It takes incredible determination and fitness to do the Ironman competition, which involves a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile cycle and then running a marathon,
writes MICHAEL KELLY LIKE A lot of men my age I harbour a latent ambition to run a marathon at some point in my life, though every year I seem to concoct some reason to put it on the long finger. The very first marathon was run by an unfortunate soldier called Pheidippides in 490 BC. He was sent from the town of Marathon (what a coincidence) to Athens to deliver the good news of a Greek victory over the Persians. On arrival in Athens he exclaimed “Niki!” (“victory”) and then promptly collapsed and died. One wonders then what exactly poor old Pheidippides would have made of the Ironman triathlon. Imagine if you will, standing on the starting line of a marathon having just completed a 2.4-mile (3.9km) swim and a 112-mile (180km) cycle. The first Ironman was contested in 1978 to settle a debate among a group of friends in Hawaii over who was the fittest athlete – a runner, cyclist or swimmer. They came up with the idea of an endurance event which involved a combination of three existing events – the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the Around-Oahu Bike Race and the Honolulu Marathon – one after the other. Some 15 men participated in the first race and 12 of them finished, led home by the world’s first Ironman, Gordon Haller, in a time of 11 hours and 46 minutes. It should be noted of course that the vast majority of triathletes are sane individuals of all ages and from all walks of life who keep fit and have fun doing far shorter distances in the three disciplines. A sprint triathlon for example constitutes a very manageable 750m swim, 20km cycle and a 5km run. But the Ironman is a different beast altogether with competitors typically spending 10-17 hours completing the event. It is generally believed to be the most difficult one-day sporting event in the world. The big question of course is what is the motivation for getting involved in such a physically gruelling sport The majority of Ironman and ultra-distance endurance competitors are males aged 35-45. Could it be that we men are trying to scoff at our advancing years
According to Enniscorthy resident Alan Ryan, competing in an Ironman is “enjoyable” despite the hardship involved.