On October 10, 2009, Katherine Donovan finished the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championship, this time competing in the 55-59 age-group. Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Katherine earned her sixth-in-a-row medal for finishing the grueling 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile marathon combo known as the "Ironman".
Local KonaBaseball.com players know her for administration of the league and for her services as head scorekeeper. The triathlon community knows her as the Big Island athlete with the most consecutive, current finishes of the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championship, having already run the entire 50-54 division over the last five years.
For Katherine Donovan, the 70.3 Honu half-ironman-distance event held in early June (the 2009 qualifying race), was particularly challenging. Having just completed the 50-54 age group, it would seem logical to expect a reprieve when stepping up into the 55-59 cluster, wouldn't it? Not so, however among Big Island athletes in one of the richest fields in the sport - for all three top contenders celebrate birthdays within a month of one another.
Compounding matters, that trio joined other strong participants in the new age bracket ... what a field of veteran Ironman World Championship triathletes! Katherine was pleased to have qualified for one of only two slots awarded.
When it comes to running, she likes both New Balance and Saucony shoes, and her socks are Gizmo brand. Her favorite shirt is a Nike.
Of greatest significance, in Katherine's mind, is that her bicycle of choice is Specialized brand. In fact, Specialized is her choice for a number of bicycle-related products, including gloves and cycling shoes.
Here are links to Katherine Donovan's six Ironman finishes. To view a video of her crossing the finish line, choose the year, then click on the blue-and-gold bar entitled "watch me finish" for years 2004 through 2008 once you are in the official Ironman athlete tracker system. Click on the red/orange "watch me finish" bar within the athlete tracker system, for viewing the 2009 race.
Depending on the year, the video starts about a minute or so prior to each athlete's finish, so please be patient if you see a couple other Ironman Triathletes come across the line ahead of her.
2009 - sixth finish - now in the 55-59 year old age bracket
2008 - 5th consecutive finish - a complete "running of the age bracket"
2007 - four in a row (overtaking other Big Island women in final portion of run - all finishing within three minutes of one another!)
2006 - a "three-peat"
2005 - incredible finish: 1 hour and 39 minutes ahead of previous year
2004 - as a rookie
Beginning her triathlon career at the age of fifty, Katherine Donovan qualified for the world championship in her very first attempt in 2004, and she hasn't looked back. The 2008 qualifying event, the Honu Half Ironman Triathlon, was particularly rewarding for her, as she won the last Ironman slot, despite being the oldest woman in a highly-competitive age group of fine athletes.
Katherine Donovan proves that anyone can make the loftiest dreams come true and that age is just a number. For reasons of general health and well being, she began running at the age of forty, participating in her first marathon a few months later.
When her husband pointed out that she had finished that first Maui Marathon in the top ten percent of women her age (and ahead of most men of all ages in the race), she jokingly said. "Maybe when I turn 50, I'll do a triathlon". Little did she know how true that prediction would be. For at age 50, she did the granddaddy of them all - the Ironman World Championship Triathlon.
Throughout her rise to success, Katherine Donovan has maintained detailed records and has kept copius notes as to her training in each of the three discipines of triathlon. A compilation of those records is now in progress, and Katherine will launch her book and accompanying video sometime in late 2010 or early 2011. Unlike other "how to" books and tapes, the focus of her approach is having fun, keeping within oneself, and examining a myriad of techniques that have worked for her.
Having coined new terms, such as "muscle memory cruise control", she demonstrates how she is able to "just keep pedaling" through the difficult moments, calling upon mental gymnastics that prompt her "vision quest". This is the assurance that, before day's end, her toe will cross the finish line.
Thorough preparation is also key to her success, doing everything possible so as to not leave anything to chance that could cost her the race ... that could cause her not to finish. Katherine Donovan has never withdrawn from any athletic event.
The only mishap occurred at Ironman China. An undetected slow leak in the valve of a tube resulted in a soft rear tire for an undetermined number of miles. When Katherine realized the problem, she quickly changed the tube in the tire, only to discover that the valve on the CO2 cartridge was faulty.
Not to worry, the always-prepared triathlete had brought along a backup hand pump, just in case. However, using only a hand-powered device, the tire pressure could not be brought back up to its peak performance level. Getting short on time and knowing she had 20+ miles to go, she proceeded to sprint to the finish line. Unfortunately, the race officials logged her in at a time that was one minute and twelve seconds past the bicycle cutoff. Ready, willing, and able to proceed with her strongest event (the marathon run), she was not allowed to continue.
Never a DNF (Did Not Finish), Katherine Donovan had to settle for one NAF (Not Allowed to Finish), and she hopes it will be her last. After all that preparation, who would have guessed that a pair of $5 items could cost an athlete so much? But in an Ironman, everything must be perfect. Afterall, they call it "Ironman" for a very good reason.
Katherine Donovan has her eye on several other international events including revisiting and finishing Ironman China. She also intends to travel to other triathlons, mostly 70.3 events where she can spread the news of her good fortune and promote the products that she uses. For example, it was a Specialized Dolce that Katherine Donovan rode in all six Ironman World Championships. Her mother bought it for her as a 50th birthday gift at Kona's local bicycle shop Bike Works.
Throughout those six years of achievement, Katherine Donovan and her Specialized Dolce have become one, a human/mechanical machine destined for success. After all, that most-modest-model-in-the-line bicycle didn't realize that the determined lady on its seat was Ironman bound. And the bicycle didn't know that its reasonable pricetag couldn't stop it from its own claim to fame.
