2003 Race

Pre-Race Report
Day 1 Report
Day 2 Report
Day 3 Report
Epliogue

WHAT:

A 3-day, 320-mile (515-kilometer) individual ultra-endurance event which takes place on the Big Island of Hawaii.. Entry is limited to 35 participants and is by invitation only. Founded in 1983, the event is held annually on the traditional Thanksgiving weekend.

WHEN:

FRIDAY, November 28 - Stage I Starting time 6:30 a.m
SATURDAY, November 29 - Stage II Starting time 6:30 a.m.
SUNDAY, November 30 - Stage III Starting time 6:00 a.m. (note earlier start)

WHERE:

Stage I - 6.2-mile (10 km) ocean swim from Kailua Bay to Keauhou Bay, followed by a 90-mile (145 km) cross-country bike ride from Keauhou Bay around the southern tip of the island via Route 11 to finish at Namakani Paio Park in the Volcanoes National Park. Vertical climbs total 6,000 feet.

Stage II - 171.4-mi (276 km) bike ride, from Volcanoes National Park (Route 11) to Keeau, then turning east with a counter-clockwise loop through Kalapana, Kapoho and Pahoa, then on to the City of Hilo. From Hilo, the route continues north along the Hamakua Coast (Route 19) to Waimea, and over the Kohala Mountains to Kohala High School in Kapaau (Route 250). Vertical climbs total 4,000 feet.

Stage III - 52.4-mile (84 km) double-marathon run from Hawi to Kawaihae (Route 270), then on to Kailua-Kona (via Route 19) and finishing on the beach at the Old Airport State Park.

Time Limits: Each stage must be completed in 12 hours or less. The swim should be completed in 5-1/2 hours or less. Participants not reaching the respective finish lines within the 12 hour limits will be disqualified.

WHO:

Limited to 35 athletes, participants are expected from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Switzerland and the United States. 50% of the field will have participated in at least one previous ULTRAMAN. Each must be accompanied by an individual support team of at least two persons over the entire course. Many of these team members volunteer from the Big Island community each year. The event attracts individuals who not only thrive on personal challenge and enjoy the thrill of victory, but who come to understand, as did the ancient Hawaiians, the importance of aloha (love), ohana (family), and kokua (help). Individual resources, mental, physical, and spiritual, are shared in an atmosphere where everyone who completes the course is a winner, and the pursuit of human excellence is the fundamental rule of the road.