The Cadence Kona Challenge Vote is in

I have been holding off posting anything until I found out the result of the Kona Challenge voting. The public vote officially closed on Sunday and it has been an excruciating wait for the results. An email from Triathlete Magazine earlier in the week let us know that they had received far more votes than they were expecting, so a big thank you to anyone who voted, and that it was going to take a little time to tally the results.

For days now I have had people asking me how I got on with the vote and it has been heartwarming just how many people seem to have become genuinely excited by the competition on my behalf.

However like most waits (unlike the one on Wednesday as I waited to cross the George Washington Bridge, on the Cross Bronx Expressway NYC, which I found out subsequently is officially the slowest stretch of road in the US) this one has come to an end.

The link below will take you to the announcement of the results on the Cadence website.

http://www.cadencecycling.com/news/?a=v&i=385

For anyone who hasn't visited the link the answer is yes, it looks like I am going to have to do an Ironman after all. The countdown on my webpage lets me know that I only have 30 days until Ironman Lake Placid and the reality of the situation has hit like a lightning bolt. When I submitted my application to the competition back in June 2007 I honestly didn't expect to make the final six, let alone get a place at Ironman USA.

That being said I have always trained as if I was racing the Ironman and tried to put the actual race, and the possibility of not competing, out of my mind. Its a cliche but I have really enjoyed the journey and the race itself is the icing on the cake. With all the coaching I have received from Cadence and Holden I am in the best shape of my life and know that I can do well at an Ironman but whether or not I can do something special enough to make it to Kona we will not know until race day is over.

I have a hell of a lot of thank yous to make and I hope to be able to thank as many people as possible face to face but in the meantime:

Thanks to Cadence for the opportunity and for putting on the competition.

Thanks to Holden for giving me some top level coaching throughout the year and for being super supportive.

Thanks to Cyfac, Zipp, Zoot, Enervit, LAS Suunto, Ironman USA, Triathlete Magazine and Sidi for being so generous and for providing such high end equipment, it is very much appreciated.

A big thank you to everyone who voted for me. Thank you to my family and friends, thank you to Wendy's family and friends, thank you to Ed and Team Z who have been great throughout, thank you to my US Navy colleagues and thank you to my Royal Navy colleagues.

As I said earlier I have been bowled over by how fired up everyone who supported me has become and I only hope that I can do your enthusiasm justice on the day.

Thanks to Wendy for entertaining my hobby which on the face of it is absolutely ridiculous and asks a lot of my family for my own selfish goals.

Finally congratulations to my fellow finalist, Mary Lou, and I am very sorry to those who didn't win the vote. Kate, Scott, Elizabeth and Randy are all very deserving and it has been my great pleasure to meet them all during this competition. I know that most of us have booked Ironman races in case we didn't get in through the vote and I wish everyone all the best in their endeavours and I hope I get the chance to meet up with you all soon. If I fail to qualify for Kona we will be going to watch the race anyway and it would be fantastic if there was another semi-finalist/finalist that I could cheer for.

Thanks Ben for your support and thanks to his sister, Kate, whose short but exceptionally influential life started this whole crazy adventure.