Mike Reilly retires as an announcer at races

Un becoming a celebrity in a not so small circle, to make 350,000 people, all triathletes, proud and happy, what do you think it takes to do that? Certainly a lot less than you now suspect. Mike Reilly needed four words for it: “You are an Ironman!” Not anymore.

Last weekend he was chief announcer of the Ironman Hawaii in Kona for the last time, once again he stood on a grandstand for eight hours at the finish, and then, as always, he climbed down to the spectators, into the finish area, and created a good mood, body and soul, shouted, sang, whispered at the last finishers over the magic line in the hour before the finish line closed.