Ironman | 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike and 42 km run

The Iron man Race/Distance is the longest triathlon race that consists of a 3.8 km swim, and 180 km bike and a 42 km run for the finish. This was created in the year 1977 when an idea was created by some men that challenged each other to race this distance and the first to complete it would have the title of “Ironman.”

They were arguing about which of the sports requires the most fitness, swimming or running. Then an article came out about a Belgian cyclist, Eddy Mercx, having the highest oxygen uptake. Nobody had really done the bike race before so a man named John Collins decided to shave off 3 miles of the race and make it go counter-clockwise around the route and they came to an agreement.

The race day was on the 18th of February, 1978 and Gordon Haller was the first man to finish the race in the time of 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds earning the title of “Ironman.”

The Fastest Ironman race ever was by Timothy Philip Don aka Tim Don from the UK at the Ironman South American Championship in Florianopolis, Brazil on the 28th of May 2017. He completed a 3.8km Swim, 180km Cycle Ride and 42km Run in an astonishing 7 hours 40 minutes and 23 seconds.