ROTH, Germany (8 July 2011) -- He started his long-distance triathlon career on a bar bet, and now American Dave Orlowski, one of the original 12 Ironman athletes, is joining in the fun as a last-minute starter for the 10th running of Challenge Roth this Sunday.
And he's got a message for first-time athletes who might be a bit nervous as they approach their race--or for others who are finding everything has all gotten a bit serious: "Just go out and have fun. Go out and say hi to the person next to you when you're on the bike."
Orlowski was one of the 15 athletes who tackled the first Ironman event in 1978, which was the brainchild of US Navy Commander John Collins as he attempted to settle a debate about who was the fitter athlete--a swimmer, cyclist or runner--at an awards ceremony after an athletic event in Honolulu, Hawaii. Twelve of the original 15 finished; Orlowski came third in a pair of cutoff jeans and riding a borrowed bike. No one knew if people could actually tackle the event, which combined the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the Around-Oahu Bike Race and the Honolulu Marathon, in a single day.
But people did, and a new sport was born.
In 2008, the Originals (as they are now called) got back together to race the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, and Orlowski has not looked back. Despite a shoulder reconstruction and knees that aren't as great as they used to be, he has clocked 15 long-distance finishes since 2008 and aims to get around to all of the world's long-course races as way of seeing the world and stretching himself.
He'll start on Sunday in Roth with a few worries--an accident on the bike a month ago has left him with a broken collarbone and some broken ribs--but a knowledge that his determination will carry him through.
"You can have a good day or a bad day--it's all what goes through your mind. I think it's more attitude than anything. To me, even if I were to go to a race and I weren't to finish in 17 hours, I'm not going to stop, I'm going to finish after 17 hours. Why stop at any certain point? As long as I can make it and get myself there I'll be fine."
Knee woes mean the former marathon runner often has to walk about 50 percent of the run, but he reckons he has a lot of fun that way, getting the opportunity to spend some time with fellow athletes and volunteers along the course. "You get to interact with the aid stations; the kids on the course love you. Not only does it give you energy, it gives them energy to keep going for the rest of the people, too. It's just a pleasure doing it."
A retired homicide detective, Orlowski divides his time between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Clearwater Beach, Florida. When he returned to Hawaii in 2008 he was also returning to Ironman racing for the first time since that epic day in Honolulu. And the long-distance challenge captured his imagination all over again.
On Thursday night, talking with friends from Australia who are in Roth for the race, he was convinced to give Challenge Roth a go. "Back then it wasn't a race per se, it was a challenge," Orlowski recalled. "You've got Challenge Roth here. Back then it was a challenge. All the trophies of the people who finished it say "Finisher," not first place, second place. I did take third place but that wasn't as significant as accomplishing a goal. It's a personal challenge."
This year's Challenge Roth has drawn a record field of 5,250 athletes (3,300 individual starters and 640 teams) from 61 nations for race day on Sunday, 10 July. You can watch Orlowski's progress, and the progress of all the other athletes, online www.challenge-roth.com.
The Challenge Family features 13 races across three continents, including Challenge Roth, Challenge Wanaka (New Zealand), Challenge Fuerteventura and Challenge Barcelona (Spain), Challenge Kraichgau (Germany), Challenge Cairns (Australia), Challenge Copenhagen and Challenge Aarhus (Denmark), Challenge Vichy (France), Challenge Walchsee (Austria), Challenge Henley-on-Thames (UK) and Challenge Cape Town (South Africa).
To learn more about the series, visit www.challenge-family.com.
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