A dream more than 17 years in the making is now just days away. Our family recently flew from Green Bay to Minneapolis and then across the Pacific Ocean to Honolulu. We spent a couple of days on Oahu, staying just off Waikiki Beach.

There is something incredibly meaningful about beginning this final chapter near the place where IRONMAN itself began.

In 1978, John and Judy Collins had a crazy idea. They combined three of Oahu’s great endurance events — Waikiki Roughwater Swim, Around Oahu Bike Ride and the Honolulu Marathon — into one enormous challenge: a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile marathon. Whoever completed the combined distances first would be the “IRON MAN.” Fifteen daring athletes, including one from Wisconsin, stood at the starting line of that first Hawaiian IRONMAN.

The race moved to the Big Island and Kona in 1981, and what started as an almost unimaginable challenge has grown into one of the most iconic endurance events in the world.

On Saturday, Oct. 10, nearly 3,000 athletes will gather in Kona for the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship. We will swim 2.4 miles in the Pacific Ocean, bike north from Kona toward Hawi and back to cover 112 miles and then run 26.2 miles through the heat and lava fields before making that unforgettable final turn onto Ali’i Drive. 140.6 miles in 17 hours or less. Seventeen years of dreaming.

As the miles of swimming, biking and running have piled up this year, along with strength training, flexibility, balance, nutrition, work, family, navigating injuries and trying to get enough sleep, I have found myself thinking less about everything I have done to reach Kona and more about everyone who helped me get there. Maybe that is one of the greatest gifts of chasing a big dream. Eventually, you realize it was never yours alone.

At the foundation of my journey are my parents, Russ and Kathy. From the beginning, they taught me to work hard, be kind, and leave things better than we found them.

Whatever dream I came up with, they believed in me. Even when that dream involved signing up for a 140.6-mile IRONMAN in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for 2010 after completing only a few sprint triathlons.

My mom and dad have been the steady foundation underneath so many of my dreams. As a child, you don’t always recognize the sacrifices your parents make or understand just how much of who you become was shaped by their example. The older I get, the more grateful I become.

Then there is Amy. My wife is my biggest supporter, an IRONMAN finisher herself, a Girl Scout troop leader, Peshtigo Fire Tower Run co-director and most importantly, an incredible mom to Natasha and Kenzie. There have been countless early mornings, long training days and weekends organized around races over the years. Dreams require sacrifice, and often some of the biggest sacrifices are made by the people standing beside the dreamer.

Natasha and Kenzie continually inspire me to keep becoming better. I want them to see that big dreams are worth chasing, but I also want them to understand that the person you become along the way matters far more than any medal hanging around your neck.

I am grateful to my in-laws, Bob and Rita, who travel to events, cheer us on and help with the girls. I am grateful to my dear friends Eric and Michelle, fellow 2003 Peshtigo graduates, my great friends since college Shane and Sadie and our longtime friends and hosts in Hawaii, Adam and Laura Ankrum. They are all people who have stood beside us through far more than races. I hope you have people like that in your life.

Even more importantly, I hope you are that person for someone else. Be the person who shows up. Send an encouraging text. Sit in the bleachers. Make the phone call. Believe in someone’s dream before they completely believe in it themselves. You may never fully understand how much it matters.

Roots that run deep

When I think about Kona, I also think about Peshtigo and our surrounding area. This community helped build me.

Family friend Glenn Sartorelli offered the encouraging words that helped inspire me to run my first 5K in 2003. My physical education teacher and coach, Mr. Schoenebeck, poured infectious energy into his students and athletes, challenging us to become better athletes and people. The late Mr. Jim Stillman empowered me as a writer and helped me discover a power that continues to lift me higher.

My friend and classmate Nick, whom I had known since kindergarten, could light up a room. Before I could drive, he was willing to pick me up so we could get to the weight room before the sun rose. At that point in my life, sleep and tasty food sounded much better than 6 a.m. workout sessions. He inspired me to work harder and losing him still leaves a void in my heart.

Then there is Dr. Tom Leow. After a football injury, Tom surgically repaired my right shoulder in 2001. That repaired shoulder has now carried me through thousands of miles of swimming, biking and running. More importantly, Tom became a friend and mentor.

When he passed away from cancer in 2015 halfway through his own IRONMAN Legacy journey, something inside me changed. In 2017, I returned to IRONMAN with a purpose. I wanted to finish the Legacy journey for Tom. That day and the completion of the promise is almost here.

My gratitude extends far beyond the people I can possibly name in one column. Every teacher, coach, coworker, patient, friend, reader and person who has offered an encouraging word has become part of this journey.

I am incredibly grateful for a career that allows me to do work I love, first at Bay Area Medical Center and now approaching a decade with Bellin/Emplify Health, where I have been given opportunities not only to help people heal, but also to dream about ways to make our entire community healthier.

My patients inspire me constantly. I see courage in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and stress testing every day. I watch people face diagnoses, procedures, setbacks and continue moving forward.

They remind me that courage is not reserved for an IRONMAN starting line. Sometimes courage is walking into rehabilitation for the first time. Sometimes it’s taking another lap around the hallway. Sometimes it’s deciding that today will be the day you begin again. Those patients bring tremendous joy and purpose to my life.

I am grateful for leaders like vice president Julie Bulin and Bellin Run directors Randy Van Straten and Linda Maxwell, who have helped turn my community dreams into reality. I am equally thankful for partners at the YMCA, REC Center, Public Health, our local schools, St. Vincent de Paul, my Heart Run team and so many others. Together, we have created opportunities like the Emplify Health Marinette Heart Run and the Tri City Event Series.

These events are not really about finish times. They are about people moving together, families making memories, communities connecting and someone discovering that they can do something they once thought they couldn’t. That’s why I love this area so much.

You don’t need to be preparing for an IRONMAN to stop and appreciate your journey. Think about the people who helped you become who you are.

Maybe it was a parent who never stopped believing in you. A spouse who quietly made your dreams possible. A teacher who saw something in you. A coach who pushed you. A coworker who made difficult days easier. A friend who showed up when life became heavy. Maybe it was someone whose name you haven’t thought about in years. Tell them. Gratitude becomes even more powerful when we express it.

My faith is also incredibly important to me and my family. Through the celebrations, challenges, losses, opportunities and unexpected turns of this journey, faith has helped remind me that our lives are about far more than ourselves.

We are given opportunities to use our gifts, encourage one another, serve others and hopefully leave this world a little better than we found it.

When I enter the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 10, I know I will not be swimming alone. When I ride north toward Hawi, I will carry the lessons of my parents, the sacrifices of my family, the encouragement of friends, the inspiration of my patients and the support of a community more than 4,000 miles away.

When the marathon gets difficult, as I know it will, I will think about Dr. Leow. If I am fortunate enough to make that final turn onto Ali’i Drive, I hope I can slow my mind down and take it all in. The lights. The crowd. My family. Tom’s memory. Peshtigo. Marinette. My coworkers and patients. Every person who helped turn this dream into reality. The finish line may have my name on it, but the journey belongs to all of us.

Follow the IRONMAN World Championship

For anyone back home who would like to share in the adventure on Oct. 10, you can track my journey through the IRONMAN Tracker App or simply visit www.BrianCleven.com for a direct tracking link. The professional World Championship races will also be broadcast globally on YouTube and the IRONMAN website.

Knowing people from home are following along will mean more to me than I can possibly express. Wherever your own journey is taking you, remember to look around once in a while. Appreciate where you came from. Thank the people walking beside you. Lift someone else along the way. Have faith when the road gets difficult. And never underestimate how encouraging words can change the direction of another person’s life.

Most of all, be kind, be brave and always believe anything is possible!

Brian Cleven (MS, ACSM-CEP, CCRP) is the 2024 ACSM Certified Professional of the Year, Emplify Health Marinette 5K Heart Run Race Director and Founder of the Tri City Event Series as well as a 13-time IRONMAN triathlon finisher.