Tina Bischoff's women's Ultraman Hawaii race record 25:45:51 held up against all comers for 21 years. But in 2010, four women broke the mark in dramatic fashion. The first act of the 325-mile, three-day stage triathlon that circumnavigates the Big Island of Hawaii is a 10K swim from Kailua Pier to Keauhou, followed by a 90-mile ride with 7,800 feet of climbing south from Keauhou to Volcanoes National Park.
All photos © Timothy Carlson
Six-time Ultraman women's champion Shanna Armstrong relies on this individualistic support crew star whose costume recalls the John Dunbar 1979 Ironman edition.
Suzanna Degazon readies for her 13th Ultraman start.
A flotilla of support kayaks help supply and guide the swimmers.
Four-timer Ultraman champion Alexandre Ribeiro of Brazil suspected his disappointing three-day vomit fest started with swallowing too much sea water. her still managed to finish fourth overall, and second on the double marathon.
Swimmer follows standup paddler.
Kayaker and swimmer are a team.
Mike LeRoux of crocodile country in Cairns, Australia exits the water after a third-best 2:28:50 swim.
Shanna Armstrong set a PR on the swim of 2:40:16 but still trailed Ultraman rookie Hillary Biscay by 19 minutes.
Hustling through T1.
Kathy Winkler set a PR on the swim and smiled at the prospect of finishing off the brick with a 90-mile bike.
Rookie Christian McAvoy placed 4th on Day One and finished an impressive 5th in his
Ultraman debut.
Kathy Winkler of Mill Valley, California rode 6:12:-09 on Day One, finished 4th overall, and also broke the Tina Bischoff record. Not bad for a 44-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of two!
Shanna Armstrong rides past surreal plants that look like tropical haystacks.
Hillary Biscay set a new Ultraman swim record of 2:20:48 and rode a third-best 5:56:21 on Day One.
Riding past Naalehu near South Point.
Mike LeRoux rode a second best 5:10:31 in the strong headwinds to go with his third-best 2:28:50 swim on Day One.
Jonas Colting and his crew fix a glitch during his third-best 5:14:40 ride on Day One.
You could say Amber Monforte won it on the bike. On Day One her 5:39:34 bike was 13 minutes faster than Shanna Armstrong and 17 minutes faster than Hillary Biscay. But that was just a prelude to her record smashing ride on Day Two.
Gary Wang treats the legs that rode him to a 5th-best 5:38:09 bike split on Day One with an ice bath as Amber Monforte looks on.
Martin Franklin celebrates with his family and crew after making the Day One 12-hour cutoff by one second.
