Spirit of ’78 is the essence of this sport, the pleasure to compete, to overachieve (…) It was a race where every athlete pushed its limit to overcome every obstacle, to honor all family and friends’ support. These made sure that nothing was missing in a fantastic friendship atmosphere and teamwork. Just because. Because we love full distance triathlons.

So that sports as a means to keep active, to challenge ourselves, to overcome ourselves, to keep in touch with our younger selves, never ends.

Triatl3ta magazine praises AASM’s efforts in order to recreate the first Ironman in Hawaii. Spirit of ’78 is an unprecedented initiative in Portugal where all participants “reincarnate” the spirit of those at the start line. Moustache and two piece tri suit was the dress code back in the day. Only with internal help AASM proved up to the task and is therefore commended by all.

When I printed my BIB I realized that it represented a spirit of ’78 (Henry Forrest) a pioneer that started a new sport when I was 14. This sport is part of my everyday life.