More than money for city coffers or marketing for the region’s virtue as a triathlon training ground, there is an even better reason to bring the Ironman 5i50 series to Vancouver, according to one of the world’s top endurance racers.
“When you hold a world-class triathlon, you are bringing in thousands of positive role models to the community,” said Jeff Symonds, the 2015 Asia-Pacific Ironman champion who is in Hawaii this week preparing for the exclusive Kailua-Kona World Championship Oct. 10.
“It is impossible to be at one of these events and not be inspired to get out there and do one. It really encourages kids and adults alike to do things they thought were impossible and get hooked on the active lifestyle,” he told the Courier, adding this message for park board commissioners weighing the decision to approve the short-distance Ironman for next summer: “Take time to look at the benefits of the race beyond just the economic impact.”
Raised in Penticton where Ironman held a national championship for 30 years until 2013, Symonds grew up surrounded by the focused, determined athletes who inspired his entry into the sport. In 2011, he became only the second man in his 20s to medal at the Ironman World Championship. He has twice won the Penticton Challenge, which replaced Ironman.
Shorter than the extreme, 70.3-kilometre marquee race, the Ironman 5i50 series is an Olympic-distance event with a 1.5km swim, a 40km bicycle ride and 10km run. Ironman took over the rights to the Subaru Vancouver Triathlon with the intent of changing the distance and route for July 2016. Symonds, a former UBC Thunderbirds steeplechase racer, holds the course record for the Vancouver triathlon.
Symonds, who turned 30 on Oct. 1, wouldn’t likely miss racing in his adoptive city. He races shorter distances to prepare for the two or three Ironman events he will run in a year but otherwise carefully focuses his training on the longer race.
“I love the epic-ness of Ironman racing too much to focus on the Olympic-distance racing. At the highest level you have specialize one way or the other,” he said.
For the uninitiated competitor or spectator, a full-distance Ironman is extremely difficult. The fastest racers finish in eight hours. Symonds tops the four-km open-water swim and 180-km Gran Fondo bike ride by running a marathon in under three hours.
“I consume around 3,500 calories during the race and even then you cannot replenish anywhere near the amount of energy you burn,” he said. “The last half of the marathon is pure suffering. It takes all your mental strength to put one foot in front of the other.”
Such pain is worth it, even for so-called mere mortal racers who finish in 12, 14 or 16 hours. All racers who meet the 17-hour cut-off can call themselves an Ironman.
At once comical and honest, Symonds race strategy is ugliness. Really, his motto is “Get Ugly!”
“I have a terrible poker face and my running style is showing how I am willing to do whatever it takes to get me to the finish line as fast as possible. My greatest strength is my ability to suffer for a really long time. If you see me running in the last half of a race, you know this is true,” said the athlete whose elbows bounce in wild circles as he forces himself forward.
“The feeling of satisfaction you get from having the fortitude to overcome your body and mind telling you to quit is unbelievable,” said Symonds. “It leaves you with a feeling of empowerment that you can do anything. It doesn’t matter if you win the race or are the last finisher — everyone is guaranteed to have that feeling if they have the strength to keep pushing.”
Twitter and Instagram: @MHStewart
