Meeting the Voice of the Ironman

As nearly everyone who participates in an Ironman knows,
Mike Reilly is the Voice of the Ironman. That is, Mike is the one who calls out
each individual finisher’s name at the very moment that they finish their
emotionally and physically draining 140.6 mile journey and officially become an
Ironman. It is often said that all a person training for an Ironman wants is to
hear Mike’s voice announce their entrance in to the small club of Ironman
finishers. This past week I had the pleasure of meeting Mike and was glad to
find that he is not only easy to talk to, he’s incredibly smart and has a great
sense of humor. He’s also quite humble.

Last week I attended a wedding in the Dominican Republic and
stayed at an all inclusive resort. Mike Reilly also attended the wedding and I
had the pleasure of meeting him while there. The bride and groom are current
and former employees of the Active Network, the company at which Mike is a Vice
President and co-founder. Mike attended the wedding with his wife Rose, who is
incredibly friendly. Apparently the bride had already informed Mike of my and
Mike’s (my boyfriend Mike that is) plans to race at Ironman Couer D’Alene next
year, because that was the first thing that he said to us when we saw him
(after I was introduced of course). He quickly told us that Couer D’Alene is a
gorgeous course and that it’s his third favorite, behind Kona and Lake Placid
(this is one of the reasons why (my) Mike decided that we should do CDA).

During the cocktail hour of the wedding I was able to pick
Mike’s brain a little more. I mentioned that I had heard that he had had
requests to record his voice saying “I now pronounce you Ironman and Ironwoman”
to be played at weddings. He confirmed this rumor and also told me that people
will call him and leave messages complaining about how he had missed the
calling of their name. Even though there is always someone to cover his post
while he’s away, people are VERY serious about Mike being the one to call their
name. He explained, however, that he can track where all the participants are
and tries his best to use the restroom when there are lulls. And he never
misses calling the name of a friend. He reassured us that he would be calling
our names next June.

Mike also told us about how he got started in announcing. It
was back in the 80s when he was about to race in a triathlon and a friend asked
if he wouldn’t mind skipping the race and announcing it instead for $100. Back
then $100 was enough money to be worth it, and Mike forwent the triathlon for
his first announcing gig. Eventually word caught on that Mike was a good
announcer and in 1989 he was asked to announce the Kona Ironman World
Championships. Since then, he has announced at not only Ironman races, but
local races. He actually was the announcer at the Encinitas sprint triathlon which
I blogged about in May. According to triathlon-america.com (Mike is on the
Board of Directors), Mike has announced and provided Master of Ceremonies duties
at over 1,000 endurance sporting events in his career.

Although Mike has announced over 200,000 triathletes’ names
as they crossed the finish line as Ironmen, he has not competed in a 140.6 race
himself. However, he is still an avid cyclist and runner.

I really enjoyed meeting Mike and his wife Rose and I look
forward to hearing him host the Ironman CDA Welcome Dinner which traditionally
occurs on the Friday night before the Ironman. From what I’ve heard, this is a
night of inspiration and nearly as incredible as crossing the finish line. Now
that I know Mike, I’m looking forward to hearing Mike call my name on June 24,
2012 even more!