Official sports nutrition partner Ironman

BYE Nutrition is the official sports nutrition partner of Ironman Netherlands (Maastricht and West Friesland) for the next 3 years.

For all blogs related to the Ironman/triathlon see our Ironman page

But what exactly is an Ironman and how did it come about?

What is an Ironman?

The Ironman is the grandest and best known series of races of classic long distance triathlon. This triathlon series goes around the world where you can qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

There are several official distances of the Ironman:

You have the Classic Ironman this involves 3.86km of swimming, 180.2km of cycling and 42.195km of running.

The Ironman 70.3 involves 1.9km of swimming, 90km of cycling and 21.1km of running.

The Ironman 5i50 involves 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run

You can do both the Ironman 70.3 and 5i50 in Ironman Maastricht and Ironman West-Friesland.

How did the Ironman come about?

The idea of the original Ironman triathlon originated at the awards ceremony for the O?ahu Perimater Relay in 1977. There, both the Mid Pacific Road runner and the Waikiki swim club were represented. They often talked about which of them was fitter. Were the runners or the swimmers the fittest. U.S. Navy Commander John Collins figured out that cyclists were the fittest, because cyclist Eddy Mercx had the highest oxygen uptake ever measured. Collins had already competed in some triathlons in California and thought that the runners and swimmers should compete in a triathlon. There were already 3 races on the island the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 miles or 3.9 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 miles or 185 km; originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.219 miles or 42.195 km). Until now, neither the runners nor the swimmers had ever run the bike race. They figured that they would do these 3 races back to back and thus determine once and for all who was the fittest. Prior to the race, each athlete received three sheets of paper with a few lines and a course description. On the last page was handwritten the exhortation:

"Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life"

,now a registered trademark.

With a nod to a local runner who was notorious for his demanding workouts, Collins said, ?The one who finishes first, we call the Iron Man. Each participant had his own support team that would provide him with water, food and encouragement during the event.

In 1978 there were 15 men at the start, later that day 12 made it to the finish line. Gordan Haller a communications specialist in the U.S. Navy reached the finish line first and was entitled to the first Ironman accolade! He completed the first Ironman in 11 hours, 46 min and 58 seconds.

Without further marketing efforts, 50 men were at the start the following year, 100 the following year and currently the Ironman has more than 60,000 participants spread across the 80 events worldwide.

In 2021 we will write more blogs about triathlon and the Ironman, this way we will teach you more about this great sport and hope to support you with learning tips.