Cruising in Kona
It was another wild and crazy year on Alii Drive. The men's race was wide open once again, culminating in the long-expected German podium sweep. The women's race saw the two top picks drop out early, and some drama at the finish line.

Final report
'Dance of the thousand headless monkeys'
Outside Online correspondent Timothy Carlson wraps up our Ironman coverage with all the sometimes-gory details of this year's race, including the crawling and dragging finish of Wendy Ingraham and Sian Welch, the sneaky, twisting mumuku headwinds that slowed the world's greatest athletes on the bike course, and the camaraderie between competitors that defined the race in the end.

Race news
Legh requires emergency surgery after finish-line collapse
Australian racer Chris Legh, who at one point was as high as third place in Saturday's race, was rushed to the hospital Sunday night with stomach pain and a high fever. Doctors removed the right side of his bowel and his appendix.

Race coverage
Hellriegel makes history in German podium sweep; Fuhr coasts to win after Newby-Fraser, Badmann drop out
Thomas Hellriegel ran into the history books Saturday as the first German to win the Hawaii Ironman. He led a German sweep of the podium. Canadian women Heather Fuhr and Lori Bowden got first and second, respectively, in the women's race, after top seeds Paula Newby-Fraser and Natasha Badmann dropped out. Then, in a dramatic show of joy and suffering, Sian Welch and Wendy Ingraham stumbled across the line together. Outside Online correspondents Timothy Carlson, James Raia, and Carol Hogan spent the day on the loose at Kona, filing live reports from the world triathlon championships.

Race feature
The eve of destruction
At the press conference the night before the sport's most important race, Ironman favorites trade joking barbs, compliments, and dreams. Get an inside look at what the dawn may bring, and be sure to check back Saturday morning for live coverage throughout the race.

Race preview
Presence of missing looms over lava fields of Kona
Canadian racer Peter Reid just might stave off the German invasion, and the smiling Swiss Ms., Natasha Badmann, is aiming to depose eight-time champion Paula Newby-Fraser. But the missing thunder of new Iron king Luc Van Lierde, the irrepressible Aussie Greg Welch, Karen Smyers, and others will inform this race.

Race chat
Who will win it?
Share your thoughts with other readers on who will win this year's Ironman, who will bomb, and all things triathlon.

Race feature
Oddsmaker: men's race
In the men's race Reid and Hellriegel are odds-on favorites. Zack, Leder, Legh also have a real shot. Bustos, Kropko, Dittrich, Glah, Widoff, Taubert, Lorenz, Niedrig, Frossard, Bernhard, Heldoorn, and Moreau are longshots. The DeBooms, McCormack, Veylupek, Tobin, and Tinley are Americans who might place.

Race feature
Oddsmaker: women's race
The women's race is Newby-Fraser versus Badmann. The rest can wait: Heather Fuhr, Lori Bowden, Wendy Ingraham, Uta Mueckel, Sian Welch, Fernanda Keller, Katja Schumacher, and Julianna Nievergelt should fill out the top-10.

Outside magazine feature
The Ironmen
They invited us to their masochists' ball. Amazingly, we accepted. A look back at the early days of this crazy event we call Ironman.

Looking back
Outside Online's 1996 coverage
Previously unknown Belgian rookie Luc Van Lierde smashed the competition last year, breaking the record by three and a half minutes. In the women's race, Ironman legend Paula Newby-Fraser came out of retirement to again show her dominance in the sport, winning an unprecedented eighth title.