Simon Ward and Andrew Messick

2018-12-12

I’ve been a longtime fan of Ironman, right from that day over 30 years ago when I watched the 1982 coverage with Julie Moss, through to my first Ironman in 1995, and to 2017 when I finally got to the start (and finish line) in Kona. On that journey I have seen massive changes at WTC - 3 changes of ownership, growth in Ironman events from 8 to over 40, and the introduction of 70.3 among the most notable. Ironman is not without its detractors and many of them make some very vocal if slightly unfair comments. Well today, I get to ...

On that journey I have seen massive changes at WTC - 3 changes of ownership, growth in Ironman events from 8 to over 40, and the introduction of 70.3 among the most notable. Ironman is not without its detractors and many of them make some very vocal if slightly unfair comments. Well today, I get to chat to the man at the top, CEO of Ironman, Andrew Messick. He agreed in advance that I could ask him anything, although he also stated that he reserved the right to ‘pass’ on any question. Fortunately that didn’t happen, and you will be able to hear in our conversation:

The challenges of changing an Ironman race venue in less than 4 weeks (Ironman Florida 2018)
Why compromising athlete safety is never an option for Ironman
Delivering life changing events for incredible people
Drafting in Kona - is changing the start the answer to congestion on the bike?
Kona - why racing over 2 days is not feasible on the Big Island
Drug testing - what WTC are doing right now
Celebrities racing in Kona - why it’s a good thing for Ironman
Why Ironman does not go back to some race venues
Will they ever move the Ironman World Championships from Kona?
M-dot tattoos - why Ironman is proud and scared of this trend
Andrew explains how he was an Ironman athlete before an Ironman employee, and why Challenge Roth IS on his bucket list
Deferrals, refunds, and special cases