Iron Update

Wayne had another good day on Tuesday, he finished in 13:43. There are no problems to report yet, let's hope it stays that way. The weather was overcast and a bit cooler.

Matej is still leading and is the odds on favorite to win. However, there is word that his father, who is crewing for him, is ill. Not sure what will happen, but the support crews are very important to each athlete (had to get a shameless plug in).

Suraya Oliver, the lone female in the race, has abandoned. She did not get in the water on Tuesday, finishing the first day at 4:45 Tuesday morning, which only left her a few hours of rest.

Karoly Breurer-Orban of Hungary has also abandoned, due to stomach illness.

Michael Gaertner of Germany, walked the entire marathon on Tuesday. This usually happens later in the race. He is one tough competitor and I am sure he will rally. He has won this race in the past, so he knows what it takes to stay the course. Many racers tell stories of having at least one "blow-up" day during the event. Perhaps Michael is getting his blow-up day out of the way early.

Just a reminder, the race format this year requires one to finish an iron distance race each day. If you do not finish before the next day's start, you are DQ'd. In the continuous format, which is used in alternate years, each racer decides when to rest, and there is no penalty, other than the clock keeps ticking. The continuous format allows you to take an entire day off if you want. In the daily format, this is not the case. Things will surely get interesting as the week wears on.