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The Iron Man competition is one of the most grueling challenges a person can undertake, invoking a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a standard 26.2-mile marathon. Participants train diligently for months, maybe year to compete in such a physically demanding event. When Todd Hollis decided that he would participate in the 2005 competition, the land events didn’t faze him at all.
Not knowing how to swim was the complication.
Hollis, a Pittsburgh lawyer, had to sign up for swim classes at the YMCA before he was able to compete. He took swim lessons after work next to children, wearing flippers. Standing tall at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 190 pounds, Hollis had a difficult time learning to float. But Hollis said that he couldn’t worry about the land events until he knew he could swim.
Once the race was underway, Hollis was very surprised that he wasn’t the last swimmer. He continued through the race, and finished in 16 hours, 17 minutes and 29 seconds. He placed 1,873rd out of 2,400 starters and 33rd our of 353 starters in his age group.
Hollis is a graduate from the Duquesne University Law program and practices criminal law. He started the Messiah project soon thereafter: offering his legal services to impoverished youth and asking them to perform community service as an exchange. Hollis said he would like to see that the world was a better place when he leaves it than it was when he arrived. The Iron Man is one of the most physically demanding events in the world. Thousands of participants from around the world gather at a few of the Iron Man sponsored events to test their physical durability and mental will power. Iron Man requires each racer to complete a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run all to be done in 17 hours.
Many of these athletes have been participating in triathlons for many years. Yet Todd Hollis, a Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney decided that he would compete in such an event. Hollis had never ran a marathon, didn’t own a bike much less ride one for 112 miles and most importantly he didn’t know how to swim. How bad did Todd Hollis want it? He signed up for swim lessons at his local YMCA. After his swim lessons he often rode the training bike for several hours or ran on the treadmill each day.
Hollis states ‘the Iron Man made me a better person. It made me stronger. I learned the value that life teaches you to finish what you start. The swimming aspect humbled me in so many ways. I learned to swim as an adult. In many ways it seemed like a controlled drowning. But I stuck with it and eventually I became a very good swimmer.
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