We had Saturday off. But even on this day, everything revolved around this triathlon event for us. We got up early to be able to witness the start of the women's race on the beach. Groups of ten athletes were released onto the swim course at the same time. The ambition and determination were clearly visible in their eyes. But also the joy and fun that they could finally prove what they had trained for in the past months, maybe even years.

Driven by my enthusiasm, I couldn't wait for Sunday even more. Because that's when we would finally be able to help out at the "real" event. I didn't have to wait long for that, as our day started at 3:30 am. Our shift started at 4:45 am and we had to walk to our assigned location. But we gladly accepted the short night, as we were assigned to the "ProArea" of transition zone 1, from swimming to cycling. This means that we would see all the athletes who are among the fastest in the world on this course. One of them would be a world champion in a few hours. My responsibility was to ensure that their bicycles remained in the condition they left them and to be available for any last-minute questions before the race. And what can I say? Despite this important day, despite the concentration clearly shown on their faces, everyone was very friendly and relaxed.

After all the professionals had passed through the transition zone without incident, we brought their discarded wetsuits and backpacks to the finish line, where they could pick them up after the race. Our shift would officially have ended there. But we wanted more. We wanted to continue being part of this event that we enjoy so much. And the supervisors of the volunteers gladly accepted our help. Every helping hand was needed. So we found ourselves at transition zone 2 again. Our task there, however, was much more responsible than the previous ones. We were supposed to receive the arriving athletes' bicycles and then safely bring them to the designated parking spots. But since it was still a race where every second counts, only a few athletes rode slowly towards us or even dismounted beforehand to hand over the bicycle. Rather, you had to try to get control of a bicycle that continued to ride on its own while its owner had already jumped off the moving object and disappeared into the running zone. Accordingly, I was very afraid of making a mistake with my first bicycle. And not without reason, as there was a crash right with the very first bicycle, a professional athlete who fortunately won in the end. But we managed this task well too, and after several hours, we developed a successful routine so that both the bicycle and its owner could continue their day safely.

The first professional had long crossed the finish line and given the first winner interviews when we were moved to the finish line. By now, the finishers were crossing the red carpet in seconds and were enthusiastically cheered on by the spectators. We formed a special reception committee. We approached the athletes after they crossed the finish line, handed them a towel, and accompanied them to the medal presentation. As relaxed as this may sound, it wasn't always the case. Often we had to support or even catch the athletes as they had completely exhausted themselves during the race. But we were rewarded for that too. In various languages, I was thanked for my voluntary work and received a smile on that day. In such moments, you forget that you have been on your feet since early morning, have already taken several thousand steps, and are constantly under pressure. You are happy about each and every one of those words and gestures. In those moments, you know that you have definitely not helped for the last time as a volunteer.

With this conclusion, I now conclude this blog post, which ended up being a bit longer than planned.

Best regards from the still fascinated Ironman newbie,

Caro

Completed steps of the 'Africa' race: 549,983