Every year in October one of the most inspirational events happens in Kona. The Ironman World Championship.
"Tens-of-thousands of triathletes try to get one of those coveted Ironman spots every year. Only 1,800 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 through tough ocean waves,, 112-miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile marathon run over challenging lava-covered terrain." (From ironman website)
For volunteers, one of the main things is working the aid stations. There is food, drinks, and ice stations set up every few miles for athletes to grab what they need as they race.
After work on Saturday October 10th Aaron and I went to help out at the aid station our church runs. The event starts at 7 am. The best of the best take about 8 hours to complete the race, so those people were long gone by the time we got there at 7pm. But that is where the beauty of it comes in.
We stood by the edge of the road shouting "Cola! Cola" to the racers as they came by. It is kinda funny to put into words, but seeing these people give everything they've got to complete this thing was cool, but what I really loved was the experience of handing of a cup of coke to them. Almost every cup was a special experience. Okay you can laugh, but seriously. These athletes came running by SMILING! and thanking us for being there. The looked so grateful to have that cup and to have our cheers of support spurring them on that it made tears prick my eyes.
And that is just the beginning. The true story really begins at the very end. The very last contestant. The race cut off is at midnight. That is when they stop counting. At our station they still have 5 miles to go, so time is of the essence.
We had just ushered through the winner of the "Biggest Loser" Tv show. He had a whole crew come ahead of him and tell us exactly what he needed, lots of noise, 3 cups of coke, a bucket of ice over his head etc. We were ready for him. We lined up chanting his name, "Hoover! Hoover! Hoover!" He got ice dumped over his head, a bottle of coke and kept on running. After that everyone was like whew alright almost time to come home.
Then we hear "Wait there is one more! His name is Jason!"
So we get ready, we get a chair, get our drinks food, and here he comes out of the darkness, barely moving along. His coach is right at his side. We had a chair because Jason is an amputee. He lost is right hand and his left leg from the knee down. He was exhausted. We gave him everything we had - dumped water over him, gave him food, water and he got up and kept going and so did we. A bunch of us kept going, bringing water and encouragement as he ran. He kept going and going little by little working his way toward the finish line. We stayed with him cheering him on, telling him he could do it, telling him he is an Ironman. For 2 1/2 miles we kept going until the medics stopped us. They checked his pulse and asked him some questions which he answered quickly and correctly, but as he started to run, his body gave out and collapsed. He just couldn't get up. They loaded him up on the stretcher and put him in the medic van. He didn't make it this year. But I think what he did for us was so much better.
There is nothing that compares to seeing someone face an obstacle like that. We all love those stories of people overcoming because it reminds us that there is hope for us too. Jason will be an inspiration to each of us that ran for years to come because of the purpose and dedication that he showed. He never quit. He kept going until his body gave out on him. But his mind never stopped.
I think that is one of the beautiful things about humanity, what we can give each other. Giving is rarely one way. I give a cup of coke, they give me a smile. We both get something meaningful. I give a couple miles of running (in flip flops I might add) and he gives inspiration and joy. It is true that the more you give the more you receive.
