More than 100,000 athletes battle for a chance to compete in the IRONMAN World Championship each year, but only approximately 2,000 competitors qualify to take on the historic Big Island course.
More than 100,000 athletes battle for a chance to compete in the IRONMAN World Championship each year, but only approximately 2,000 competitors qualify to take on the historic Big Island course.
But racing Kona is in fact a dream money can buy — and for a good cause.
For the last 13 years IRONMAN has raised money for a variety of charities through the IRONMAN Foundations annual Kona Auction, which provides athletes the opportunity to bid on one of four coveted slots to race in Kona.
Starting Sunday, one entry will be auctioned per week for a period of four weeks. Interested bidders can go to ebay.com and search 2015 IRONMAN World Championship Slot. Auction winners also will receive private athlete registration in Kona and four VIP packages, including race-day passes and invitations to race-week functions
Last year, the slots went between $40,300-$51,200 apiece.
The World Championship race is set for Oct. 10.
According to IRONMAN, 100 percent of the money from the final winning bids of the four slots support the efforts of the IRONMAN Foundation’s Community Fund Program. To date, more than $2 million has been raised through the annual Kona Auction, raising funds donated to multiple organizations including Hospice of Kona, Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii (PATH) and the Daniel Robert Sayre Memorial Foundation.