Julie Ann Gerhard Ironman Swimsuit Spectaculaavi -

The starting cannon’s boom was less a sound and more a physical blow to the chest. For the 2,400 athletes treading the churning waters of Lake Clearwater, it was the starting pistol for 140.6 miles of agony. For the spectators, it was the beginning of a long, loud, sun-drenched party.

The Spectaculaavi swimsuit did its work. It glinted in the morning sun, a beacon of absurd, joyful defiance against the grim, monosyllabic seriousness of endurance sport. The official IRONMAN photographer circled her like a shark. The announcer on the main PA system started calling her “The Lake Clearwater Lady.” Julie Ann Gerhard IRONMAN SWIMSUIT SPECTACULAavi

Ron looked up from his sandwich, sighed, and went back to his book. The IRONMAN was over. But Julie Ann Gerhard’s Spectaculaavi had only just begun. The starting cannon’s boom was less a sound

“Alright, team,” Julie Ann announced to the five bewildered volunteers she had commandeered. “The first wave is out. We have exactly fourteen minutes before the age-groupers hit the first buoy. I need the ‘GO JULIE’ sign at twelve o’clock high, and the air horn primed for the crying guy in the neon-green cap. He looked like he needed encouragement.” The Spectaculaavi swimsuit did its work

She would. In the trunk of her car was a sequined tracksuit and a sign that read: “YOU DID IT, YOU ABSOLUTE MANIAC.”