Our ONE Ironman, Vance Sutton, has returned to NV from the big race in Hawaii and I wanted to pass along some of his words about the experience.

Vance: Thanks for your heroic effort, and thank you for reminding us that there are thousands of unique ways to raise awareness about global poverty and disease.

-Matt Higginson, Nevada ONE Vote ‘08

“On the day of the race, the ocean was quite calm as it had been in previous days. The prayer offered by the local Hawaiians before the start was absolutely hair raising. It was at that point I realized; time waits for no one. I am 15 minutes away from the absolute biggest day of my sporting life–I am competing in the World Championship of triathlon.

I enter the water with 1800 of my fellow competitors. The water is warm, calm, and clear. Looking back at the crowds surrounding the bay was absolutely incredible. Thousands of them sitting on the sea wall that stretches for about ½ mile.

In the afternoon the wind really picks up on the island and blows right into your face as you crawl back home on the bike section. I wanted to quit so many times, but I kept thinking about the people who supported my efforts by donating $1 per mile to the ONE Campaign.

It got dark about 13 miles into the marathon and they hand you a glow stick that fits around your neck. It’s quite cool to see the glowing circles just bobbing up and down in the darkness from the other racers. Everything slows down mentally and you begin to realize that you’re going to finish…eventually…just keep going.

The last two miles were very interesting. Something inside my mind allowed me to run fast, actually quite fast. Once you begin to see people again and the lights of the city now guide your path, new strength kicks in. I finished strong. Running down the finishing chute is something I wish everyone could experience.

My marathon time was 5 hours and something. Total event time 14:26.

It was such a blessing to have the support of family, friends, and the ONE Campaign. It gave me such great satisfaction to use this race, that by it’s nature is very selfish and individualistic, to help raise awareness about an issue that is much larger than any ONE person.”

-Vance Sutton, Ironman and ONE member