Runnin’ with Rani: Legendary ‘Iron Doc’ crosses his final finish line

Whether he was swimming or paddling in Kailua Bay, riding his bike on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, running in a Peaman Biathlon event on Alii Drive, or just “talking story” with patients in his cozy office on Hualalai road, Dr. Frank Ferren’s passion for triathlon and paddling while living life to the fullest are what family and friends will remember him for.

The legendary icon, affectionately known by many as “Iron Doc,” passed away on June 17 from brain cancer. He was 78-years old.

“After he retired (in 2015) we both made our bucket lists,” said his wife of 42 years, Annie. “I had wanted for us to travel more and spend more time visiting the grandkids. Frank told me that his list was very short. All he wanted was to keep racing until he dropped — he loved it that much.”

Ferren’s impressive athletic career spanned over five decades, amassing a remarkable resume of memorable finishes.

He competed in the Hawaii Ironman World Championships an incredible 19 times — an all-time record that he held for many years. In addition, his resume boasts two Ultraman World Championships, two Molokai Hoe Canoe Race World Championships, over 40 marathons, 23 Keauhou Kona Triathlons (half iron distance), and numerous Lavaman Olympic Distance Triathlons, Peaman Biathlons and Team Mango races.

In an 2015 interview, Ferren said that some of his favorite and most memorable races were the former Volcano Marathon, held in the beautiful Hawaii Volcano National Park, his first marathon on Maui, Oahu’s Windward Triathlon, his first Ironman World Championship race in 1981, the years he competed in the Ultraman World Championships in Kona, and the two years he paddled the Molokai Channel then finished Ironman one week later.

“Frank always amazed me as a competitor,” said longtime friend, Sean “Peaman” Pagett. “He always had great determination and great dedication to the sport, but along with those two, you can also add in that he was also very stubborn. No matter what, Frank always wanted to finish his races — he didn’t want to stop no matter what and that’s what impressed me the most.”

Peaman added that seeing that kind of dedication and determination from Ferren — who he admired as mentor, role model, and local sport doc — helped to build his character to being a stronger person and stronger athlete.

“Guys like Frank, my Dad, and Stan Dzura were people I looked up to as role models,” Peaman said. “They were tough guys — people that don’t give up and who are supportive. If there was anyone who was the ‘Iron Doc’ it was him because he had the passion for the sport, passion for the medicine and science behind it, and every year he would go to medical conferences to get updated on what was the latest with Ironman technology. A big part of Frank’s life was Ironman.”

Dr. Ferren was also an avid paddler with the Kai Opua Canoe Club for twenty years. Mike Atwood, the club’s athletic director — who has known Ferren for 40 years — said that it was his positive attitude, consistency and the ability to help others — whether they were beginners or experienced — that made him shine within the paddling community.

“Frank was such a big part of the community in so many ways,” Atwood said. “He was always there no matter what. I coached Frank in the mid 80s and he paddled close to 20 years. He also helped coach the men’s and women’s 60-year-and-over crews and was very consistent. During those five to six years that he helped, they won almost every race.”

But his athletic accomplishments didn’t stop there. For two years, Ferren competed in the prestigious Molokai Hoe Canoe Race — a grueling 41-mile race from Molokai to Oahu across the Kaiwi Channel, also known as the Molokai Channel. The annual event typically held in the beginning of October, draws competitive teams from around the globe as it is considered to be the world championships of men’s long-distance outrigger canoe racing.

For many years, Ferren was the only Big Islander known to compete and finish the rare double — the Molokai Hoe Championships followed by the Ironman World Championships just one week later — a feat he accomplished two years in a row.

Professional career

In addition to his athletic endeavors, Ferren was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and a longtime advocate for Kona’s athletic community. He was a board certified surgeon, obstetrician, and sports medicine guru, who retired from his professional career in November of 2015 after 42 years.

Ferren finished his surgical residency in 1971 and worked for Straub Hospital on Lanai and Oahu for nearly two years before deciding to move to Kona in 1973 as an Obstetrician.

While in Kona, he worked with Dr. Hayashi and Dr. Mitchell for a couple years at the old Kona Medical Building in Kealakekua before splitting their busy practice to a second location in Kailua-Kona.

At the time, Ferren was an avid marathoner who enjoyed long training runs and competed in just about every marathon in the state. Sunday mornings often meant running with a social group of twenty runners for a brisk 18 miles from the old quarry to Palani Road and back.

It was on one of these long runs that Dr. Ferren heard about a crazy new race coming to Kona called, Ironman. Already adept at swimming and running, the 112-mile bike segment posed the biggest challenge.

But Ferren did what any dad would do. He borrowed his son’s 40-pound JC Penney bike to train on and finally landed at the start line on that fateful morning of February 15, 1981. It was a 140.6-mile journey that forever changed his life — he was hooked.

“Frank really loved doing triathlons,” Peaman said. “His profession as a doctor took a lot of his time and he was also a family man, so his getaway was to swim, bike and run. He was also one of the few that were there from the very beginning of Ironman. He’s really a big part of the foundation of Ironman and triathlons in general.”

As the popularity of Ironman grew so did Ferren’s practice. In 1986, he renovated his home on Hualalai Road into an office and decided to stop delivering babies to focus full time on sports medicine, a field that he was truly passionate about until his retirement.

“He had a tremendous thirst for continued knowledge in his field,” said another longtime friend, Steve Borowski. “Whether it was sports medicine or Ironman, he always wanted to be knowledgeable in all aspects of medicine. He was such a brilliant man.

“He was also super humble and had great sense of humor. I was his patient and friend for 30 years. When I would go in to see him, 80 percent of the time we would just talk story, and 20 percent of the time we talked about what the problem was. Even if he was a little behind and there were people waiting for him, time was never the issue. Frank always felt that it was always more important to spend the time. I’ll never forget that.”

One of Ferren’s goals after retirement was to continue to train and race for as long as he could — it was his passion. True to his word, he began training to compete in this year’s Lavaman Olympic Distance Triathlon — a race that he loved and enjoyed after so many years of doing Ironmans.

But a few weeks before the April 2 event, his wife Annie said that he was in a bike accident that left him with fractured ribs.

“I remember that he wasn’t quite right after that accident,” Annie said. “He wasn’t himself so I sent him out to get an MRI. That’s when we found it, a tumor sitting on his brainstem and we were all in shock. If it weren’t for Frank training for Lavaman and getting into that accident, we would have never known.”

Favorite memories

Ferren was well loved and respected throughout the Big Island community that his recent passing took many by surprise.

He was a soft-spoken, genuinely kind, down-to-earth, good ol’ fashioned country doc who never thought twice to make house calls, or work late nights and weekends. He had a keen and witty sense of humor and the most inviting smile that made him easy to talk to for hours at a time.

His competitive spirit displayed out on the racecourse and determination to finish every race entered truly exemplified his passion for the sport — a trademark remembered by many.

“It’s funny because my favorite memory of Frank is not an Ironman memory,” Peaman recalled. “Back in early days of the Mana to Waimea run, I remember my dad wanting to beat him so badly in that 10K race that was a point-to-point run.

“I was running with my dad and what I taught him was ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ So every time the course took a turn, my dad would run really fast so when Frank came around that turn, it would seem like my dad was way ahead. My dad really wanted to break him and I was helping him. But it was so funny because here are two guys, who are not in the front of the pack, but in their minds they are in this heated race. So just to see the two of them racing so hard to beat each other, with me helping my dad with his strategy, caused so much laughter for me. This by far is definitely my favorite memory of the two of them.”

For Atwood, it was about finishing ahead of the Iron Doc at a former half iron distance triathlon.

“It was the Keauhou Kona Triathlon and he and I were both doing it,” Atwood recalled. “I remember seeing him on the run, his face covered in white from zinc oxide, and he had this way of running — with his arms dropped at his sides. I mean it was funny because with his face completely covered in white and how he ran, he looked like death. I thought to myself; ‘Oh man, I cannot let him pass me!’”

His legacy

Ferren was a legend by all standards and his passion for triathlon, paddling, sports medicine, and love for the Big Island community will always be remembered.

“I think the legacy he leaves behind is the true spirit of the island: aloha and ohana,” Peaman said. “He was always there to take care of everybody and treated us all like family. So his legacy is of aloha and ohana.”

“He was Mr. Ironman,” Borowski said. “But he never strayed from his sense of self-worth, his ego, his humility. He never changed. No matter of all of his accomplishments, medically and within the sporting world, he never changed. He set such a great example for all of us.”

Ferren is survived by wife, Annie of Kailua-Kona; sons, Bradley Wood-Ferren (Joy Mills-Ferren) of Kailua-Kona, Gregory (Jenne) Ferren of Honolulu; daughters, Richann Wood-Ferren of Kailua-Kona, Noelani (Aaron) Boyd of California; and six grandchildren.

A celebration of life is tentatively scheduled for August in Kailua-Kona with details to be announced at a later time.