Actress Katherine Kelly Lang at Ironman World Championship

Welcome to the 37th Ironman World Championship and its 140.6 miles of, well, hell.

In 1978 there were 15 hearty souls who took on this seemingly impossible race that includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike, and a 26.2-mile marathon.

No one wants to bet against Daniela Ryf as the champion here in Kona tomorrow, but then again, no one wants to count out Mirinda Carfrae.

There were strong mixed emotions for Carfrae – while devastated to pull out, her American husband Tim O’Donnell scored a career-best third place.

Caroline Steffen and Jodie Swallow are the two stellar athletes who can keep Ryf on her toes.

With Carfrae out of the way, Ryf was in a class of her own. “Honestly, I didn’t think the win was possible at that point”.

“I am just over the world”, the 34-year-old Frodeno said in a finish-line interview.

“I had no power and I was going backwards, basically”, Carfrae said. Germany’s Sebastian Kienle, the defending world champion, and countryman Jan Frodeno, the European champion, are looking to make it three straight wins for Germany. But he also knows the competition is fierce and unforgiving.

“I don’t remember the last time I’ve crashed but since I’ve been on this island I’ve crashed twice”, she said. Frodeno was third in his debut last year, Ryf the runner-up in her first crack and Kona, also last year. “I started to fly at the end”. “That was really when I started to go much harder into the partying lifestyle”.

Competing in the mix of the world’s elite will be American actor Sean Astin-most commonly known for his roles in the hit films Rudy and Lord of the Rings-who will be racing for his charity, Run3rd.

“I’m very confident – I’ve been with Luke McKenzie quite a bit this year and…” “Saturday is going to be an incredible opportunity to honour my skills, talents, family, and my sponsors and training partners”, says Sanders, who lends support to numerous charities. Hundreds of spectators and race finishers, as well as local musicians and dancers, gather at the finish line to welcome the race’s final finishers. “But I still finished”.

Carfrae set the course record of eight hours 52 minutes 14 seconds in 2013 but her best performance at Hawaii was a year ago. It’s easy to get distracted though, If you pop up for a breather, the scenery is spectacular and the tropical fish are wonderful.

I definitely believe in treats: I love chocolate, lollies, and ice cream…you’ll always find a few flavors of Ben and Jerry’s in my freezer. “Lots of squats … lots of weight on the shoulders, pull-up bars and TRX bands, and I’m doing more hill training”.

“It was as humid as humid gets, it’s actually one of the hotter days that I’ve been here”, Naeth said.

After six hours of racing, Naeth knew there was no way she could finish the 42.2 kilometre run in withering heat and brutal humidity under a cloudless sky on the big island at Kailua-Kona.

Each year, more than 110,000 athletes vie for slots in the event. “And I love it”. As members of the Waikiki Swim Club, John and Judy issued a challenge to see if the who was the “toughest athletes” were.