{"id":19985,"date":"2022-12-14T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.220triathlon.com\/?p=127060"},"modified":"2022-12-14T09:51:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T08:51:58","slug":"julie-moss-on-that-epic-crawl-and-why-she-keeps-going-back-to-kona","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/rss_feed\/julie-moss-on-that-epic-crawl-and-why-she-keeps-going-back-to-kona\/","title":{"rendered":"Julie Moss on that epic \u2018crawl\u2019 and why she keeps going back to Kona"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Tim Heming\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 14 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Julie Moss<\/a> is the woman who put the Big Island on the tri map. As a 23-year-old kinesiology student from California, her \u2018crawl\u2019 to the Ironman World Championship finish line in 1982 was broadcast on ABC\u2019s Wide World of Sports and caught the imagination of thousands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Moss would later marry six-time winner Mark Allen<\/strong><\/a>, and although now divorced they remain good friends. Here\u2019s Julie in her own words\u2026<\/p>\n

What Kona means to Moss<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hawaii is part of my DNA.<\/strong> I\u2019ve been coming to this island for 40 years to test myself. There\u2019s no indigenous part of me that should connect in this way, but coming back is like a pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

In those final stages of the 1982 Ironman, I fought for belief in myself for maybe the first time.<\/strong> I\u2019d never been an athlete and had this opportunity to win something.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s such a great theme for triathletes, the idea that you\u2019re finding something within yourself that you haven\u2019t accessed before.<\/strong> You start stripping away the layers of who you think you should be, and discover who you are.<\/p>\n

1980s Kona kit<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I was ahead of the time wearing a trucker hat in \u201982<\/strong> \u2013 because it was part of the free swag that [sponsors] Bud Lite handed out! My bike shoes were leather tie-ups with straps on the pedals. I had a one-piece suit gifted from a gentleman who saw me training in wool shorts and a tank top.<\/p>\n

A museum recently asked for the Kona kit I wore in 1982! <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

My helmet was a skateboard helmet that I drilled extra holes in to make it light and cooler<\/strong>. The bike was a regular 10-speed commuter bike I bought for around $250. A museum in the US recently asked for the kit!<\/p>\n