One of the things I hear folks saying all the time is a IM must is Mike Reilly at the end of their race calling
out their name at the finish line saying Congratulations xxx, you are an Ironman. They always say this is
special, either the fist time or nth time.
I have never heard anyone say they were not called out.
So, I was all ready for this. I was running down the finish chute all by myself. My kids were watching on the live video feed.
But never did Mike call me in or say my name that I was an Ironman. So was I just “lucky”. :o(
I guess it was possible the PA was messed up, but my wife did not hear it either. Guess when I will watch the video my wife took
to prove it.
One of the things I hear folks saying all the time is a IM must is Mike Riley at the end of their race calling
out their name at the finish line saying Congratulations xxx, you are an Ironman. They always say this is
special, either the fist time or nth time.
I have never heard anyone say they were not called out.
So, I was all ready for this. I was running down the finish chute all by myself. My kids were watching on the live video feed.
But never did Mike call me in or say my name that I was an Ironman. So was I just “lucky”. :o(
I guess it was possible the PA was messed up, but my wife did not hear it either. Guess when I will watch the video my wife took
to prove it.
.
He was on a break during my first IM. I think the reliever called me an Ironman, but that doesn’t count, of course.
The second time, he called me Kathy instead of Keith. He finally corrected himself at the very end. But he did it in a quiet, understated manner: “You’re an Ironman” with a sedate, descending tone, not the “You … are … an … Ironman !!!” that we’ve all come to expect. So I guess I have to do it a third time some day.
He posts here occasionally under the name IMVoice.
Try not to finish in a group–he can’t really get everyone if three or more all come in at the same time.
At the finish line of IM Tremblant this year i think they were having troubles with the PA system when i finally finished so he had the whole crowd saying You Are An Ironman, which i thought was even better.
You know, I never heard Mike Riley (or any other announcer) say that when I crossed the finish line. He evidently did, as my husband and friends attested. But I guess I was so focused on ending my day that I didn’t hear him. Either time. Whatever. The accomplishment was important to me, not hearing my name (nor not-hearing my name).
Different strokes.
One of the things I hear folks saying all the time is a IM must is Mike Riley at the end of their race calling
out their name at the finish line saying Congratulations xxx, you are an Ironman. They always say this is
special, either the fist time or nth time.
I have never heard anyone say they were not called out.
So, I was all ready for this. I was running down the finish chute all by myself. My kids were watching on the live video feed.
But never did Mike call me in or say my name that I was an Ironman. So was I just “lucky”. :o(
I guess it was possible the PA was messed up, but my wife did not hear it either. Guess when I will watch the video my wife took
to prove it.
You know, I never heard Mike Riley (or any other announcer) say that when I crossed the finish line. He evidently did, as my husband and friends attested. But I guess I was so focused on ending my day that I didn’t hear him. Either time. Whatever. The accomplishment was important to me, not hearing my name (nor not-hearing my name).
Same here. I’ve only done one IM, and I have no clue if Mike called my name or not. I wasn’t paying any attention.
All I was thinking was “I hope there’s still some pizza left…” There was, so I was happy.
You know, I never heard Mike Riley (or any other announcer) say that when I crossed the finish line. He evidently did, as my husband and friends attested. But I guess I was so focused on ending my day that I didn’t hear him. Either time. Whatever. The accomplishment was important to me, not hearing my name (nor not-hearing my name).
Same here. I’ve only done one IM, and I have no clue if Mike called my name or not. I wasn’t paying any attention.
All I was thinking was “I hope there’s still some pizza left…” There was, so I was happy.
Cheers, Chris
x3. Just finished IM Moo, and I honestly don’t remember him saying my name, but my wife said he did. I’m usually so amped coming the last quarter mile into the finish that I’m not really listening anyway.
There was a power outage at IM MT this year and Mike Reilly led the crowd into chanting “you are an Ironman”. I thought it was excellent the way he handled it to make it even cooler than usual and the crowd was really in to it. The folks stranded on the gondolas had an epic view of the finish chute for about 15 minutes until power was restored. Then there was the almost collapse of the inflatables over the finish chute as the power went off! For the record, my wife has 11 IM finishes and I think she has had her name called by Mike at the most 4-5 times. Invariable she gets cut off by some big dude and you can’t even see her. Reilly does a great job but there is no way he can call out everyone’s name.
Reilly does a great job but there is no way he can call out everyone’s name.
Mike does an awesome job.
As someone who does the same work as Mike, I can tell you that it’s challenging getting everyone’s name at the finish line. And even when you do, as others have pointed out, they are so focused they can’t hear you!
I’ve learned a great deal from Mike over the years.
As Race Announcers we try to do our best to make sure everyone’s event experience is the best from start-to-finish.
I can’t even fathom saying that over and over for what amounts to be around 9 hours straight!
He doesn’t usually do IM Florida I don’t think (or at least didn’t when I raced it in 2011) and even though I came through the finish solo I couldn’t tell you if they said my name or not it was so loud/chaotic and couldn’t have cared less. I was glad to get a great finish photo and was just happy to have done what I set out to do.
Heh, I thought I was the only one who never heard himself being called. At my first IM, I didn’t hear it. At the 2nd one, I heard my name, but it wasn’t being called by Mike Riley–someone in a more monotone voice. This last time, at IMWI, I did hear him call me out, so that was sorta cool.
On the plus side at Honu 70.3 this year they had Greg Welch as the MC, so I got to hear a legend of the sport call my name as I crossed the line.
Mike is never called me in at a full Ironman. But he has done so at Oceanside. Steve King called me in in New Zealand once and Whit Raymond called me in in Kona since Mike was busy interviewing Sarah R.
I did IM CdA in 2012 as my first Ironman and he missed me. Got the person before and after me, but not me, even though I tried to space myself out from them. I had to watch the video later to be sure, as I rarely am self-aware enough to hear my name announced at the finish line. But nope. Oh well. I’m still an Ironman. Life goes on.
I’ve finished 3, and only remember hearing it once. He may have called my name on the first two, but I don’t think I was focused on listening. But because I hadn’t heard him say it, I was very aware on the third race, and he didn’t disappoint - he said it.
Watch the video and let us know if he missed you, or you were just in a fog. I’m interested to know.
After a DNF in 2012, I was so stoked to finish IMKS in 2013 only to find they didn’t have any of the Oz characters at the finish (they were there, just not when I crossed) and the “yellow brick road” was replaced by the typical grey IM carpet. At the time, it was such a letdown. So stupid in hindsight that I felt this way, but at the time (being totally exhausted), it was hard to wrap my head around the finish not being what I had worked towards.
Doing IMAZ this year, but I’ll be sure to take it as a sign that if I don’t hear my name that it just means he expects me back for a 2nd race!
I can’t even fathom saying that over and over for what amounts to be around 9 hours straight!
He doesn’t usually do IM Florida I don’t think (or at least didn’t when I raced it in 2011) and even though I came through the finish solo I couldn’t tell you if they said my name or not it was so loud/chaotic and couldn’t have cared less. I was glad to get a great finish photo and was just happy to have done what I set out to do.
chris
Maybe he was there in 2010, and decided not to come back to IMFL after that. I heard 2010 was a real shit show.
