You Are an Ironman

How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World's Toughest Triathlon

By: Jacques Steinberg

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

As he did so masterfully in his New York Times best seller The Gatekeepers, Jacques Steinberg creates a compelling portrait of people obsessed with reaching a life-defining goal. In this instance, the target is an Ironman triathlon---a 2.4-mile open-water swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride, then finally a 26-mile marathon run, all of which must be completed in no more than 17 hours. Steinberg focuses not on the professional who live off the prize money and sponsorships, but on a handful of triathletes who regard the sport as a hobby.

Vividly capturing the grueling preparation, the suspense of completing each event of the triathlon, and the spectacular feats of human endurance, Steinberg plumbs the physical and emotional toll as well as the psychological payoff of the participants of the Ford Ironman Arizona 2009. His You Are an Ironman is both a riveting sports narrative and a fascinating, behind-the-scenes study of what makes these athletes keep going.

©2011 Jacques Steinberg (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Anyone dreaming of completing a triathlon or just seeking to get off the couch and into better shape will find inspiration here." ( Kirkus)

Exciting and encouraging

As a veteran of several half and full iron mans, this book was an inspiration and reminder of why we do what we do. Pushing our bodies to what we believe to be its physical limits but in doing so learning so much more about who we are and why we embark on such a journey. The highs the lows, the pre-race nerves, the realities of race day, the euphoria of running down the finishers shoot.... it is all captured here in this fascinating read on what it takes to become an ironman

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until someone puts a metal on your neck!

Motivating for anyone contemplating stepping out of your comfort zone!

good listen

good stories by athletes, i appreciated that they were from all walks of life. the narrator sounded like he was going to fall asleep reading

Dry Narrator - But still motivating

If you could sum up You Are an Ironman in three words, what would they be?

Motivation , long, interesting.

What did you like best about this story?

Realizing the sacrifice

Would you listen to another book narrated by Kirby Heyborne?

Probably Not.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO

Any additional comments?

Story carries on a little long and about half way through you just want them to get on with it. It does motivate you to get out and work out though.

Inspiring

Love it! Easy to listen and fun to. # Iron Man Coming Soon! Want to accomplish one day.

Not As Impactful as I Hoped and a Lot of God

The author unfortunately fails to convey the impact and magnitude of the participants' achievements and journeys. The author also jumped at EVERY SINGLE OPPORTUNITY to throw in a mention of God or Christianity.

Awesome book, so-so narrator

This book was incredibly motivating and inspiring. I highly recommend it to anyone, whether you've done a triathlon or not. It's incredible what perseverance it takes to go from start to finish, not only on the day of the event, but in the year leading up to it! This book shows that any average Joe can train for a triathlon. What an awesome sport!

I felt the narrator was slightly monotone. However, what truly drove me insane was the narrator mispronounced. "Triathlon" and all other words formed from that word EVERY time! It is pronounced "tri-ath-lon", NOT "tri-ath-A-lon".

Other than that, I really do recommend this book highly.

Ironman Here I come (someday)

What made the experience of listening to You Are an Ironman the most enjoyable?

It was very motivational.

Have you listened to any of Kirby Heyborne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Any additional comments?

It was great at motivating me to get off my booty and start moving again. WARNING: Don't listen to if you want to be a couch potato!

"Triathalon"... really?

Any additional comments?

The narrator persistently pronounces the word "Triathalon"... a pet peeve I guess, but really irritating to me.

Seriously considering an Ironman

After hearing these stories, I am seriously considering the jump from half to full. I did some long runs listening to this book and quite honestly cried along the way.
I love the stories of Ironman and I appreciated the stories of the average age grouper - like me.
And I find myself wondering how these athletes are doing now.
Thanks!

Pretty decent... not great..

This book about a few different people's journey to becoming an ironman was enjoyable and gave me inspiration during my training for an ironman, but the book is confusing. The book is confusing because there is no breaks between stories. there are too many characters or not enough distinctions between them. I think having the paper copy would make it easier to distinguish but by the end I had a rough idea of who everyone was. It was still worth it for me to get because it did provide motivation and confidence!