Most Inspiring Triathlon Race Moment - What's Yours?

I have had the good fortune to be able to compete in the Oceanside, CA Ironman 70.3 triathlon races on two different occasions. Once in 2008 and again in 2010.

Inspiring moments? Anyone who has participated in any length triathlon endurance event, will likely agree that as you look around you during the course of the race, you will spot someone that is a little worse off than you, a little more out of shape than you are or, that is struggling physically or mentally a little more than you.

It's in one of those moments that you count your blessings and gain a surge of inspiration that motivates you forward. I want to share with you one of those moments that I had in my 2008 Ironman Oceanside 70.3 race.

I was having a pretty good race for me overall as a middle aged age grouper getting out of the 1.2 mile open water ocean swim in good enough time, pushed through the wind and finished the 56 mile bike in good shape and then headed out for the 13.1 mile run feeling okay at that point.

But about a quarter of the way through the run, one of my knees started giving me some serious pain. It had been acting up ever since the meniscus surgery I had a year earlier but was much better than before. The pain steadily increased and slowed my already slow pace down considerably. And as you racers and triathletes know, once you get a pretty good pain going it can draw your mental attention and keep your focus there.

And no matter how hard I tried, I could not quit thinking about the pain and, the struggle it was giving me and then wonder to myself how I was going to get through the rest of the race. It was just about that time in the hot part of the late morning, that I looked to my left and saw a man sitting on the side of the road who had just taken his artificial leg off and was cleaning out the cavity.

I know the pain of a pebble in the bottom of your shoe, but I can't imagine the pain or discomfort of having a pebble or ache that might come with swimming, biking and running with artificial leg in a 70.3 mile race might be like.

As I passed, I tipped my hat and gave a small wave but that man will never know that he filled my heart full of respect and inspiration and before I knew it my knee pain did not hurt quite as bad as it did before I came upon him. And, going forward, my mind was a little less focused on my problems but kept on thinking about the man with the artificial leg. It helped me put things back into perspective. My pace picked up a little bit and before you know it, I had finished the race.

I've never forgotten that inspirational moment and the feeling I had and the perspective I gained. I have had others like this, but none that have impacted me more powerfully.

Have you got an inspiring triathlon world race moment? Please share it, we'd love to hear.