DEVELOPED WITH PARTICIPANT
ADRIENNE BUNN
Whether it’s training for an Ironman, studying for college, or working toward a goal, my ability to hyperfocus helps me push through challenges.
ADRIENNE BUNN
At four years old, Adrienne Bunn still wasn't talking. She babbled all the time, but real words didn't come. Her parents, June and Bob, took her from doctor to doctor until someone finally gave a name to what they were seeing: autism spectrum disorder. Adrienne is the middle of three sisters, and from that point on, her path needed something different from theirs - different schools, different specialists, a lot more patience.
Loud noise was, and still is, the hardest part of the world for her. When it got to be too much, she'd cry, open and close her fists, rock with small repeated movements, or put on headphones and slip into something quiet and predictable. So at school she needed small classes, quiet rooms, calm teachers. Instead she usually landed in loud classrooms with behavior problems that weren't hers. Teachers complained she couldn't sit still.
Loud noise was, and still is, the hardest part of the world for her. When it got to be too much, she'd cry, open and close her fists, rock with small repeated movements, or put on headphones and slip into something quiet and predictable. So at school she needed small classes, quiet rooms, calm teachers. Instead she usually landed in loud classrooms with behavior problems that weren't hers. Teachers complained she couldn't sit still.
What helped most was knowing exactly what came next.
"I like knowing the schedule and what's expected," she says. "Written plans help me a lot."
Sarcasm confused her; she was never quite sure when someone was joking, so she started asking friends to just say what they meant.
Later she will share more about her childhood, autism and her path in a video interview.
"I like knowing the schedule and what's expected," she says. "Written plans help me a lot."
Sarcasm confused her; she was never quite sure when someone was joking, so she started asking friends to just say what they meant.
Later she will share more about her childhood, autism and her path in a video interview.
Adrienne Bunn’s Autism Journey Led Her to IRONMAN Glory! II The Special Report
The real shift came on a horse. A local center ran therapeutic riding sessions for kids with disabilities, and Adrienne attached herself to a huge black draft horse named Ernie. His steady, unhurried presence helped her settle. Her balance, speech, and confidence grew, and years later she chose equine studies in college, still drawn to that same quiet steadiness.
Her father noticed early that movement calmed her. He'd send her out to gather acorns in the yard, or time her while she ran laps around the house - she rarely stopped on her own.
Her father noticed early that movement calmed her. He'd send her out to gather acorns in the yard, or time her while she ran laps around the house - she rarely stopped on her own.
Running became her way of working through whatever was too loud or too much in her head.
In elementary school, a gym teacher gave out little plastic foot-shaped tokens for every lap a kid finished. For Adrienne, that was everything: a clear goal, a way to actually see her progress, a reward she could hold in her hand. It was the first time anyone noticed she could run, and keep running, longer than most kids around her.
In elementary school, a gym teacher gave out little plastic foot-shaped tokens for every lap a kid finished. For Adrienne, that was everything: a clear goal, a way to actually see her progress, a reward she could hold in her hand. It was the first time anyone noticed she could run, and keep running, longer than most kids around her.
At eight, the school pushed for medication to deal with her hyperactivity. Her mother says Adrienne became listless, gained weight, and at one point started drooling. Her parents took her off it and went looking for other kinds of support instead. That's one family's experience with one drug, not a case against medication in general, but it shaped how they thought about helping her from then on.
At thirteen, she joined a pilot triathlon program with Special Olympics Florida, the youngest athlete there and the only girl among four. For the first time she had structure, a physical challenge, patient coaches, and people around her who simply got it.
At thirteen, she joined a pilot triathlon program with Special Olympics Florida, the youngest athlete there and the only girl among four. For the first time she had structure, a physical challenge, patient coaches, and people around her who simply got it.
"Something sparked in me," she says. "I loved the sport immediately."
In 2022, she went to Kona to watch. She saw Chris Nikic and Sam Holness, both neurodivergent, cross that finish line, and the distance stopped being something abstract. She decided she wanted to come back and do it herself.
In the spring of 2023, coach Doug Guthrie started training her. He noticed that hearing an instruction, processing it, and reacting fast - all at once - was genuinely hard for her on the bike.
In 2022, she went to Kona to watch. She saw Chris Nikic and Sam Holness, both neurodivergent, cross that finish line, and the distance stopped being something abstract. She decided she wanted to come back and do it herself.
In the spring of 2023, coach Doug Guthrie started training her. He noticed that hearing an instruction, processing it, and reacting fast - all at once - was genuinely hard for her on the bike.
So instead of calling out directions, he rode ahead and let her copy him. He taught her to shift gears on her own, brake into corners, hold an aero position, pace herself, and eat and drink on a fixed schedule instead of waiting until she felt like it. He walked her through race courses beforehand so nothing would catch her off guard.
Just days after turning eighteen, she finished IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio, through a swim start that felt like drowning, loud music, a crowd, and real fear before jumping off the barge into the water.
Just days after turning eighteen, she finished IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio, through a swim start that felt like drowning, loud music, a crowd, and real fear before jumping off the barge into the water.
Then, on October 14, 2023, she completed the first-ever standalone women’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kona in 12:41:18, winning the PC/ID category and becoming the youngest female athlete ever to compete in the race.
She went on to join the cross-country team at the College of Central Florida, where she also studies equine subjects, and has since run marathons and more IRONMAN races. In 2025 she went back to Kona and crossed the line again.
Her results page shows the DNF, and that might be the more honest part of the story: it isn't a straight line of wins.
She talks about hyperfocus - the same trait that once made a classroom hard for her to sit through - as one of her real advantages now, the thing that lets her train for hours and stay locked onto a goal for months.
Her results page shows the DNF, and that might be the more honest part of the story: it isn't a straight line of wins.
She talks about hyperfocus - the same trait that once made a classroom hard for her to sit through - as one of her real advantages now, the thing that lets her train for hours and stay locked onto a goal for months.
Her advice to other autistic people is simple: "Never let your diagnoses slow you down." Find people who support what you're going after, and find something you actually want it for.
