Thousands of athletes from all over the world came to Madison with the hope of achieving personal glory in the annual Ironman Wisconsin Triathlon last Thursday. Now in its fifth year in Madison, the Ironman competition begins with a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride. Finally, the whole race ends with a leg-breaking 26.2-mile run.
According to Melody Givens, administrator for the athlete service center at Ironman USA, approximately 2,500 people came to Madison to compete in the Ironman this year. Of these, 150 were student athletes, and 20 to 30 of these athletes call UW-Madison home. An additional 2,000 volunteers were required to make the event a success. Many of these volunteers put in eight hour shifts on the day of the race making sure everything ran smoothly. Clearly, it was a big event, as anyone who happened to stroll through downtown Madison this weekend noticed.
Because Madison is consistently ranked as one of the fittest, most athletic places to live in the United States, it is no surprise that Ironman organizers choose to hold the event here.
However, what is perplexing is what drives someone to push their body to such physical and mental limits.
When faced with this question, Ken Laczkowski, a competitor in the Ironman triathlon and UW-Madison junior offered a quick answer.
""To prove that you can do it,"" Laczkowski said. ""It's a good hobby; it's an expensive hobby. But in the long run, it will keep your medical bills down.""
Lazkowski competed in his second Ironman Sunday, and was looking to cut his finish time down to approximately 12 hours. Running, swimming and biking all over the greater area of Madison in only 12 hours may seem daunting to the average person, but Laczkowski maintains that with the proper training most students would be capable of competing in the Ironman competition.
""It's difficult, but I really think it's more of a mental thing. You can't imagine working out for 16 hours straight, but it's not that hard. It's not constantly pushing yourself as hard as you can; it's more about pacing yourself,"" Laczkowski said.
However, the reason that Laczkowski may view the Ironman as ""not that hard"" owes to the enormous amount of time he devotes to training. On average, the ""always active"" Laczkowski spends two hours a day swimming and biking. In addition, during winter he spends time cross-country skiing and has competed in the 52 kilometer Birkebeiner Ski Race in Hayward, Wis.
Understandably, training during the school year can be hard for an athlete that has to balance exercise with school work.
""It's harder to find time for the longer distance rides you have to do, like 70 mile rides. It's hard to find a few extra hours,"" Laczkowski said.
Alyssa Walsworth, a UW-Madison senior and another student athlete who competed in Sunday's Ironman, agreed that the additional demands of school-work can be a challenge when attempting to train. ""[During the school year] I'd be studying until 2 a.m., so what am I going to do, sleep or train?""
Despite this, Walsworth is wary of making any excuses.
""You have to study at night, and you're always working on school work, but the older you get, you're always going to find excuses not to do it.""
Like Laczkowski, Walsworth said that competing in the Ironman Triathlon is a goal that just requires committment and effort to attain.
""I'm not the most athletic person in the world. If I can do it, I honestly would tell anyone that they could do it. It's all about finding the time,"" Walsworth said.
Walsworth trained for the race without a coach or a specific training plan, but picked up tips and advice from athletes in the area who have competed in the Ironman before. She also described the UW-Madison triathlon team as ""a great way to meet people who are doing the same thing as you.""
Students who want to compete in next year's Ironman should sign up as soon as possible and prepare for a rigorous training regiment for all three events.
When asked what her advice was for students hoping to compete in future Ironman competitions, Walsworth replied with a smile, ""my only advice is to bite the bullet.""
For more information on this weekend's Ironman Wisconsin and next year's, go to www.ironmanwisconsin.com.
