Ironman (n): An athlete of remarkable endurance or durability. Wow, if you want inspiration, perspiration and a total disregard for genetics, watch an ironman. An ironman event consists of a 3.8k swim, a 180k bike ride and a 42k run. Say what? Most people hear the words but cannot comprehend the event. After you swim the equivalent of 152 laps of a pool, you bike from Toronto then run from Trenton to Belleville and back again. The next question; ?How long does that take?? There are time limits; the swim must be completed in two hours and 20 minutes although statistics say the average swim is between 1:10 and 1:20. Participants must be off their bikes by 5:30pm; giving them 10 1/2 hours from the beginning of the race. The entire race time allowed is 17 hours making the final cut-off midnight to cross the finish line. Depending on the course the winners will cross the line after 9 hours of racing while the age groupers will take right up to the 17 hour time limit. The most famous of Ironman competitions is the Championships held in Hawaii every October.
What might posses someone to want to participate in an Ironman? For every ironman there is a story, with the majority coming to the sport to prove they can do it, to challenge their bodies for 226 kilometres and up to 17 hours. While most will have a time goal, the ultimate goal is always to finish, because each race brings with it different obstacles. Ironmen come in different sizes, ages and physical abilities but gritty determination in the face of hard times bonds them. From the last swimmer cheered in by hundreds of spectators to make it to the line before the cut-off to the last man in before midnight, participants cheer each other on, talk each other through low points and cry with each other at the finish line. It is wonderful to watch when an athlete performs near or above their expectations, but in truth the stories at Ironman come from the struggles. To move your body over 140 miles is admirable, add in the struggles of a rebelling body, a challenging course and the environment of the day and it becomes inspiring. Crossing the finish line the announcer yells ?YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!? No matter when they get there, no one can take that away.
This year in Lake Placid Frank Martineau and Damon Usborne crossed their first Ironman finish line in 14:43:37 and 13:31:24 respectively while Tara Rawluk completed her second, bettering her first by more than an hour to finish in 11:41:45.
Other racers this past weekend were Krysta Paudyn finishing the Subaru Muskoka Sprint (750/20/5) in 1:35:17 and at the Durham Quarter Marathon (10.549) were Phillip Gottlieb (57:46), Bill Huffman (1:29:35), Edward Kooistra (47:04) and Janice Robertson (1:11:32).
Don?t miss out on the Gallop for Gallant 5k to be held on August 22 at 9am in Belleville. Go to
http://gallopforgallant.webs.com/ for all the details and to register.
