In the last part of his report Chris gives a very impressing and touching picture on how he felt throughout the run, the ups and downs… being so very close to victory and then finally to have no choice anymore but to give in. It is a very authentic account one can very rarely read written by an athlete himself.

By Chris McCormack

The bike was very steady and the conditions were perfect. There was no wind and we were riding away from the rest of the field. Stadler was off the front and slowly putting time into us. At the 40 mile marker of the ride he had pushed his lead out to 3 minutes. There was no panic from the group and Faris continued to sit on the front of our group and ride a solid tempo.

I sat in second position most of the day but on the rise up to Havi about 6 miles from the turnaround point I made an aggressive move with Chris Lieto to ride away from the pack. Stadler turned at the halfway point of the bike 5 minutes in front. I pushed up the road with Lieto and when I got the split to Stadler at 5 minutes I thought it would be a safer option mentally to ride with the main pack.

I decided to reduce my attack and allow the pack to catch me.

Lieto continued to ride off solo and I was quickly gobbled up by the pack just past halfway. I felt very much in control on the bike and very easy. The ride home to the transition area in Kona was steady but in control. We had some very slow sections and Stadler slowly pulled his gap to just on 10:30 as we entered transition.

I honestly believed in my head that I would catch Stadler at this gap and my concern was Cameron Brown and Faris.

I had imagined my run with Faris and Cameron everyday in my head in training all year and now we were about to embark on it. I immediately set a solid tempo out of transition and was running just on 6 minutes per mile pace. My aim was to set a very fast pace that would ultimately run the other guys off there feet. My confidence grew from the fact that I had the fastest marathon in the field at 2:40 and ran the fastest time in the marathon the year before Hawaii. These were the two points I kept reminding myself in the early stages of the run and I knew that my competitors would know this. I knew by setting a solid run tempo early this would allow me to take command of the run and make these guys run my race. I was surprised that no one came with me.

By the 10 mile mark of the run I knew that the race was now between me and Stadler.

Cameron Brown had dropped out of the equation and Faris Al Sultan was sitting 2 minutes behind me. I was very confident that I could out run Faris and decided then that my focus was now solely on the leader. I began an aggressive chase after him and knew with 16 miles left to run I had a very good shot at him. I was taking the time out very quickly and as we entered the energy lab I was very keen to see how my competitor looked when we crossed paths. This is 12 kilometers from home and he was 5 minutes in front.

I grew with confidence when I saw Stadler as he was absolutely gone. I did the math’s and thought this race is mine.

I dropped my fuel belt and began an all out chase after him for the title. The gap came back very quickly and at my last time check 2km from home I was 48 seconds behind. I honed in on him and thought this race is mine.

The last climb up to Palani hill and down to the finish was where I hit the wall.

When I saw him crest the hill and he looked over his shoulder and smiled I knew my day was over and he would hang on. I fell apart mentally and succumbed to Stadler. I limped in to finish second in my best result in Hawaii.

I must admit when I crossed the line I was disappointed for about 1 minute but realized I was beaten on this day by a guy who was simply stronger and put together a better race. I shall return next year to roll my hand again and try to bring home the title. It is races like this that build the character necessary to win the event and I will only move forward from here. I have already begun planning for next years event and am counting down the days. The Hawaii monkey is finally off my back and now I just need to pursue my dream with more vigor and finally win the race that I have chased for the last 4 years.