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Inspirational Moments in Ironman: Five
Gaylia Osterlund offers up her fifth installment of inspiring Ironman stories
Published Monday, June 8, 2009
This month we feature two Ironman qualifying stories - Gilbert, Arizona's Dan Beaver, pictured here and Delaware's Margaret Amidon.

Dan Beaver – Gilbert, Arizona – Running for Seconds
It would be the same race, but later in the year where Dan Beaver would redeem himself.
At Ironman Arizona in April, 2008, Beaver was having a solid day. He started the run alongside Chris, a guy from his age-group, and they ran stride-for-stride for most of the marathon. It was in the final mile where the dynamic shifted. The two came around the corner, entered the finish chute and what was a friendly rivalry became an all out sprint to the line. With just 25 yards to go, Beaver fell off the pace and finished 11 seconds behind Chris. What the two didn’t know was they were racing for the last slot to Kona in their division.
Fast forward to Tempe in November of 2008. All day, Beaver kept reminding himself that every 11 seconds counts. Little did he know how well his mantra would serve him. At the spot where he had been dropped by Chris in April, he willed himself to pick up the pace and, as he made that same turn, he saw a very different picture.
“There was one more guy in front of me but I could not see the age on his calf,” he explains. “I told myself to keep pushing because he could be the one to get the last slot.”
In his last acceleration for the pass he glanced down and saw they were the same age.
“I just went with all I had to the line. I finished 12 seconds ahead of him and this time, I claimed the last slot in our age-group!”
In a year where every athletic endeavor is going his way, Dan says those 11 seconds lost are a lesson he will never forget.