Team TTL's own Kayla Pokorny wins at Ironman World Championships!

Kona and I have had a rocky history. When I raced the World Championship in 2018 and 2022, both days ended the same way: an absolute implosion on the marathon.

Heading into race week this year, those memories were hard to ignore, especially while nursing a nagging quad issue that had popped up a few weeks prior. I really wasn't sure how the leg would respond to 140.6 miles of racing. But I also knew I had logged months of solid work through the brutal heat and humidity of a South Florida summer. I just kept reminding myself the work was there.

My plan for the day was simple: stay conservative until the final 10 kilometers of the run, and focus completely on eating and drinking. Winning my age group was definitely on my radar, but after the way my last two races here went, my real goal was just to finish strong, regardless of where I placed.

The Swim and the Queen K

Race morning delivered a rough, choppy swim in Kailua Bay. Thankfully, swimming is a relative strength of mine, so the swell didn't throw me off. I found a solid pair of feet early on, settled into a rhythm for the 3.8 km, and focused on navigating cleanly through the earlier waves ahead of me.

Transitioning onto the bike, my immediate priority was washing down the saltwater taste and getting ahead on hydration. I dialed in my target of 90 grams of carbs per hour and took in as much fluid as possible.

The Queen K had massive draft packs early on. It took a lot of conscious effort to steer clear of the congestion, but I stayed focused on riding legally, staying aero, and not burning matches early. When the pro field started coming back the other direction, it gave me a great mental lift right when the highway started feeling long.

By the last 20 km of the ride, I felt surprisingly great. I had spent the day slamming nutrition and dumping cold water over myself at every chance, and it paid off. I rolled into T2 feeling strong, in control, and ready to tackle the run.

Running Without the Darkness

Heading out onto Ali‘i Drive, I stuck to the same rule: keep it controlled and easy until the final 10 km.

The crowds on Ali‘i were incredible, especially after hours of quiet pedaling through the lava fields. Seeing my family out on the course gave me a huge boost. At every aid station, I made it a non-negotiable routine to drink at least three cups of fluid and shove ice down my kit and under my hat. All those noon long runs back home in Florida paid dividends, and I never felt overheated.

Usually, there is a point in an Ironman where things get dark. In my past races, that moment always showed up right on schedule. But on this day, the darkness never arrived. I felt steady and optimistic the entire way. Out in the Energy Lab, my pace held steady, and every time I passed someone, it gave me a little extra momentum.

I ended up negative-splitting the marathon. Days where everything clicks like that don't happen often in this sport, and I made sure to appreciate it while it was happening.

With about 1.5 kilometers to go, running down Palani, I heard my husband screaming through the noise: I was leading the overall amateur race by seven minutes.

I honestly thought I had misheard him, so I kept running hard down the hill. But once I turned onto the red carpet, I eased off the throttle just enough to take a breath and soak it all in.

The Village Behind the Finish Line

Right after crossing the line, I found my family. My two young kids were there with their cowbells, having spent the entire afternoon cheering in the heat.

Ironman training asks a lot of the athlete, but it asks just as much from the family behind them. As a mom of two little ones, big training blocks simply do not happen without a huge support system. My husband and parents carried so much of the load over the past few months (and years, for that matter) to give me the space to train. There is no way I could have pulled this off without them.

We celebrated properly with tacos on Ali‘i Drive and stayed late into the night cheering on friends crossing the finish line. Even though my legs were completely shot for the next two days, we managed to shuffle our way around a local coffee farm and spend some quiet time at the beach with the kids before flying home.

Now that I'm back, the overwhelming feeling is just gratitude. I’m grateful my body held up, grateful for the family who supported the dream, and grateful for the training partners back home who push me every week. More than anything, I’m glad my kids got to see their mom work hard for something big. Hopefully, it inspires them to chase their own passions one day.

Next up: a couple of weeks completely off the feet, and then back to work to defend the title next year.