Coast guard team takes on the Ironman

Parks & Recreation, Feb, 2005

Each October, the Hawaii Ironman in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, serves as the international championship distance triathalon race, and athletes must qualify to attend. In tribute to its military roots, the race directors have recognized military participants by having a military team competition.

This year, included in the 1,700 participants was the 2004 Coast Guard Ironman team consisting of Chief Warrant Officer Chris Whitlock, Coast Guard Personnel Command; Senior Chief Musician Al Lyman, Coast Guard Academy; Lt.j.g. Ben Allen, Marine Safety Unit Galveston; and, Lt. Cmdr. Amy Cocanou, Marine Safety Office Puget Sound. All of these Coast Guard military members have participated in numerous Ironman distance events in the past, including the Hawaii Ironman. This was Whitlock's sixth Ironman distance race, Lyman's eighth and third Hawaii Ironman, Allen's third and Cocanour's ninth. Cocanour won the women's military division at the Hawaii Ironman in 1998 and 1999.

"This year's race was special for all of us because it was the first time we were able to represent our own Service as a team," said Cocanour. According to Lyman, "This will be my third trip to Kona to tackle this formidable course, but it's the first time as an official member of an official Coast Guard team, and nothing, absolutely nothing, could make me prouder than to be representing this great service and its people out there on the race course."

This race was even more special to "Whitlock, who in 2002 broke his

back in a serious swimming accident. Although doctors told him he would never be able to walk again, Whitlock stayed the course to recovery, even enduring an embolism, a usually fatal infection. At first, he couldn't even run a quarter-mile, but trained his way to participating in Hawaii.

Cocanour finished third out of the five military women with a time of 12 hours 26 minutes, Whitlock finished eighth out of 15 military men with a time of 10 hours 50 minutes, Lyman with a time of 11 hours 49 minutes, and Allen finished with a time of 11 hours 50 minutes.

Although the Coast Guard team didn't win the military competition, finishing fifth, all of the team members are justifiably proud in finishing and that they had the opportunity to represent the Coast Guard in this world championship. The U.S. Army team finished first, U.S. Marine Corp team second, U.S. Navy team third, with the Air Force team taking fourth.