At 7 a.m. on Nov. 3, Kat Sauer, a senior in biomedical engineering, lined up at the starting line in Panama City, Fla. The gun went off and sent Sauer on a race she would not finish until 8:30 that night. After 140.6 miles, 13 hours and 27 minutes, she could finally claim the title of “Ironman.”
Sauer is the president of the Triathlon Club. The club consists of more than 30 people who are interested in pursuing triathlons of all levels.
The Ironman is the pinnacle of triathlon races. It begins with a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and finally winding up with a marathon, which is a 26.2-mile run. Sauer said there is nothing like the feeling of completing this event.
“An Ironman is the hardest single-day event you can do ever,” Sauer said. “There is just a great satisfaction of crossing the finish line. It’s indescribable what you feel when you cross the line and you hear your name announced, and they say, ‘You are an Ironman.’ It’s a good self esteem booster. It gives you a good sense of purpose. Once you’ve conquered that, you can do anything.”
The club sent three representatives to this year’s Ford Ironman Florida Triathlon. In addition to Sauer, senior Anthony Schmitt and coach Daren Marceau participated in the race. Like Sauer, Schmitt was competing in his first Ironman, and he finished in 12 hours and 51 minutes.
Schmitt said participating in these kinds of races can become addictive.
“The last five seconds, once you get onto the carpet and you cross the finish line, is probably the most amazing feeling ever,” Schmitt said. “All the way up to that is pretty hellacious. It’s a lot of punishment, but as soon as you cross that finish line, you’re already planning your next race because it’s that addictive.”
In addition to Ironman, the club includes triathletes of all levels. There are four types of triathlons that athletes can compete in — the sprint, olympic, half-Ironman and Ironman.
Sauer said people should not be intimidated by the prospect of doing a triathlon. Most triathlons have distances that are much less than those required in the Ironman.
“Everyone starts out as a beginner,” Sauer said. “I’ve only done three seasons. Three years ago, honestly, I was a beginner. Nobody forgets what it was like to start. Nobody forgets their first race. Yeah, it’s intimidating, but we don’t have any speed requirements. At our workouts, if we have a beginner, it’s like ‘Great! We’ll run with them.’ We’ll run whatever speed, and no one will complain.”
Junior Greg Gosselin recently completed his first triathlon in Wilmington. It was a sprint triathlon, which requires athletes to complete a half-mile swim, a 12.4-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run. He said it is great meeting other people who are also interested in triathlons.
“People who do triathlons are the rarest kind of athlete. I mean, who else really wants to do that to themselves?” Gosselin said. “The club is great because it allows me to meet all these people who can push me to be better.”
The team has four practices a week, and each runner is given a customized workout schedule and diet plan by Marceau. Sauer encourages anyone interested to come out and said contact information is on the club sports’ Web site. However, she said one can become easily hooked.
“You do your first one, and you finish, and it’s great,” Sauer said. “You will find yourself thinking ‘I could do this again. I could do this faster if I did this.’ It’s just kind of addictive. I refer to it as my habit.”