The Ironman, almost every athlete has heard of it; a triathlon consisting of swimming, cycling, and running. What hundreds of triathletes dream of isn’t the repetitive training for improvement or seeing how far their bodies can be pushed against the strain of the long race, what triathletes dream of is competing at the World Ironman. The World Ironman is the big league for triathletes, as only the top two to three people from every age group qualify for the world championship. This was the same dream as our own Physical Education teacher, Kate Maloney.
“When I signed up for Ironman, I had never done a triathlon before. I had never swam longer than my three hundred-yard lifeguarding test and had only done a half marathon,” Maloney said.
Practice, she says, is an essential variant to improvement. When she saw her students becoming uninspired with the practice she was offering, she decided to sign up for her local Ironman to prove to herself “that a person can get better at something even when they are completely ill-equipped to do so.”
The first time Maloney officially signed up was in 2016 to compete in 2017. Her original goal was to finish the race, and getting used to the physical strain wasn’t easy. Before this moment, she had only trained for herself, but this was a competition, and the long stretches of track were proving to be quite the test. But alas, the Ironman race was nothing short of what Maloney hoped for herself. She crossed the finish line despite all odds. After that, she kept the growing improvement going by signing up in 2018, cutting another hour off her time, and again in 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Then, after all her training training to get her up to the big games, Maloney’s name was called for the Ironman World Championships in Nice, France.
“What a feeling! What a journey! I will say, I think I appreciated the world championships so much more because it was such a long time coming,” Maloney said.
“A highlight of the Colorado trip was doing a ride called the Triple Bypass. This was a 125-mile ride featuring 10,000 plus feet of climbing over three mountain passes,” Maloney said, talking about her summer vacation. Although taking this as a time to cool off, she also used this as a time to sharpen her skills for her up and coming physical test of endurence. Arriving in Nice, France, was a new experience for Maloney. She states that she spent the first week preparing for race day. And when the day of the race came, Maloney was ready.
It was finally time for the main event. The Ironman in France is considered one of the most challenging courses in the world of triathlons. The swimming portion of the race takes place in the Mediterranean Sea, constantly roaring left and right with wind, making the waters less than calm. Maloney states “The water was very violent the morning of the race, meaning we had to swim through both the current and big waves. The swim was definitely the most challenging of my Ironman career, but I managed to hold my desired pace.”
The bike course includes a ride in the Tour de France course, which consists of 8,000 feet of climbing in the French Alps and a mountain range with an elevation of 15,772′. Its known for its exhilarating views despite being the tricky ride.Though physically rocky, her journey up the Alps weren’t anything close to limiting. Maloney’s mental strength and perseverance powered her through. Last, the run is pancake flat, but tests the runners stamina with its long stretches. “I definitely trained very well this summer, though no part of the course was any more challenging than the rides I did for training,” Maloney said.
Overall, 30% of the competitors didn’t finish the race due to the treacherous conditions –the cold, windy waters of the sea, the rocky Alps, or the depleting run. But even with her impressive endurance, she had regrets.
“As always with me, I have regrets about how I managed my in race nutrition, but this is a continued battle with my body as it resists a ton of fluids and calories during the race,” Maloney said.
Maloney’s rank in the Ironman World Championship was 679 out of 1384. And as all teachers do, Maloney made her once-in-a-lifetime experience a teachable moment, saying, “Anybody who is willing to do the work can complete an Ironman. There are no shortcuts, and it is a process, but with consistency, the human body is truly amazing. A big dream or goal should scare you a little. You never know unless you try.”