Iron War

by Matt Fitzgerald

  p. 41 his own career in medicine: ibid.

  p. 41 from his sire: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 41 Animallen: Julie Moss, personal telephone interview, September 2010.

  p. 42 and in the water: Mike Plant, “Mark Allen,” Triathlon, July 1985, pp. 34–38.

  p. 42 challenged him to a race: Morgan interview.

  p. 42 thought to before: Moss interview.

  p. 42 February 6, 1982: “Wide World ‘Constant Variety’ Milestones and Highlights,” http://espn.go.com/abcsports/wwos/highlights/variety8090.html.

  p. 42 apartment in Del Mar: Morgan interview.

  p. 42 glimpse or two of Reed: ibid.

  p. 42 with a show of grit: People, October 11, 1982.

  p. 42 eight miles into the marathon: ABC Sports February 1982 Ironman television broadcast.

  p. 43 turn off the television: Mathias Müller with Timothy Carlson, 17 Hours to Glory: Extraordinary Stories from the Heart of Triathlon (Boulder, CO: VeloPress, 2010), p. 19.

  p. 44 about Julie Moss especially: ibid.

  p. 44 the fall and winter months: Brant Secunda and Mark Allen, “Fit Soul—Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You,” Living Dialogues podcast series, episodes 89 and 90, personallifemedia.com, http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/212-living-dialogues/episodes/33806-brant-secunda-huichol-shaman-healer-mark. Courtesy of Personal Life Media.

  p. 44 do for a living: ibid.

  p. 44 Volkswagen Squareback: Morgan interview.

  p. 44 inaugural La Jolla Half Marathon: Moss interview.

  p. 45 But thanks: ibid. Moss does not recall the exact words of this conversation.

  p. 45 Don’t tell Reed I said that: ibid.

  p. 45 he started with hers: ibid.

  p. 45 that Saturday morning: Scott Tinley, Triathlon: A Personal History (Boulder, CO: VeloPress, 1998).

  p. 46 to execute transitions: Murphy Reinschreiber, personal telephone interview, February 2011.

  p. 46 like the one Mark drove: Tinley, Triathlon.

  p. 46 at the local K-Mart: Mike Plant, “Scott Molina,” Triathlon, February 1985.

  p. 46 none other than Dave Scott: Mike Plant, “13 Minutes down, 13 Miles to Go,” San Diego Running News, July 1982, pp. 22–23.

  p. 47 locating his own Nikes: Reinschreiber interview.

  p. 47 he heard footsteps: Mark Allen on Competitor Radio.

  p. 47 bib number 6: Tinley, Triathlon.

  p. 47 to watch out for you: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 47 drifted ahead of him: Mark Allen on Competitor Radio.

  p. 47 in his first triathlon: Dale Basescu, personal telephone interview, October 2010.

  p. 47 play in his head: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 48 the pace another notch: Dale Basescu, personal interview.

  p. 48 It rattled him: ibid.

  p. 49 greatest triathlete ever,” he said: ibid.

  p. 49 I know it: ibid.

  p. 50 you haven’t won anything. Eric Bunje, personal interview.

  p. 50 California State Fair Swim Meet: Reinschreiber interview.

  p. 50 the grip of death: ibid.

  p. 50 outsuffer all comers: ibid.

  p. 51 when pedaling hard: Paul Huddle, quoted in Timothy Carlson, “Mark Allen’s Dream-Time Transition,” Triathlete, August 1997, pp. 18–24.

  p. 51 at chakra points: Craig Neff, “Triumph of Pigg Power,” Sports Illustrated, October 5, 1987.

  p. 51 when Mark wasn’t looking: Kenny Souza, personal telephone interview, October 2010.

  p. 51 practiced self-hypnosis: Plant, “Mark Allen.”

  p. 52 eternity in suspension: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 52 left around the house: Souza interview.

  p. 52 what you need to do in life: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 52 doing what you need to do: David K. Reynolds, “Reality’s Reminders,” http://constructiveliving.org/works/reminders.html.

  p. 52 focus on himself: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 52 a few times every week: Souza interview.

  p. 52 overtraining fatigue: Molina interview.

  p. 53 only a few times a week: Mark Allen, “Working Your Heart,” Mark Allen Online, http://www.markallenonline.com/maoArticles.aspx?AID=2.

  p. 53 below the prescribed threshold: ibid.

  p. 53 at his cleverness: Ray Browning, personal telephone interview, January 2011.

  p. 53 dust in his garage: Moss interview.

  p. 53 a meditation retreat: William R. Katovsky, “A Champion Thoroughbred,” Triathlete, September 1984, pp. 48–55.

  p. 54 a month of lifeguarding: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 54 would recognize him: ibid.

  p. 54 slept together in the bedroom: Moss interview.

  p. 54 right in front of them: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 54 J. David brokerage firm: Donald C. Bauder, Captain Money and the Golden Girl: The J. David Affair (San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1985).

  p. 55 the night before the race: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 55 all in front of me, he thought: Tinley, Triathlon.

  p. 55 zip codes in America: Bauder, Captain Money and the Golden Girl.

  p. 55 spare bedrooms, and he did: Scott Molina, e-mail correspondence, January 2011.

  p. 55 looking distressed: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 56 the scandal broke, at age 25: Tinley, Triathlon.

  p. 56 the 1984 racing season: Bob Babbitt, “Keith Peters,” Competitor Radio, 2009, http://competitorradio.competitor.com/2009/03/298keith-peters.

  p. 56 fifty grand a year plus bonuses: Molina interview.

  p. 56 to see often at races: Ed Zieralski, “Julie Moss’ Agony in Defeat Was Appalling, but Love’s Labor Made Her a Star,” People, October 11, 1982.

  p. 56 Go for it: ibid.

  p. 56 to stay in his room: Walters, “Fast Afoot or Fast Asleep?”

  p. 57 won back his father’s support: Plant, “Mark Allen.”

  CHAPTER 4: PAIN COMMUNITY

  p. 59 World Championship is taking place: All information about and quotations from Michael Atkinson come from personal interviews and e-mail correspondence with him.

  p. 61 when it’s over: Michael Atkinson, “Triathlon, Suffering, and Exciting Significance,” Leisure Studies 27, 2 (April 2008): 165–180.

  p. 62 an otherwise too-easy world: ibid, p. 166.

  p. 62 work in different ways: ibid, p. 171.

  p. 64 to spend life: ibid, p. 173.

  p. 65 Tug’s Tavern: Scott Tinley, Triathlon: A Personal History (Boulder, CO: VeloPress, 1998).

  p. 65 to prevent sunburn: Gaylia Osterlund, “High Above San Diego, Tom Warren Enjoys the Peace and Quiet,” Ironman.com, June 4, 2003, http://ironman.com/holdingcell/2003/june-2003/high-above-san-diego-tom-warren-enjoys-the-peace-and-quiet#axzz1U5ZoWcuS.

  p. 65 a half mile to shore: Dave Distel, “Ironman Keeps Insanity Firmly in His Grasp,” Los Angeles Times, October 25, 1991, http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-25/sports/sp-265_1_tom-warren.

  p. 65 the number in his log: Scott Tinley, “Working Stiff Part 2: Working Out and the Empires of Deception,” beginnertriathlete.com, January 14, 2011, http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=2169.

  p. 66 man-made isthmus: Tinley, Triathlon.

  p. 66 the first Iron Man: ibid.

  p. 67 perimeter of Oahu: Nick Munting, “An Officer and a Gentleman—John Collins,” Ironman.com, June 29, 2001, http://ironman.com/holdingcell/2001/june-2001/an-officer-and-a-gentleman-john-collins#axzz1U5ZoWcuS.

  p. 67 called Iron Man,” he said: ibid.

  p. 68 in October 1977: ibid.

  p. 68 prize of—nothing: Barry McDermott, “Ironman,” Sports Illustrated, Ma
y 19, 1979, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/

  MAG1094935/index.htm.

  p. 69 stumbled upon it: Kara Douglass Thom, Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event (Halcottsville, NY: Breakaway Books, 2002).

  p. 69 prove their toughness: McDermott, “Ironman.”

  p. 69 better that way: ibid.

  p. 71 system for Ironman entry: “Ironman Triathlon World Championship,” Ironman.com, July 15, 2005, http://ironman.com/mediacenter/history/ironman-triathlon-worldchampionship#axzz1U5ZoWcuS.

  p. 71 tackled alone: Jack H. Wilmore, “Influence of Motivation on Physical Work Capacity and Performance,” Journal of Applied Physiology 24, 4 (April 1968): 459–463.

  p. 72 runner-up $12,000: 1989 Bud Light Ironman official program.

  CHAPTER 5: YOU AGAIN

  p. 73 Waikiki Roughwater Swim: Dave Scott, Dave Scott’s Triathlon Training (New York: Fireside, 1986).

  p. 73 first year of college: Carole Allen, personal telephone interview, February 2011.

  p. 74 objects of Pele’s vengeance: Bob Babbitt, 25 Years of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship (Aachen, Germany: Meyer and Meyer Fachverlag und Buchhandel GmbH, 2003).

  p. 74 gifts to Pele: “George Lycurgus,” Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lycurgus.

  p. 74 kick the bucket: Carole Allen interview.

  p. 75 jimmy the lock: ibid.

  p. 75 put them in storage: ibid.

  p. 75 brought in 850: T. J. Murphy, “A Look Back at a Look Back: Ironman’s First 10 Years,” Ironman.com, January 3, 2003, http://ironman.com/holdingcell/2003/january-2003/a-look-back-at-a-look-back-ironmans-first-10-years#axzz1U5ZoWcuS. Originally published in Triathlete, October 1988.

  p. 75 greater governmental support: Valerie Silk, personal interview.

  p. 75 seven o’clock on race morning: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen, October 5, 2002, videotape courtesy of Bob Babbitt.

  p. 76 and shouted, “Two”: ibid.

  p. 76 such unexpected success: ABC Sports October 1982 Ironman television broadcast.

  p. 76 straight to the changing room: Mike Plant, “Long Day’s Journey,” Triathlon, Spring 1983, pp. 24–31, 41, 54, 59.

  p. 77 I’m Mark Allen,” Mark said: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 77 threat at Ironman: ibid.

  p. 77 the annoying gadfly: ibid.

  p. 77 one-in-a-million race-ender: Plant, “Long Day’s Journey,” p. 28.

  p. 77 first two-time Ironman champion: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  pp. 77-78 lead on Dave Scott: Mike Plant, “Vive Les Triathletes Américains,” Triathlon, Winter 1983, pp. 46–51, 73, 75.

  p. 78 pleading for him: ibid.

  p. 78 on the French Riviera: Mark Allen with Bob Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988).

  p. 78 salvage the year for myself: Liz Barrett and William R. Katovsky, “It’s Lonely at the Top: An Interview with Dave Scott,” Triathlete, May 1984, p. 38.

  p. 78 hot, rank spray: Scott Tinley, Triathlon: A Personal History (Boulder, CO: VeloPress, 1998).

  p. 79 going to bury this guy: ABC Sports 1983 Ironman television broadcast.

  p. 79 side of the road,” he said later: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 79 Gee, thanks, Dave thought: ibid.

  p. 79 just go away: Timothy Carlson, “How to Win (and Lose) in Kona: Lesson One,” Triathlete Europe, March 1, 2011, http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2011/03/01/strategy-games-lessons-learned-kona.

  p. 79 frustrations in the lava fields: William R. Katovsky, “Hawaii Heat,” Triathlete, January 1985, pp. 20–43.

  p. 80 This was Grip’s year: ibid.

  p. 80 adoring age-group competitors: Terry Mulgannon, “Ironmania,” Triathlon, January 1985, pp. 38–50, 64–65.

  p. 80 shrinking into himself: ibid.

  p. 80 bag of cycling clothes: ibid.

  p. 80 ebullience she’d expected: ibid.

  p. 80 spectators gathered there: ibid.

  p. 81 put on my running shoes: Dave Scott, Dave Scott’s Triathlon Training (New York: Fireside, 1986).

  p. 81 down Ali’i Drive toward town: Brant Secunda and Mark Allen, “Fit Soul—Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You,” Living Dialogues podcast series, episodes 89 and 90, personallifemedia.com, http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/212-living-dialogues/episodes/33806-brant-secunda-huichol-shaman-healer-mark. Courtesy of Personal Life Media.

  p. 81 out of gas: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 81 off my bike!” he roared: ABC Sports 1984 Ironman television broadcast.

  p. 82 Mark’s advantage: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 82 as he took the lead: Katovsky, “Hawaii Heat.”

  p. 82 abreast of him: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 82 Mark said at last: ibid.

  p. 83 silently into the water: Mulgannon, “Ironmania.”

  p. 83 asked him later: Mark Allen on Competitor Radio, http://competitorradio.competitor.com/tag/mark-allen.

  p. 83 corporate backers: Bob Cooper, “A Dark Future?” Triathlete, February 1986, pp. 34–35.

  p. 83 married to Anna Pettis: Tom Taylor, “The French Connection,” Triathlete, January 1986, pp. 36–41.

  p. 83 prize purse for the 1986 race: Tinley, Triathlon.

  p. 83 laugh at the finish line: CJ Olivares Jr., “Encore, Allen,” Triathlete, January 1987, pp. 32–36.

  p. 84 putting out 100 percent: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 84 pee from the saddle: Mulgannon, “Ironman X.”

  p. 84 stopped too: ibid.

  p. 85 “Where’s Allen?” he barked: ibid.

  p. 85 100-degree heat: ibid.

  p. 85 feverish with envy: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 86 Kellogg said he would: Bob Babbitt, personal interview, San Diego, CA, 2010.

  p. 86 won the 1987 race: ibid.

  p. 86 in early October: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 86 he said flatly: CJ Olivares Jr., “Toughest Ironman Ever!” Triathlete, January 1988, pp. 32–42.

  p. 86 got to get it back: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 87 day before the race: ibid.

  p. 87 possibility had ended: Babbitt interview.

  p. 87 Or whoever . . . : Mike Plant, “Don’t Mess with the Man,” Outside, February 1988, pp. 38–42.

  p. 87 feels that pressure: ABC Sports 1987 Ironman television broadcast.

  p. 88 before the camera: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 88 through his goggles: ibid.

  p. 88 Mark chased: Bob Babbitt, “Lord of the Lava,” Competitor, November 1987, pp. 4–5, 38.

  p. 88 wasn’t pushing the pace: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 88 situation in his gut: ibid.

  p. 89 his face, was ready: Olivares, “Toughest Ironman Ever!”

  p. 89 soon afterward: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 89 turned to water: Olivares, “Toughest Ironman Ever!”

  p. 89 lead of five minutes: ibid.

  p. 89 victory speech: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 89 tone of a grade school teacher: ibid.

  p. 90 the last ten miles: ibid.

  p. 90 ever-worsening news: ibid.

  p. 90 past heroic wins: ibid.

  p. 91 really good now: ibid.

  p. 91 In fact, he cried: Olivares, “Toughest Ironman Ever!”

  p. 91 pissed blood: Allen with Babbitt, Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete.

  p. 91 to stop the bleeding: Charlie Graves, perso
nal telephone interview, October 2010.

  p. 91 missing in my strategy: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 92 until he fully recovered: “The Last Word Unedited: Chris McCormack and Mark Allen, Part Two,” Lavamagazine.com, http://lavamagazine.com/features/the-last-word,-unedited-chris-mccormack-and-mark-allen,-part-two#axzz1UZVr7uI5.

  p. 92 did nothing differently: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 92 a knee injury: ibid.

  p. 93 a tire puncture: Ken McAlpine, “Dave Scott: Man, Myth, or Legend,” Triathlete, October 1989, pp. 34–38.

  p. 93 he said afterward: Mark Allen on Competitor Radio, http://competitorradio.competitor.com/tag/mark-allen.

  p. 93 his undeserved misfortune: Babbitt, 25 Years of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

  p. 93 winner, Scott Molina: Richard Graham, “Ironman,” Triathlete, January 1988, pp. 26–41.

  p. 93 ranked eighth: “Triathlete Magazine’s 1989 Reader’s Poll Results,” Triathlete, March 1989, p. 11.

  p. 93 bet on the right guy: “As the Freewheel Turns,” Triathlete, May 1989, p. 16.

  p. 94 the rest of his days: Mark Allen on Competitor Radio.

  p. 94 himself, and his life: ibid.

  p. 94 I’ll do it: ibid.

  p. 95 whole different level: T. J. Murphy, “A Space Between Two Thoughts,” Triathlete, October 1998, pp. 38–43.

  p. 95 suburb of Lyttleton: Richard Graham, “Lyttleton: Triathlon’s Unlikely Training Center,” Triathlete, August 1989, pp. 59–60.

  p. 95 swimming, riding, and running: ibid.

  p. 95 plus a mile: Murphy, “A Space Between Two Thoughts.”

  p. 95 sunup and sundown: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 95 and back down. Murphy, “A Space Between Two Thoughts.”

  p. 96 matched that of Ironman: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 96 training on the moon: ABC Sports 1983 Ironman television broadcast.

  p. 96 level of fitness: Los Angeles Triathlon Club, A Night with Dave Scott and Mark Allen.

  p. 96 implode in the marathon: ibid.

  p. 96 I loved it: ibid.

  p. 97 of the day to run: ibid.

  p. 97 killing them by exposure: CJ Olivares Jr., “1989 Triathletes of the Year: Mark Allen,” Triathlete, March 1990, pp. 34–37.