His meticulous insight into the 1989 IRONMAN race was extremely thorough and detailed. He specializes in crunching scientific data. They understood that if I was mentally ready for the race, I would have the ability to prevail and win world championship number seven. They had experienced my highs and lows throughout the years. “Collectively, my three close friends-Mike, Pat, and John, plus my sister Jane-had a direct bead on my mental and physical makeup. ![]() I’d stick with Dave until there was no question that the finish was close enough to ensure there would be no collapse.” No, this year, if I was strong enough to match his pace, I’d learn from the best in the sport how to pace it. Each ended up with complete meltdowns late in the marathon. Both of those strategies failed miserably. So l tried pulling away from Dave early on the run. Previously, I’d tried going off the front on the bike. I had one strategy going into 1989, and that was to stay with “The Man” until the very end of the race. Instead of dreading another showdown with Dave, I looked forward to trying something new. I kept waiting for the usual river of sweat to form all over my body-but it never happened. But the sight of the lava brought me a feeling that no matter how the race went, I’d be okay. I knew the race would be at least as intense as every other year. My first glimpse of the Island and the long ribbon of road where the race would unfold gave me an unexpected sense of peace. ![]() The fear would grow and grow and GROW until the starting cannon finally sounded on race morning.īut those hallowed ten-days before the race in 1989 were different. I saw the reality of where I had to race. ![]() In all my previous six flights to Kona, the moment I looked down on the approach and saw the Queen K Highway, where the decisive moments of the race would place, I’d get something like vertigo. Two years earlier, I was bleeding internally and had to be rushed to the hospital right after crossing the finish line. I knew what a day gone bad could end up looking like. But not even the overbearing aura of Dave Scott and his six victories came close to hitting me with the same terrifying fear I had about the fact that the race and the Island could chew me up and spit me out in a million broken pieces. For sure there would be moments when I would think about them, especially when I’d see them out training. The immensity of Ironman drowns out worrying about the other competitors. It was ten days with one singular focus: tune myself into what it would take to handle the intensity and challenges of the race that was coming on the eleventh day. I would fly in on the Wednesday a week-and-half-out from the Ironman to do my final bits of training on the Big Island. “For me, race week in Kona was actually ten days. A huge shout out (and their names link to their websites should you ever find yourself in need of a great photographer), Rich Cruse, Dave Epperson, Jero Honda, and Mike Plant. Without the support of the photographers who were kind enough to let us use their images this collection of stories wouldn’t have been complete. Both would be ready by Saturday October 14, 1989. ![]() Each was putting the final polish on what had been weeks of punishing training. He was trying to ensure that this time would be different to achieve the greatest victory any triathlete could hope for. He was putting it in place each and every one of those closing seven day going into the 1989 Ironman World Championship. But, more importantly, no one has ever heard the details of each of their personal journeys during the year leading up to The Greatest Race Ever Run.īoth Dave Scott and Mark Allen knew what it took to win races. Neither Dave nor Mark have told this story from each of their perspectives. Everyone has seen accounts of the race itself. This is the ninth of ten untold stories about the incredible moments of personal challenge and the decisions made that led to the 1989 side-by-side eight-hour battle between Dave Scott and Mark Allen.
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