
IRONMAN Commitment Day is returning in 2025, kicking off on January 1 and encouraging athletes to pledge to the goal of completing an IRONMAN and or an IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon. The toughest part of the journey is committing, and 2025 IRONMAN Commitment Day is the day to make a pledge, a declaration from each athlete and the world. It is a day to join a community of fearless athletes, united in the belief that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE®.
Tens of thousands of athletes from all walks of life, backgrounds and abilities commit each year to challenging their limits of what is possible and commit to the challenge of becoming an IRONMAN finisher for the first time. Since its inception in 1978, the IRONMAN triathlon (consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run) has come to represent the ultimate test of body, mind and spirit for both professional and amateur athletes.
These athletes and thousands more found their “why” to inspire them to do an IRONMAN event and committed to the challenge:
Sara Fix found her “why” In 2021 after being diagnosed with stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer. “I really do believe that the sport of triathlon, specifically IRONMAN, I think created the brain and the person that I am, and that has enabled me to do what I have been able to do. If you talk to my doctors, they were like, “we don’t know if you’re ever going to run again, we don’t know if you’ll be able to swim again”, and I was like “Oh yes, I will, and here I am, I ran seven miles this morning. I feel like IRONMAN has saved me.” said Sara.
K-T Overby found her why after her father lost his sight and changed who he was. “I’m racing IRONMAN for two reasons. One to prove to myself that I can do this. I’m also doing it to help raise funds to help other people see. I actually lead an organization called Cure Blindness Project and we focus on providing vision care to people in countries where they don’t have established medical systems.”
“I feel very much that it changes lives, I know that it certainly changed mine. There’s a lot of empowerment, but it’s the community that you build, the friends, the people that I train and race with” said Nancy Goodnight from Waco, Texas. Nancy is the IRONMAN 70.3 Waco Race Director and an avid athlete who has completed every IRONMAN Texas race.
Denise Escher found her “why” after overcoming alcoholism which began as a result of her former husband attempting domestic homicide against Denise on valentine’s day in 2009. “What led me into this journey of endurance sports – I found that a lot of people that are in recovery, are in our space, in endurance racing. My first race was a local sprint race, and after that IRONMAN 70.3 Musselman was my first IRONMAN-branded race – It’s still my best day. »
After the passing of former American Cycling Group CEO Peter Hurley who was an avid triathlete, some of his coworkers and friends reflected on the impact Peter had by competing in the IRONMAN Chattanooga triathlon. “What Peter did with IRONMAN Chattanooga, and bringing this whole thing to life, he transformed the city, he transformed the culture within the city, and that all happened because IRONMAN believed in Peter’s vision, and what Peter was capable of.”
Kathi Peck from Goshen, CT found her “why” after promising herself that she would complete a triathlon when she would turn 60 years old. “My 60th year came very quickly, and I never really told anybody that I had this inner goal, so it was going to be a one and done thing for my 60th birthday. That was in 2010, and it’s funny, I never thought like, well I know 60 is old compared to other competitors, but when I realized I was 60 and I was going to do this, I never thought it was old.”
Ian Williams found his “why” after donating his kidney to his sick wife, experiencing heart failure himself and being told by his doctors to enjoy the good times he was able to have before his heart failure, as physical activity would be unlikely for him in the future. “I began working with the Sports Cardiology team. “What is your goal? Is your goal to return to triathlon, is it just to be healthy?”, was the question. I said, you know, this may sound crazy, but I want to return to IRONMAN. As part of this entire journey because our lives as triathletes, especially I think IRONMAN, it’s part of your lifestyle during that journey, and losing this big piece of my life, I went this huge state of depression. To be able to get to the starting line again is going to be fantastic.” said Ian.
More information on 2025 IRONMAN Commitment Day can be found by visiting www.ironman.com/find-your-2025-race.
For more information on the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.