Sam is middle-aged, smokes, drinks, overweight, and is generally unfit and going nowhere in life. In the early 1980's he stumbles onto an ABC telecast of a race called the Ironman Triathlon taking place in Kona, Hawaii. As he watches the race he's enthralled watching people cross the finish line after swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running a marathon. He decides he's going to Kona and spends two years getting ready for what was at the time, the most difficult endurance race on the planet. He meets a young woman(Morgan) when he arrives in Kona who was also inspired to take on the race. This is the story of their unlikely alliance. This is the story of their remarkable journey to the finish line.