AS Athlete: The Road to Kona

Rob Williams was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in 1991 and was told by his doctor that he would never be able to run again. Despite this, Rob pushed himself toward a lifelong dream: To compete in the Ironman World Championship.
Visit his online training journal that will document his quest for the ultimate goal in triathlon. Rob will be sharing his thoughts and experiences with us while he attempts to qualify for the 2006 Ironman Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

If you wish to email Rob a question or a comment, you can do so by emailing him here: rideoutas@hotmail.com


The Road to Kona 2006 - The Beginning by Rob Williams

How many defining moments do you remember in your life? I have a few, but one came while sitting alone on my parents' bed watching television in 1982. The TV was an old machine that seemed to take 20 minutes to warm up, but once it did it was in color that was vaguely representative of the real world so I was excited. On this particular day I was watching ABC's Wide World of Sports and saw, for the first time, something called a triathlon - an Ironman triathlon no less (2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling, and a marathon - 26.2 miles of running). Like thousands of people across the country I was moved by the sight of Julie Moss valiantly crawling towards the finish line in utter exhaustion having just missed a first place finish by a mere couple hundred yards. Like many, I watched that effort and thought, "I am going to do that someday."

If you fast forward 9 years I was given news that this would "never be possible." I found myself in my first year at Wesleyan University in Middletown Connecticut. I was recruited to play goalie on the soccer field and attack for lacrosse, but I was developing an insidious pain in my lower back that crept down the sciatic nerve in my right leg. Coach Jackson told me to take that first soccer season off to rehab and get ready for where he really wanted me, on the lacrosse field. I never made it back.

Despite my best efforts at a variety of therapies the pain would not diminish. Since it was an acute nerve pain it was not a matter of "playing through the pain" as my body would physically be unable to move at times. There was more than one occasion when my friends would have to carry me into the dorm shower in the morning to help warm me up enough to get moving. Needless to say my career on the field and my identity as an athlete was gone. By the spring of 1991 I saw a rheumatologist who diagnosed me with a strangely named disease and told me that I would be unable to run again.

Ankylosing Spondylitis - I had enough trouble pronouncing and spelling this arthritic condition, much less understanding what it was. Questions, anger, depression seemed to swarm about me constantly, and the Hawaiian lava fields of Kailua-Kona were not even a glimmer in my eye.

If you fast forward a few more years I was pursuing a Masters degree at Oregon State University. I decided in 1999 to try my first triathlon, a sprint distance event (500 yard swim - 12.4 mile bike - 3.1 mile run) called the Beaver Freezer. From there I tested my limits and improved my results. Over the years I worked my way up to mid-pack performances at the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships, completed my first Ironman distance triathlon (Ultramax) in 2002, won my first bike race in 2003, and qualified as a representative for the US National Team by winning the USA Triathlon Pacific Northwest Regional Championships in 2004.

This is the beginning of a new and remarkable chapter in my life that I hope ends on Alii Drive at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii; but first I have to qualify at Ironman Canada in Pentiction, British Columbia on August 27, 2006. This is the first of weekly entries into a training journal that will document my quest for the ultimate goal in triathlon.
In addition to following my training, this on-line journal will occasionally look back at past competitive events, watershed moments, and a cross-country cycling trip on a tandem bicycle to raise money and awareness for the Spondylitis Association of America.