The latest ‘inside the news’ interview is with Mike Reilly – author and podcast host, also known as the ‘Voice of IRONMAN’.
Mike spoke about his recently announced retirement from race announcing and the emotion felt when he made his own personal announcement.
An IRONMAN Hall of Fame and USA Triathlon Hall of Fame member, he has been synonymous with the iconic call of ‘You are an IRONMAN!’ at finish lines around the world.
Mike spoke about his ‘Finish what you start’ mantra for life – with six more event locations for him to finish as a race announcer this year… Wisconsin (this weekend), followed by Kona, California, Florida, Arizona and New Zealand in December.
As someone who embraces discovery about people and places, Mike’s book is called ‘Finding my voice’ and his popular podcast is ‘Find Your Finish Line’. The discussion turned to how inspirational athlete stories can help motivate others to take on their own challenge – something that event organisers can leverage to drive participation to their own events.
Mike added that there is optimism for the future of endurance sport, and triathlon specifically, despite the upheaval from the pandemic in recent years. He said “I truly believe 2023 is going to be a good year and will set up the foundation for the next decade. I really do.
“We’ve got different factions within the sport. I think competition is good for everybody. It’s changes people’s ways of thinking. It will make you tougher, stronger. Your competition is where you really learn. So, I think triathlon is going to get stronger.”
Wishing you all the very best for the future Mike.
