Ironman: Pioneer still going strong

Dave Orlowski competes in the first ever ironman in Hawaii in 1978. Photo / Supplied

It's hard to imagine Cameron Brown wearing cut-off jeans and stopping off at McDonald's during an ironman for a Big Mac combo.

Would you like that upsized, sir?

In fact, it's hard to imagine the nine-time Ironman New Zealand champion stopping at all during a little over eight hours of racing.

But that's exactly what Dave Orlowski did during the first ever ironman in Hawaii in 1978. He was one of 15 entrants for that iconic event and, despite his curious pitstops, it didn't stop him finishing third of the 12 who completed the race. It was quite obviously a different time and place to the scientific world of ironman in the 21st Century.

These days, the 54-year-old Orlowski has a different agenda. He's on a quest to complete all 24 ironman races worldwide in five years, finishing with the 35th anniversary of the Hawaii ironman in 2013, and yesterday ticked off Ironman New Zealand. He even wore bike shorts.

It was more a case of circumstances than design that he raced the first Hawaii event more than 30 years ago.

He was in Hawaii for a banquet dinner following a running race when the concept of ironman surfaced. The debate centred around which athletes - swimmers, cyclists or runners - were the fittest, so it was decided to combine three of Hawaii's endurance events into one race.

"I was sitting at the table when the debate was going on but didn't hear it," Orlowski recalls.

"I was 22, getting free food and free beer and looking at all the beautiful women in Hawaii. I was more concerned about that than some stupid argument about who's the fittest athlete.

"The next day, I went into work and my eyeballs were down to my chin. I walked into Tom Knoll's office and he asked me if I was going to do this ironman thing. I didn't know what he was talking about. Before I had a chance to say anything, he said, 'give me $5, I'm putting you in'."

Orlowski was a marine who had a background in swimming and running, so was in reasonable shape. But he had only six weeks to prepare.

He jumped into the pool three times a week and borrowed a 10-speed bike from a friend a week before the race. His entire cycle training consisted of one 50km ride.

"I was ready to do the ironman," he chuckles.

Not quite. He still needed to work out with his support team how they would attack the race. Two other marines entered the race, including Knoll, who finished sixth, and they had one support crew for the three of them.

"We had a meeting the night before and talked about what we would do if the support vehicle wasn't around [because there were no such thing as aid stations like today]," he says.

"The bike didn't even have bottle cages for fluids. So I took a pair of blue jeans, cut them off and said I will stick money in my pocket and if I don't see anyone, I will stop and buy whatever I can along the road."

That included McDonald's, where he had a burger, fries and shake. Elsewhere, he grabbed whatever he could.

"Drinking water, Coke, oranges, chocolate. At one point, I ran into a grocery store. Hawaii isn't crime free, so I laid my bicycle up against the wall and ran in and got a soda, chocolate bar and banana and quickly ran to the counter wondering, 'oh gosh, is my bike going to be there when I get back?"'

There might have been times on the run when he wished it had been stolen. He had good periods, like between miles four and 17, but others when he was reduced to a walk. He eventually crossed the finish line 12 hours and 59 minutes after the start.

Orlowski wonders what would have happened if, as many people thought, none of those 15 athletes had finished. Would it have taken off?

Ironman is now an industry, an event that pushes people to the limits physically and mentally, and two more were added around the world last year.

He finished his second in 2008 when he raced in Hawaii again and it whetted his appetite for more. Lots more. Orlowski completed six ironman races in 2009 and he has seven on his schedule this year.

Generally, it's about finishing, like yesterday's race. But once a year, he picks an "A-race" when he tries to beat his original time from 1978. It's not easy given his size - he weighs more than 90kg - and the fact he's had three knee operations and a shoulder reconstruction.

Once his quest is achieved, Orlowski plans to go through all the 70.3 (half ironman) races around the world. After that, he might treat himself to some more McDonald's.