Hawkins Achieves 'Ironman' Status

The Ironman Triathlon race is an ultimate test of human endurance and perseverance. The daunting 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and full marathon, a whopping 26.2 miles, would make most weak at the knees and send them in the opposite direction. But not Phil Hawkins, who competed in the Tempe, AZ Ironman race in November.

Hawkins, 54, considers himself a hobbyist runner. He enjoys putting foot to pavement whenever he gets the chance and has run in more than a few events over the years, including a half marathon and a number of 5Ks. But recently Hawkins pushed himself to the limit when he decided to tackle the world-renowned Ironman race.

Bitten by the bug after watching his son-in-law compete in the 2010 Ironman race in Louisville, KY, and in the Panama City, FL race in 2011, a spectacle that made a lasting impression on Hawkins, he couldn't shake the feeling of "if not now, when."

"My son-in-law lives in Hot Springs and that's what their thing is there. He and all his buddies like to compete in those," Hawkins said. "After seeing his races I thought, you know, I'm 54 years old, if I don't do this now I don't know when I will."

So in November of last year Hawkins pulled the Trigger and signed up for his first Ironman race. He started training for the competition immediately, squeezing in a run, a swim, or a bike ride whenever he could, often at times like 4:30 in the morning before heading in for a full day at work. Hawkins was warned before starting that the intense training, especially without a partner, would begin to wear on him, and it did, particularly the long, monotonous miles he covered by foot or on his bike. But he pushed through the monotony and even competed in a half-Ironman in Branson as the race date drew closer.

"Fitting that kind of training into your schedule is the hardest thing," he said. "With working and family and life it can be challenging to try to get in a bike ride and a swim and a run. It's pretty time consuming. And the worst part of it is the monotony of doing it over and over, and doing it by yourself."

But Hawkins said there were times he knew the training was going to be worth it as he began to see progress in his performance.

"Before that I couldn't even swim two laps without getting winded and out of breath. So yeah, that took a lot of work, but it worked," Hawkins said.

Despite spending a great deal of time alone as he trained, Hawkins wasn't alone in spirit, and his friends and family made sure he knew they were right there for him every mile.

"a lot of my friends and our family got together and made support videos for me," Hawkins said. "It was really cool. Some of them were hilarious, and some were very touching and heartfelt."

When race day came Hawkins used that support, along with the support of his wife, Becky, who had made the trip to Arizona with him, and his daughter Anna, who surprised him by showing up at the race, to push himself to the limit, and beyond, as he made his way through the 40.6 mile triathlon.

While the whole experience made a lasting impression on Hawkins, he said the most amazing part was crossing that finish line. For him running the race wasn't about being the first person to cross the line, rather just to cross the line and be announced to the world as an Ironman.

"Finishing is such a neat part, a lot of that is because of the spectators. They say until the last person crosses the line," Hawkins said. "But when you come through the last chute the announcer calls your name and screams 'You are an Ironman,' and that's really cool. The spectators are going nuts and screaming your name- that was probably my favorite part of the day."

The road to the finish line, starting in November of 2012, was a long and grueling haul, but a rewarding one, and one Hawkins said he would like to tackle again- just not right away.

"Once you commit to it you have to start right then figuring out when you can squeeze in a workout and you have to start on your nutrition- it's so time consuming. I'd like to do another one, sure, but not right away. I just want to take some time and enjoy this," he said.

Phil Hawkins is the son of Betty Hawkins Butler of Portageville.