Hawaii according to Chrissie Wellington

Here’s a blast from the past with an October 2010 piece from Chrissie Wellington, 3-time Ironman World Champ and 220 columnist. Chrissie picks out all the things she loves about Hawaii…

As the 10 October D-Day draws ever nearer, a significant proportion of the global Ironman population starts getting the lurgy. No not the autumnal sniffles, but what my old coach Brett Sutton used to call ‘Hawaii-itis’. It’s an affliction common to Kona-bound triathletes and characterised by sleeplessness, anxiety, short tempers, overthinking and, in my case, frenzied fingernail biting. Severe cases threaten to derail months or years of meticulous preparation. So with a few weeks left to go, I try to focus on the things I love about racing at Kona and being on the island of Hawaii. Here are just some of them…

1 – The entire population of Hawaii seems to live in ‘slippas’, which are basically flip flops. In all colours. You’ve got to love a place where shoes are shunned in favour of letting it all hang out.

2 – Bikes (motor and push) are largely made for transporting surfboard-carrying locals. It never ceases to amaze me how one man can simultaneously pedal while holding a 6ft long board in one hand and a can of beer in the other. And traffic jams are practically non- existent. When they do occur they’re caused by drivers pulling over to take a picture of a whale/dolphin, sunset, bikini-clad babe or pro athlete out on a training run.

3 – Food. In Hawaii everything is supersized. Fortunately not only the offerings of burgers, fries and fizzy pop but everything else besides. They have avocados as big as my head, lychees, bananas, nuts, macadamia nuts in particular. Salted, roasted, made into butter, put in pies or covered in chocolate. Inspirational. And where else in the world can you go to a restaurant and order a ‘poke’ (raw fish salad)? There are 100 types of poke in Hawaii. But sliding down the culinary scale a notch, the favourite Hawaiian comfort food is none other than Spam. Yes, the infamous canned blocks of pale pink pork parts that come in a mind-boggling variety of varieties – Spam Classic, Spam Hot & Spicy, Spam
Less Sodium, Spam Lite, Spam Oven Roasted Turkey, Hickory Smoked and Spam Spread. So beloved is this ‘meat’ product it’s served at the island’s McDonalds. Supersized, I’m sure.

4 – Having studied geography at university I’m a sucker for all things environmental, and Hawaii boasts 11 of the world’s 13 climatic zones. According to one internet site, “you can hit the beach, soak up the sun and heli-ski at the top of Mauna Kea in the same day”. However, this site also describes Hawaii as “a place where you’re never too hot or too cold, but always just right”. ‘Just right’ is not how I would describe the weather while racing at Kona. ‘Bloody brutal’ would be a more accurate description.

5 – The clear blue ocean around Kona is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Here we have a swim course in which the underwater scenery is akin to being in an aquarium. Marginally better than the weed-filled, toilet-coloured, intestinal-problem-inducing water that characterises many other swim courses.

6 – Then we have the bike and run course over a lunar-esque landscape – a black, dried, cow-pat-looking sea of lava as far as the eye can see, only stopping when it hits the ocean or the green slopes of the volcano.

7 – Contrast the lava fields with the infamous Ali’i Drive. This is sacred ground, the road that stretches about seven miles south along the coast and the site of the famous finish line, from where Mike Reilly calls every athlete home. Along Ali’i Drive there are huge palm trees, hibiscus bushes and sugary white sandy beaches.

8 – At what other race do you get scantily clad men hang a garland of flowers, or ‘leis’, around the necks of every finisher? Every lei I’ve received has meant something to me; some of them I’ve framed and others I’ve returned to the land from which they came. To me, receiving a lei is the epitome of Hawaiian culture, their hospitality and deep connection with the natural world.

9 – And then there are the Mai Tais. A delicious combination of rum, curacao, lime juice and mint. Post-race happy hour indeed. After all… when in Rome.

10 – Last but not least, Hawaii is the magical, beautiful, hallowed island where I can put myself to the ultimate physical and mental test, and pit myself against the best endurance athletes on the planet. So as race day dawns ever closer, and an attack of Hawaii-itis threatens to choke me, I try and remember all the things I love about the island and relish the thought of a supersized helping of pale pork parts. Aloha!

Chrissie Wellington Triathlon legend

About

Chrissie Wellington OBE is a retired, British professional triathlete and four-time Ironman world champion. ​ She held all three world and championship records relating to ironman triathlon races: firstly, the overall world record, secondly, the Ironman World Championship course record, and thirdly, the official world record for all Ironman-branded triathlon races over the full Ironman distance. She remains the world record holder for Ironman distance (8:18hrs). Chrissie won the Ironman World Championship in three consecutive years (2007–2009), but could not start the 2010 World Championship race because of illness. She regained the title in 2011. She is the first British athlete to hold the Ironman world title, and was undefeated in all 13 of her races over the Iron distance. She is the only triathlete, male or female, to have won the World Championship less than a year after turning professional, an achievement described by the British Triathlon Federation as "a remarkable feat, deemed to be a near impossible task for any athlete racing as a rookie at their first Ironman World Championships." Since retiring in 2012 Chrissie has completed countless endurance events, from cycling sportives, to marathons and ultra-marathons and even a cross country ski marathon or two! Chrissie was awarded a first-class degree by the University of Birmingham (BsC Geography) in 1998 and a Distinction from the University of Manchester (MA Econ Development Studies) in 2000. ​ Prior to becoming a professional athlete in 2007, she worked for the British Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as a policy adviser on international development and also managed water and sanitation projects in Nepal. Chrissie now devotes her life to work to improve individual and population health and wellbeing, and specifically interventions to increase participation in physical activity. She is the Global Lead for Health and Wellbeing for parkrun and is committed to engaging people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities in parkrun events, thereby addressing the entrenched health and wellbeing inequalities that impact many countries across the world. Chrissie published her Sunday Times Best Selling autobiography, 'A Life Without Limits', in 2012, and her second book, 'To the Finish Line: A World Champion Triathlete's Guide to Your Perfect Race', in 2017. In 2021, she co-authored and published two fully-illustrated children's wellbeing storybooks with friend and former athlete Susie Bush-Ramsey entitled 'You're so strong' and 'You're so amazing', as a means of sharing messages about belief, trust, love, friendship, trying your best and embracing change. ​ A trailblazer at heart, Chrissie is often advocating for change. In 2014 she joined three professional cyclists in campaigning for and successfully creating a women’s race at the Tour De France. Chrissie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to sport and charity. She was also named the 2009 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and has Honorary Doctorates from the University of Birmingham and the University of Bristol. Chrissie lives with her husband, former professional athlete Tom Lowe, and their daughter Esme in a small village in Somerset.