Last weekend I flew down to Tempe, Arizona and watched my first Ironman Triathlon.

An Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4 miles swim, a 112 miles bike and a marathon (26.2 miles) run, raced in that order and without a break. There are several Ironman Triathlons that occur around the world. The annual world championships of the event, are held annually in Hawai'i. The Hawaiian Ironman is still regarded as the most honored and prestigious triathlon event to win worldwide. Athletes are invited to participate in the Hawaiian Ironman but must first qualify in other Ironman Triathlon competitions. Of the 50,000 hopefuls, only 1,500 are selected to participate in the annual Hawaiian Ironman event.

No, I’m not too interested in competing in an Ironman Triathlon; I already have my job as my own personal ultra endurance passion! Instead I came down to Tempe to see my brother. In terms of siblings, have only one brother and he is just two years older than me. Despite our differences, he has always been my source of inspiration. His passion is training and competing in triathlons around the world. The Tempe Ironman was his third Ironman Triathlon, in an attempt to qualify for Hawaii.

It was my greatest joy to see my brother to simply complete this grueling competition, but he also finally qualified for the Hawaiian Ironman! It was definitely a proud brother moment and still is! He finished 47^th overall, 6^th in his division (40-44) with an overall time of 9 hours and 29 minutes! He now will prepare for the Hawaiian Ironman scheduled for October 2010.

No matter how he does, he really impresses me with his hard work, passion and determination to make his dreams come true, and for my brother most of them have come true!