It’s January 1, 2011, and it’s a walk I have done on the first day of the New Year for the past five years. By the shore front stands a sculpture and commemorative plate celebrating the first-ever Lanzarote Ironman Triathlon, held on the island on 30 May 1992. It was the brainchild of my good friend Kenneth Gasque, the director for many years of La Santa Sports Centre in Lanzarote. Kenneth and I first met on the Island of Hawaii in 1985, when we were both competing in the Ironman World Triathlon Championship – that’s the full 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile cycle and 26.2-mile marathon run. When Kenneth Gasque crossed the finish line on Ali’i Drive on October 26, 1985, he became the first Danish person to complete the Hawaii Ironman. He went on to start the first triathlon in Lanzarote and was also the originator of the Volcano Triathlon, along with the now famous Lanzarote Ironman of which he still acts as race director. Kenneth and I meet up regularly, and reflect on and banter about the innocence of those early days in what we both know were the formative years of the triathlon.
