Kona Ironman Accommodation

If you want to have an experience of a lifetime, come visit Kona Big Island for the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championship. We have told our Best Hawaii vacation blog visitors in previous posts what a magnificent spectacle the Kona Ironman is for visitors and participants and even residents. To refresh your knowledge about the Hawaii Ironman, the superlative of triathlons around the globe, go visit our 2007 Hawaii Triathlon article.

When I prepared this post about the upcoming Hawaii Ironman Triathlon Ford World Championship in Kailua Kona October 11, 2008, I found this great personal Ironman review by a former participant. Who else can give you a better picture of this challenging race in Hawaii!

It looks like that 2007 Hawaii Ironman winners, Chrissie Wellington and Chris McCormack are in top shape which they both proved in winning the recent Frankfurt Ironman, where 2,200 athletes from 45 nations were pushed to top performances by 500,000 spectators. In the women's race British Chrissie Wellington missed breaking the world record. Chris McCormack from Australia won the men's race, crossing the finish line in just under 8 hours. The Ironman Frankfurt is rated number two in the world after the Hawaii Ironman. So we can expect a great 2008 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship!

Get emotional watching the 2007 Hawaii Ironman Men's Finish when Chris McCormack was crossing the finish line.

Got to be fair to the ladies. Watch Chrissie Wellington cross the finish line of the 2007 Hawaii Ironman. Hope this got you guys in the right mood for the 2008 Kona Ironman.



If you want to be part of the 2008 Big Island Ironman race as one of the thousands of spectators, don't wait much longer. Kona hotels are already quite booked for rhe Ironman week starting 10/6/08, and Kona vacation rentals are getting booked fast as well. We recommend to participants or spectators for your stay in Kona for the Ironman to rent a fully equipped Kona vacation rental or condo. You pay the same or less at a Kona vacation condo with kitchen than at a Kona hotel and can save lots of money cooking your own meals at your own kitchen. Visitors from Germany may check here 'Hawaii Ferienwohnung Big Island' for Kona Ironman.

We'd love to hear from you with your special Hawaii Ironman experience. Where did you stay in Kona? What impressed you most during your Ironman day in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island? Share your personal Kona Triathlon Ironman with our blog visitors. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
For all those who have followed our 2nd blog birthday invitation 'Vote for your favorite Hawaii Story', visit 'Hawaii Articles' to see which stories came in at the top with this 'race'.

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Tags: Hawaii, Kona, Big Island, vacation, travel, Ironman, Hawaii Ironman, Kona accommodation

Ever wanted to visit the Big Island Ironman for your Hawaii vacation

or even wondered what it would be like to be an athlete participating in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon in Kona on the Big Island?

Read our blog post and you might want to stay with the visiting crowd as the majority of thousands of tourists does. Watch a spectacle of a life time! I must admit though being a spectator is not as rewarding and adrenaline rush pushing as the guy who finishes his first Ironman. To make it across the finish line before midnight, when the clock stops counting, is for many the accomplishment which they will tell their kids in years to come: I did it. I finished the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon!

As an athlete myself, I have the biggest respect for anybody who can say that of himself or herself. I was never challenged by the urge to try. Maybe it was my close encounter with the physical and psychological battle it takes to literally survive the day of the Ironman competition. It was at the1992 Big Island Triathlon in Kona. I had graduated from the Hawaiian massage school in Kona, passed my state licence exam and volunteered, like all my other massage therapist friends from my class, to massage the triathletes after the triathlon race.

Well, to tell you the truth, I did not know what I had volunteered for. To cut a long story short, the 1992 Hawaii Ironman was becoming my own marathon, massage marathon that was! I started massaging at 3pm, not the winner of the race - for the record, I had to check who the winner was in 1992 (Mark Allen) - but guys who were hurt and had dropped out early. Believe it or not, I had to throw the towel at midnight. With just half an hour break, I had to quit. 'Only' 9 hours of marathon massage! What made these triathlete guys and women not quit and keep going for hours and hours in the 'flash eating' sun of Hawaii or down pours of the 2006 Ironman, the challenging trade winds blowing in their faces on their way from Kona to Hawi with lots of uphill struggles and finally, when they are already exhausted to their core, to run the marathon?!

Watch the 2006 Hawaii Ironman video. Competitors have 17 hours to finish! See for yourself what it takes to be an Ironman to accomplish a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run in one day!



This Ironman video is about the rivalry between Mark Allen and Dave Scott. It shows Mark Allen defeating for the first time Dave Scott in the 1989 Ironman. This race was one of the most remarkable in Ironman history!



Now, we got you all hyped up for a visit of the 2007 Ironman in Kona, Big Island. OK it's still almost 4 weeks to the Ironman competition on Saturday October 13. You might still get a fall flight special to Hawaii but make sure to have a room before you book. Kona hotals and Kona vacation rentals are booked. Look for vacation rentals or condos north of Kona at Waikoloa Village and south of Kona at Captain Cook and Kealakekua. Get early into Kona on the day of the Ironman competition to find a parking space and secure your spot on the Pier at Alii Drive to watch the most spectacular start of the Ironman, when thousands of athletes jump in the ocean at the same time. Get caught up in the 2007 Ironman Triathlon World Championship frenzy, an experience of a lifetime!

As usual, let us know what you think about the Hawaii Ironman, the athletes, sunny Kailua-Kona and whatever! Can't wait to hear from you. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Kohala Coast Vacation Guide
p.s.
Don't forget your camera and read the tips for taking photos in Hawaii by renowned Hawaii photographer Jennifer Crites. She might come up with some special ones for the Ironman. My photos of Norman Stadler and Faris al Sultan on their bikes were not too impressive (more like a blur, to be honest), unfortunately...after waiting for hours in the hot sun of Hawaii!

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Tags: 2007 Hawaii Ironman, Kona, Big Island

2006 Big Island Ironman Triathlon is History

Aloha to all Big Island lovers,

After our last post how a Waikoloa family dealt with the challenges of the recent Kohala Coast earth quake, we feel it's time to go on with life, just as everybody else on the island does.

Yes, believe it or not, earth quake or not...not even a full week after the 6.9 earth quake rattled the Kona and Kohala Coast on Sunday 10/15/06 the 2006 Hawaii Ironman, Triathlon World Championship took place in Kailua Kona October 21. Kona was full of visitors and athletes from all over the world expecting another spectacular triathlon. And this is what they got.

This Ironman will be for ever in the memory of Big Island visitors and Ironman athletes alike as the 'race with the earthquake'. After a 6.9 earthquake had hit the the West coast of the Big Island on Sunday morning 10/15/06 at 7am, just one week before Ironman and left Big Island visitors, athletes and residents shaking, trembling and wondering whether there would be an Ironman this year, it was soon clear that the island and its people had gotten away with a big scare but minor injuries and building damage.

In the days before the earthquake hit, Kona was unusually hot and humid, and in the days after, the area got slammed with a series of torrential downpours of uncharacteristic intensity and duration. On the day of the Ironman, skies were overcast and no heavy winds troubled the athletes on their bike ride from Kona to Hawi and back. It seemed that Pele had made peace with the athletes. It was all going so well, right up until 7:20 pm, over twelve hours into the race when a torrential downpur happened in Alii Dr, the home stretch of the Ironman World Championship.

Athletes had to make it through knee deep high water to make it to the finish line. About one hour later the downpour stopped and the water receded allowing athletes to cross the finish line under more regular conditions, some after they ran for 10 and more miles in dripping wet shoes and clothes and others, the luckier ones, totally dry. Read more about the 2006 Ironman Championship in Hawaii on the Ironman official site.

Find 2006 Ironman results on our website. West Hawaii Today has in addition to the Official Ironman website (see link above) lots of great stories about this year's Ironman available. Don't miss those. We are certain all our Big Island visitors who stayed on our beautiful island during the Ironman week will have quite some stories to tell when coming home to the mainland.

Be assured that life is back to normal on the Kohala Coast. Vacation rental owners along the West Coast are looking forward to your visit. You will find SPECIAL rates for your stay on the Kohala Coast in November here.

A hui hou and aloha, Pua Kohala Coast Vacation Guide
p.s.
We have found this great video on YouTube about the Big Island Ironman Triathlon and would like to share it with all the Hawaii travelers who have never seen the Hawaii Ironman and plan a visit to the Big Island.

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Tags: Big Island Ironman, Ironman Triathlon 2006, Hawaii

What it takes to be an Ironman?

Aloha and welcome to Hawaii Ironman athletes and visitors

Hawaii Triathlon World Championship and What it takes to be an Ironman?

The Big Island is getting ready for the biggest event of the year…the countdown to this year Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship has started. Who has not heard by now, there had to be a change made in the announced date for the Ironman due to the needs of cruise ships in Kailua Kona for using the Pier. Therefore, the World Triathlon Corporation announced in February 2006 that the 2006 Ford Ironman World Championship will take place on October 21 instead of 10/14/06, as originally planned. Hope you had time enough to reschedule your flights and Kona hotel or vacation rental reservation?!

Kohala Coast or Kona visitors can already watch early arrivals at their bike training on their way from Kailua Kona past the Kohala Coast Resorts through Kawaihae to the turning point at Hawi in North Kohala. Here is what the athletes have to accomplish during the Hawaii Ironman, one of the biggest endurance tests available around the globe. For most of the athletes, it is already their biggest accomplishment when they have made it through the qualification competition.

WHAT:
A 2.4mile ocean swim, 112mile bike race and 26.2mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to finish. Cutoff times are also applied to the swim (2:20 after start of race) and the bike (10:30 after the start of race.)

WHERE:
Kailua Kona, Hawaii. The swim segment begins and ends at the pier in Kailua. The bike race travels north on the Kona Coast to the small village of Hawi, and then returns along the same route to the new transition area at the King Kamehameha Hotel. The marathon course travels through Kailua and onto the same highway used for the bike race. Contestants run back into Kailua-Kona, coming down Alii Drive to the cheers of more than 25,000 people at the finish line.

WHO:
Up to 2,000 competitors, ages 18-80, compete from 50-plus countries and all 50 states. Upwards of 50,000 competitors attempt to qualify at Ironman qualifying races worldwide. Another 4,000 enter the race lottery, which awards 150 slots to U.S. citizens and 50 slots to international athletes. In recognition of their athletic accomplishment, age group champions automatically qualified for the next year's race.

If you stay on the Kohala Coast but would like to watch the Big Island Ironman, leave your hotel or vacation rental early in the morning around 5:30am in order to find a parking lot in Kailua-Kona and a good position in Alii Drive for watching the most spectacular scene when thousands of participants jump in the Pacific Ocean at 7am for their 2.4mile swim…or if you are not an early birds but still would like to get a glimpse of the participants and feel the heat of the competition (and Hawaii!), drive their car to the junction of Hwy 19 and Hwy 270 to cheer the triathlon bikers on their way to Hawi (read the paper for more information on closed Hwy 19). Read more about the Ironman on the official Ironman Website.

The Hawaii Triathlon World Championship on the Big Island of Hawaii is a once in a lifetime experience you do not want to miss. So, don’t forget your hat, plenty of water and apply lots of sunscreen. Have your vocal cords in good shape and ready for lots of cheering! If you take some great Hawaii Triathlon photos, email us kohalacoastweb@hotmail.com We are happy to post them on our Kohala Coast Vacation Guide Website. Mahalo and aloha, Pua
p.s.
If you have not made your Kona or Kohala Coast accommodation reservation yet, may we can still help with a nice vacation rental. Visit the Vacation Guide and send us an email with your Big Island travel information.

Tags: Hawaii, Big Island, Hawaii Ironman