Andy finished the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile marathon run in 8:15:57. Sandy was working as a volunteer in the Recovery area after competitors crossed the finish line where she met Andy and offered assistance. It wasn’t until sometime later Andy mentioned to her he was the Ironman winner. You can tell this photo was taken early in the day . . . those of us who volunteered for later shifts until 1 a.m. didn’t look this “fresh” nor was the recovery area so clean and sparkling.

This year’s Ironman triathlon “sold out” with 2,304 registered competitors ages 18-72 from 53 countries. Read more at ironmancozumel .

Serving as a volunteer for the Ironman was an incredible experience . . . incredibly inspiring to meet athletes from all over the world, incredibly humbling to hear their stories of overcoming odds or life changes that spurred them to compete, incredibly hectic to ensure participants experiencing post-race health issues received needed treatment, incredibly positive that so many of these visitors commented on the warmth and friendliness of the local people and yes, it was incredibly tiring. Our legs and feet ached for a couple of days along with every other volunteer with whom we talked afterwards. It is hard to imagine the recovery some of the athletes face after this physically grueling event.