Todd Crandell’s Journey to 100 Ironman Finishes

This book was created to illustrate what can be achieved and created through perseverance, dedication, commitment, passion and fulfilling life’s purpose. What do the images featured here consist of?

Since 1999, I have completed 2 Ultramans, 32 IRONMANs, and 77 IRONMAN 70.3 distance events, including a couple of non-IRONMAN events. The total mileage for these races is:

Ultraman: 12.4 swimming, 540 biking & 104 running
IRONMAN: 76.8 swimming, 3584 biking 838.4 running
IRONMAN 70.3: 79.2 swimming, 3696 biking & 864.6 running
Total swimming: 181.6 miles
Total biking: 8,436 miles
Total running: 1,951.1 miles
Total: 10,568.7 miles

I remember watching IRONMAN Hawaii back in my drug addiction, and, although I was not in my best condition mentally or physically, I thought, “I want to do that someday.” Six years into my sobriety, I signed up for my first IRONMAN in Panama City, Florida (11-6-99) and loved my dad’s response, “You don’t even know how to swim,” which was true. Like all things in my life, if I want something, I find a way and do the work to achieve it. And as illustrated in this book, I have done that over 100 times.

In 2001, after doing my 4th IRONMAN in New Zealand, our local newspaper ran a story, ‘From Addict to IRONMAN,’ and the response to it was powerful. I decided to use my life experiences at that point and turn them into fulfilling my purpose, so I created Racing for Recovery to help everyone who has been affected by addiction to live healthier lives.

The IRONMAN is now my way of challenging myself; being able to travel the world to experience new cultures, while simultaneously sharing the Racing for Recovery message, which I am very thankful for.

The pictures in this book are a visual way to express achieving the extraordinary while always overcoming any obstacle that arises along the way. May these powerful images ignite your mind, body, and soul in order for you to make your dreams a reality in anything you pursue.