Two Big Island originals are coming home to race the 30th anniversary event
Published Monday, May 14, 2012
Two of Ironman’s original leading ladies are returning to Kona this October. We followed them to Nytro Multisport in California, where they each received brand-new Cannondales for the months of training to come.
by Jennifer Ward Barber
Thirty years ago, a college woman named Julie Moss made history by crawling her way across the finish line of a grueling race in Hawaii. Over the coming years, that Big Island suffer-fest in 1982 would evolve into the famed Ironman World Championships—held every October in Kona and attracting the world’s best triathletes.
This year, Moss and Kathleen McCartney, the woman who passed her that year to take first, have decided to return to Kona to race the 30th anniversary event together.
“I’ve always wanted to do the Ironman again and I just thought the 30th anniversary of that special race Julie and I had would be a really great time to go back,” said McCartney, who committed to the race in February of last year. “I just wanted to do something really positive for myself,” she added.
McCartney immediately thought of calling Julie to see if she wanted to join her, but the ball didn’t get rolling until the two spoke at a November Triathlon Club of San Diego meeting. The weekend following the event, the two participated in a weekend triathlon relay (at Bob Babbitt’s prompting). This got them talking about the idea, and it wasn’t long before both had signed up to swim, bike, and run their way to the Ali’i Drive finish line on October 13th. (The last time either completed the race was back in 2003 when they raced together for its 25th anniversary.)
Even though her last Ironman is a distant memory, McCartney says that having done the race a total of eight times gives her confidence. “At any time in my life, whether I was in triathlon shape or not, I’ve always felt like if someone told me I had to go do an Ironman tomorrow, that I could do it,” she said. She says she’s felt this way since she did her first Ironman, and that this knowledge gives her a sense of strength and empowerment. Needless to say, McCartney has no doubts she’ll finish.
McCartney’s calm confidence is balanced nicely by Julie Moss’ bubbly energy. The spark that compelled Moss to try her young legs at the 1982 race in Kona—all in the name of a college Phys Ed course—is still burning strong. At Nytro Multisport in Encinitas last week, where Bill Rudell of Cannondale presented them each with brand new Cannondale Slices, the two women provided hours of entertainment while they tested “funny looking” saddles and asked questions about hydration and transition tactics.
Moss said she’s excited to race once again in Kona, but what she’s really looking forward to is the “Lance Factor.” “I want to see it,” she said. “I don’t want to read about it or follow it online. I want to catch a glimpse of it myself.”
As one of the original darlings of the sport who helped catapult triathlon into the public eye with her stark determination, Moss will likely share some of that limelight with Mr. Armstrong. It will be an exciting year in Kona indeed.
Visit lavamagazine.com to watch a video of the bike fitting and see a photo gallery of the afternoon.
I am still struggling over finding just the right words to appropriately describe how moved I was at the 2nd Annual HEADStrong Lime Light Gala, held on March 23rd at the Hyatt at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia or how extremely honored I am to be the recipient of the Nicholas E. Colleluori Award for my contributions in the field of blood cancer.
Of course what made this night even more special for me was the fact that I was able to share it with my family. Nothing I do …. no award that I receive, no finish line that I cross, counts without them. They are the reason and the motivation behind everything that I have been blessed and fortunate enough to be able to do.
The mission of the HEADstrong Foundation is to carry on the legacy and vision of HEADstrong founder Nicholas Colleluori through advocating, fundraising and supporting those affected by blood cancer and those working towards eliminating it. In just a few short years of existence, they have evolved into an organization with the strength and visibility of one ten times its size. The reason for their success in my opinion is that every person involved with this mission is personally committed and connected to who Nicholas Colleluori was and what he stood for; and continues to stand for.
But they cannot do it alone. And I was so impressed by everything that I saw on Friday night that I vowed to remain on board and to do whatever I can going forward to continue to drive Nick’s vision and eradicate blood cancers. Please learn more at 
On Friday, March 23, 2012 the HEADstrong Foundation will roll out the lime green carpet for what has become one of the most special events in all of lacrosse. The 2nd Annual Lime Light Gala; an evening in remembrance of HEADstrong founder Nicholas E. Colleluori, honoring the patients, families, survivors and victims of blood cancer and benefitting Nick’s House, the Nicholas E. Colleluori Lymphoma Research Fund at the Abramson Cancer Center and the City of Hope.
Inspiring New Book: a young triathlete and his astonishing comeback
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Michael Vitez just couldn’t get one story out of his mind – and neither could his readers. Michael first wrote about a young man named Matt Miller who had everything and then, in an instant, nearly lost it all, as a three-part series for his newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer. He received an overwhelming response from readers, who, like Michael himself, were deeply touched by the inspiring, against-all-odds story and wanted to continue to follow it. Michael’s new book, “;The Road Back, A Journey of Grace and Grit,” launching this month through CreateSpace, Amazon.com’s self-publishing platform, celebrates the human spirit and the power of fidelity and faith as it follows one young man’s incredible, soaring comeback from what should have been sure death.
Matt Miller, then a standout student and athlete at the University of Virginia and member of his college triathlon club, and two classmates had just pedaled up a mountain pass. He was on top of the world in so many ways – Matt was in love with his high-school sweetheart, Emily, and had dreams of attending medical school. He was so fit his resting pulse was 42! But as he cycled along Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway, he suddenly fell into an oncoming car and his life forever changed. Matt broke every bone in his face and suffered a massive brain injury. The real story though is not just about what took place on that terrible day, but what happened after. Today, Matt, 24, attends the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and is engaged to Emily, who has stood by his side throughout his entire ordeal and is in medical school with him at Penn. Remarkably, Matt has completed a dozen triathlons and the Cozumel Ironman since the accident. In “;The Road Back,” Michael compellingly shares with readers the humbling and miraculous journey of Matt’s survival and recovery and the people who rode along with him, rescued him and helped him heal. It is truly a story of grace and grit, one that is as gripping as it is inspiring.
After writing about Matt for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Michael continued to watch him recover in the most astonishing ways. He was so taken with Matt’s courage and commitment, that Michael decided to take a leave from his job to more fully immerse himself in Matt’s life and write this book. The award-winning writer and author of the popular “Rocky Stories” (about the famed Philadelphia steps and all those who have come to run them) is one of the latest examples of the red-hot trend of established authors choosing to take control of their publishing “journey” and opting to self-publish their work. Though his new book centers on one young man from the Philadelphia area, Matt’s amazing story and the book’s messages are universal. “The Road Back” is available in paperback on Amazon.com and as an e-book on Kindle, Nook and Ipad.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Vitez has been a staff writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer for 27 years. He won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism for a series of stories about five people approaching the end of life. Vitez has taught classes in narrative non-fiction at the University of Pennsylvania and was a visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton. He is also a former Michigan Journalism Fellow. He is the author of Rocky Stories: Tales of Love, Hope and Happiness at America’s Most Famous Steps. (2006, Paul Dry Books) He graduated from the University of Virginia, where he was editor-in-chief of The Cavalier Daily. He is married to Maureen Fitzgerald, food editor at the Inquirer, and they have three children. For the last 12 years, he has organized the annual triathlon at the Erlton Swim Club in Cherry Hill, NJ. www.michaelvitez.com 215-313-3518 michael.vitez@gmail.com @michaelvitez on Twitter.