Dan Mooney – IRONMAN Maryland – Saturday, October 7, 2017

Race Report: I have to say IMMD was a great experience – not as far as my race went but really more for the atmosphere and how much the race director Gerry Boyle puts into this race. I had the opportunity to go down and ride the course on 3 different occasions. The first was a supported ride put on by Gerry – that was the first time I met him and he was very interested in what the athletes thought about the race and what they wanted to see out of the race. I’ve never had that experience before. The next two times were on Saturdays and non-supported but sure enough Gerry was there both times just checking in to see how things were going and how we liked the course. The week before the race – we went down for a swim and part of the ride and Gerry had a boat load of volunteers out cleaning up the park area. He is a passionate guy and it shows – this is a great local race that everyone should give a try at some point. Although it is the big bad Ironman brand – this is still a local race run by a great guy who keeps that small race feel about it. I want to thank everyone from Mid-Maryland that made it down to support the race. We had a lot of volunteers out on the course and a lot of people out cheering on the racers. When I got to the point I could no longer run – this was a big lift because I knew where most of you were and had to start running before I saw you😊…so thanks for keeping me moving forward. There is one thing that I am really disappointed about – before the race I heard Gerry talking to Chip Warfel. Gerry confided in Chip his disappointment in MMTC for not stepping up to man the mile 101 water station. He was concerned because that is a tricky turn during the race and he had inexperienced volunteers working the water stop and directing traffic. I want to thank Mark Lash and Daniel Gaughan for helping out. When they got there, they noticed the issue and immediately took charge. Next year MMTC needs to do better. I didn’t realize just how much our local races rely on our club as knowledgeable volunteers and I don’t want to let him down again. I hope to do this race again in the future for a little redemption. Ironman is hard when a race doesn’t go your way. It takes so much time to train and when you have a bad day it takes longer to get back for redemption. I always try to learn something from my bad races…but by the time I race again I forget them all😊 – I will definitely be back to support IMMD and everyone racing. Put it on your calendars because it is a great experience. Swim: 1:19:05 T1: 6:00 Bike: 5:35:19 T2: 3:42 Run: 4:40:45