Since 2010 David Knox has taken on a unique hobby. The former Ironman triathlete came across some eye-catching Ironman posters while working on the road, and decided he’d like to collect the ones from his own racing experience in Kona, Hawaii.
For nearly a decade he’s worked to collect 37 years’ worth of posters and continue to get them signed by the male and female champion from each race.
“It became a passion just like triathlon was a passion for most of my life,” Knox said. “But I let myself get out of condition and I regret that, but I’m 66 now and perhaps that’s just the way it was meant to be… but you get this close you meet these wonderful people and no one else has a collection like this.”
His endeavors have taken him around the world from his home in northwest Iowa, from Spain to California, and now Victoria.
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On Friday morning, “The Poster Boy” came one step closer to completing his collation by meeting Victoria-based athlete, and former Ironman Kona female champion Lori Chestnut (formerly Lori Bowden), who won the Kona championships in 1999 and 2003.
Knox had first reached out to Chestnut three years ago, but it wasn’t until she realized he was a legitimate collector that she agreed to meet him in Victoria.
“Once you see all the photos of everyone he’s met and everything he’s done, it’s pretty unique,” said Chestnut, who now helps organize the Victoria Goodlife Fitness Marathon. “Now I can actually be in his book of athletes, so it’s fun that I can help him complete that little bucket list. “
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Now Knox has one more signature to collect from an athlete in Montreal to have all the past races complete. His hobby, however, won’t come to an end.
“The last poster is never, because the race is every year,” he said, partly in exasperation and partly with excitement. “What else does a person do in northwest Iowa?”
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