Saw on FB yesterday that one of the truly epic characters of the early days of triathlon and ultra running has left this world for greener pastures. Some of you old timers here will remember him as the original Kona bandit, and the ever present headress of cowhorns, even in the swim! He lived the vagabond lifestyle as long as I have know him since 1980, often calling Kona or Tahoe his full time residence.
He was one of those early hard guys that just went out and did stuff because no one else had, and when that thing got organized, he would move onto the next big thing. I’ll pop in here later with a Cowman story of my own, anyone else have the pleasure to know him?
I remember seeing him at the Boston
Marathon in the 1970’s/80s when the “running boom” was supplanting the road racing eccentrics - - but Cowman was keeping the eccentricity in the sport. I vaguely recall his was respectively fast, not just a side show.
Cowman was the original triathlon vagabond in my mind,and this is coming from someone who has listed “Vagabond” as a profession on his Ultra race entries for 30 years (He makes Rhodesy look positively stable).
I met him in Penticton in the 90’s at a mates house during an Ironman week piss-up. I walked in and was doing the small talk thing,saying hi to everyone and some huge dude comes up from behind and gives me the biggest bear hug and yells out “Ultraman!” Once he put me down I turned around and couldn’t believe it was Cowman.I had no idea that he knew who I was but realized he must have known me from Ultraman Ohana stories.He knew everything about Ultraman Canada even though he had never seen the race. Like Ironman Hawaii,Cowman used to just rock up to Ultraman and do it for shits and giggles. He has the record for the most Ultraman DNF’s but has had more fun doing them than anyone I know.
The guy was bloody hilarious and I won’t ever forget later that evening when everyone was getting plates to load up with food from the BBQ. Cowman just grabs the big bowl of what was left of the potatoes and starts to fill it up with anything he can get his hands on before sitting down with the bowl in one huge hand, a fork in the other and the biggest grin on his face. He looked like a little kid on Christmas morning.
That photo of Tinley and Cowman sums up exactly how much everyone loved Cowman.The look on Tinleys face says it all.
One of the great characters that I have met in all my triathlon travels and he will be missed. RIP Cowman.
A couple of my Big Island friends passed the info to me. I met Ken a few weeks before the fall 1982 Ironman. I didn’t get him at first as he was sort of a local celebrity and wasn’t all that fast. Then as Ironman grew closer, I figured it out. Never heard him utter an unkind word to anyone and always stopped to talk to anyone anywhere. He was truly a gift to the Islands in spreading A-moo-ha. He was like the total package of the Aloha spirit. As Monty mentioned he was sort of a vagabond, but was such a good fit on the Big Island.
I got to spend time with him after we moved to Hawaii, because he was at every event in Kona and on the Hilo side. I know he had some “problems” with the Ironman event, but I think he should be an automatic Hall of Fame member. When they they first founded Ironman they had a clause that it should always be a peoples event. I think they were thinking about people like him when they made that expression. He was a true peoples man and gave way more than he took from the Islands.
I sure am going to miss him or more like missing the thought of him being around spreading the Aloha Spirit.
Tailwinds Cowman.
Between Ironman Canada and Kona I met Ken a couple of times and always enjoyed a chat with him. I really like the idea of a push to have him inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame. He was a part of the lore and history of Ironman Hawaii. RIP Ken!
Never met him, but heard a lot of the stories. A true character from an era when ironman was a magnet for fitness eccentrics.
Here he is “passing” Tinley in '85.
Awesome pic, and as mentioned above, the smile on Tinley was a perfect catch! Old school stuff here, an original eccentric populating the sport back then, need more of it! RIP Cowman.
Sometime in the early '90s he got suspended from (then) Triathlon Federation/USA for banditing Kona (I was on that disciplinary panel). WTC, as I recall, was not happy with his presence.
Cowman was one of the original legendary characters in the early days of the sport of Triathlon. I met him a few times in Kona and at IMC in Penticton. We don’t seem to have his type anymore - the equivalent of a “Ski Bum”! Perhaps because the sport has become WAY to expensive!
Love that picture - Tinley with a bit of a laugh! Cowman with a Cow-Bell on the front of his bike!
I did a quick search to see if i could find his age.
I found a reference to an 81yo, that I’m was sure wasn’t him - even though a podcast in 2024 stated this was his obit. Ironbums — The Streak Podcast
Ken “Cowman” Shirk (1944-), age 33, originally a farm boy from Salins, California, had signed up to run. He had become an award-winning high school athlete, a volunteer fireman, and loved his home in the mountain wilderness surrounding beautiful Lake Tahoe…
Shirk stated ultrarunning in 1976 when he ran the 72 miles around Lake Tahoe. He later entered another race, signed up as Cowman, and competed wearing horns. The name stuck…
So it would appear he was either 78 or 79 when he passed in '23.
I never met him, but seemed like a really good guy.
