When he’s not delivering mail to homes in Oregon, Marc Ensign spends his time competing as a triathlete in contests all over the country, with his biggest competition yet coming up Oct. 10 at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, a competition in which only three percent of all triathletes get selected.
“It’s not an easy task, and I think when I get there, it’s just going to be overwhelming for sure,” Ensign said. “I’ve been watching Kona since it was on VCR tapes. It’s been done by so many cool people throughout the years, and it means a lot just to be one of them.”
With that, Ensign admits he’s a bit nervous to compete in the event, which has been around since 1978. He earned a ticket to this year’s competition through its legacy program, which provides devoted athletes who haven’t previously competed in the IRONMAN World Championship an opportunity to do so by officially participating in at least 12 IRONMAN-branded competitions.
Ensign did that, and he will now endure a 140.6-mile test of willpower and endurance, swimming the waters of Kailua Bay, biking across the volcanic landscape of the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway and running along Ali’i Drive.
It’s a point that Ensign didn’t believe he’d reach when he began racing.
“It’ll be an exciting experience, it’s definitely been a long road,” Ensign said. “I’ve been racing for almost 35 years and didn’t think it would get to this.”
Born in Toledo and raised in southeast Michigan’s Bedford Township, Ensign decided to move to West Palm Beach, Fla. in 1988, with his wife Marti. He began running in 1993, and his first marathon was at Disney in 1995.
“I started running primarily just because I was working in retail, so I wanted to get in shape, and it kind of led to the local triathlon,” Marc Ensign said.
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