Mike Reilly, "The Voice of Ironman"
Come on, admit it – how many of you signed up for the insane notion of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles just to hear “The Voice” call your name and say, “You ARE an Ironman!,” as you crossed the finish line?
Having finished ended my first Ironman four miles short and landing in the E.R. without ever getting to hear those words, I can tell you that a year later when I went back and actually did finish my first Ironman those words played on the soundtrack in my head through much of the 140.6 miles leading up to that finish line, just as I’m sure it has for thousands of Ironman triathltes around the world.
Hell, we wound up writing a song about it – “Mike Reilly Said I’m an Ironman” – what does that tell you (other than that we’re a bunch of cheeseball triathlete-musicians?).
But I digress….the man of the moment is Mr. Mike Reilly who was inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame this weekend in Kona. Having announced over 100 Ironman races over the past 20 years Mike’s voice has become synonymous with the achievement of finishing an Ironman triathlon.
If you’ve ever spent the last few hours at an Ironman finish line and watched Mike call the athletes across the finish line as the midnight cutoff draws near, you have been lucky enough to witness one of the most awe-inspiring scenes in the sport.
Mike is a genuinely nice guy and a great ambassador of the sport and we’re happy to see him receive this well-deserved recognition. Mike – congrats to you and your family – we’ll see you out at a finish line, or on a stage, soon!