The first swimmer approached the dock, a pale, shivering man named Kevin whose shoulders had already seized up. He looked like a drowning otter.
She wrapped her own dry towel around Helen’s shoulders. Then she stood up, struck a final, dramatic pose that made a nearby volunteer drop his stopwatch, and pointed to the bike transition.
Kevin, startled, inhaled a pint of lake water, coughed, and then, inexplicably, grinned. He flipped onto his back and started a surprisingly smooth backstroke. Julie Ann had that effect on people.
Chad, shamed and motivated, kept swimming. Julie Ann Gerhard IRONMAN SWIMSUIT SPECTACULAavi
“Kevin!” Julie Ann shrieked, reading the name written on his arm in permanent marker. “You are a magnificent sea creature! That water is not your enemy; it is your liquid courage! Up, up, up, stroke!”
“The Pink Torpedoes!” Julie Ann cried. “Formation swimming! I love it! But listen up—there’s a rogue kayak at two o’clock. Go wide, then sprint. You’re not just racing the clock; you’re racing your own self-doubt!”
“Now go. There’s a hundred and twelve miles of pavement out there with your name on it. And I’ll be at the finish line, wearing something even louder.” The first swimmer approached the dock, a pale,
She blasted the air horn. BRRRRAAAAAP!
And for forty-seven-year-old Julie Ann Gerhard, it was her cue.
She would. In the trunk of her car was a sequined tracksuit and a sign that read: “YOU DID IT, YOU ABSOLUTE MANIAC.” Then she stood up, struck a final, dramatic
The sisters veered, dodged the kayak, and high-fived each other in the water.
For three hours, Julie Ann Gerhard ruled her ten-foot section of the dock. She had a playlist on a waterproof Bluetooth speaker (survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” on repeat). She had a stack of dry towels she threw like victory bouquets. She had a bullhorn with a voice distortion setting that made her sound like a kind, slightly deranged robot.
Julie Ann knelt down, her spectacular suit squeaking against the wet wood. “Honey,” she whispered, “in this race, the last person to leave the water is the one who stayed in the longest. That’s not last. That’s the champion of perseverance.”