Thoughts.com Blogs - IRONMAN 2008 -August 27th, 2008

And so it begins. The line up for registering for Ironman Canada 2008 is probably better than half a kilometer long as my wife Shelley and I walk along the length of the line up with our cups of Tim Horton's coffee in hand. It's a long way to the back of this line, and I can see that the line up goes over the bridge on Front Street and around the corner towards Lake Okanagan marina. It is 9:00 am and as we pass by the throng of waiting athletes we see some of our friends from our hometown of Victoria BC. They are in the line up for the same reason. You must be in Penticton to sign up for the next year's event. I spot our friend Jason Ball nearer to the front of the line. "What time did you get here?" I ask him. "5:30 this morning" comes his reply. Further along the line I see Sandi Wiggins, another Victoria training partner. My first thought is to jump into the line with her, but we think better of it and after a quick greeting, we head toward the back of the line. The third cup of coffee we are carrying is for our friend Don Costello. Don had phoned us when he arrived at the Ironman Village and said he would get in line if we would bring the coffee. He had not yet gotten to the back of the line when we caught up with him. We handed him the coffee and began our wait with nervous anticipation.
It is simply amazing to see so many people line up. The previous night had been cold and windy. Many of those in the line up were talking about how tough it must have been for the Triathletes that were competing in Ironman 2007 that day. Most of those in the line had come to Penticton specifically to sign up, and now here they stood, anxious to get signed and get moving. A few tents lined the side of the creek known as Ellis Creek. They belonged to people who had come to register but had no place to stay. One girl we talked to had driven from Regina and had arrived in Penticton around 2:00 am that morning. She said that once she signed up, she was driving home as she had to work the next day. Although this is not typical, it is not unusual to hear those types of stories.
Despite the long line, it moved much quicker than I had anticipated. After less than two hours we were inside the large white tent and we were being given instructions about the process of getting signed up for Ironman Canada 2008. We needed photo identification and we filled out the entry sheet and waiver of liability. Submitted them to the woman behind the table and received a piece of paper that had our access number. With this number we could sign up and pay for our spots on-line after September 5th. I guess this gives everyone a chance to reconsider because once you sign up, there are no refunds!
We left the tent with our paperwork intact and met up with the other members of our triathlon club, Bin Tri'n. We all held up our papers for a photo opportunity and when the picture was taken, we all said our good-byes and headed for the exit. Shelley and I had arranged to meet with Sandi and Jim Wiggins and Tim and Sharon Gagne at the Elite restaurant for breakfast before we started the long drive home to Victoria. Tim had raced Ironman the day before and had an excellent time. This morning though, he was feeling a bit sore in the legs and we decided to walk the four blocks to the restaurant. It was a slow walk, but enjoyable. After a great breakfast buffet, Shelley and I bid good-bye to our friends and headed home. We left Penticton at noon. Stopped for gas in Princeton, picked up our son Kristjan at our daughter's house in Langley and made the 7:00 pm boat. We drove into our garage a short time past 9:00 that night.