What do you think, can anyone survive if he falls in this roaring water? asked Ayush. I really don’t think so. People will even fear to walk over the kilometer long bridge over these waters. For normal humans, it is really impossible, but then world has enough people who belong to the League of Extraordinary, Pratyush replied.
We were on a trip to Hampi and Tungabhadra Dam was the last point of our itinerary. Standing at the top of the dam, we couldn’t see the end of the reservoir water. The sight of the roaring waves, splashing and hitting the dam wall with full force, was really breath taking. Furious. Fearful. Not once did the river water not look like an ocean, probably owing the water to the good monsoon. The setting sun and the engulfing darkness added to the fear.
But truly, there are people who dare to succeed and achieve unimaginable things that others tend not to think even in their dreams. One of these category of people are called Iron Man ! This title has nothing to do with our hero Tony Stark from Marvel Comics. Though not technologically advanced like our famed billionaire-entrepreneur, these people are the real 'Man of Steel' / 'Wonder Woman'. To be qualified to be called as 'Iron man', people have to successfully complete the Iron Man triathlon :Running, Swimming and Cycling. The event is unarguably the toughest sports competition in the world.
Imagine swimming 4 kilometers at a trot. In an open water body such as river, lake or even an ocean. I even dread to swim 100 meters, forget 4 kms. Once out of water, you have a bicycle at your disposal. Not to go back to your room/home, but for a long-long ride….. literally. You switch your swimming costume to cycling gears, and start on an eventful journey of 180 kilometers. 180.25 to be precise. This reminds me again of the cycling in Hampi. We cycled from the farther bank of Virupaksha temple to Anjanadri hill, then to the pictures-queue Sanapur lake before turning back to the temple; a distance of not more than 20 kilometers. But man, we were quite tired, even after stopping quite a few times on the way which had innumerable dotted ancient structures; a sight to behold.
We were on a trip to Hampi and Tungabhadra Dam was the last point of our itinerary. Standing at the top of the dam, we couldn’t see the end of the reservoir water. The sight of the roaring waves, splashing and hitting the dam wall with full force, was really breath taking. Furious. Fearful. Not once did the river water not look like an ocean, probably owing the water to the good monsoon. The setting sun and the engulfing darkness added to the fear.
But truly, there are people who dare to succeed and achieve unimaginable things that others tend not to think even in their dreams. One of these category of people are called Iron Man ! This title has nothing to do with our hero Tony Stark from Marvel Comics. Though not technologically advanced like our famed billionaire-entrepreneur, these people are the real 'Man of Steel' / 'Wonder Woman'. To be qualified to be called as 'Iron man', people have to successfully complete the Iron Man triathlon :Running, Swimming and Cycling. The event is unarguably the toughest sports competition in the world.
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Ironman Triathlon: Swimming, Cycling and Running
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What is the criteria to be known as an 'Iron Man'?
Imagine swimming 4 kilometers at a trot. In an open water body such as river, lake or even an ocean. I even dread to swim 100 meters, forget 4 kms. Once out of water, you have a bicycle at your disposal. Not to go back to your room/home, but for a long-long ride….. literally. You switch your swimming costume to cycling gears, and start on an eventful journey of 180 kilometers. 180.25 to be precise. This reminds me again of the cycling in Hampi. We cycled from the farther bank of Virupaksha temple to Anjanadri hill, then to the pictures-queue Sanapur lake before turning back to the temple; a distance of not more than 20 kilometers. But man, we were quite tired, even after stopping quite a few times on the way which had innumerable dotted ancient structures; a sight to behold.
Coming back to the topic, once the 180 km stretch is done, you still don’t feel like relaxing. I mean, you can't, if you have to complete the Iron man task. The third thing post swimming and cycling is running. Should I say that now the person has to run a marathon (42 kilometers), will you regard me an insane? I think so. But that's the truth. I am feeling tired even thinking about these things. But a person has to do all these 3 sports activities (3.86 km Swimming ->180.25 km Cycling -> 42.2 km Running) to be accorded with the title.
And this is not done yet. There is more to it. The TIME factor. All these 3 activities have to be completed in a stipulated time. I am sure you must be feeling crazy now for sure. But hold on. The cat is not yet out of the bag.
Like we have sectional cut-offs in our competitive exams, here too the person has to complete each sport in a pre-defined time. The timing along with the distance is captured in the below table.
Swim
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Cycle
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Run
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Distance
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3.86 km
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180.25 km
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42.2 km
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Time
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2 hrs. & 20 mins.
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8 hrs. & 10 mins.
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6 hrs. & 20 mins.
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Total time to complete the Iron man: 16 hours 50 minutes.
Having the title is indeed a very very proud feat, like an Olympics/CWG medal (Read about the history of CommonWealth games). As is rightly said by the founder, John Collins:
Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles- BRAG FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. "
Golden words indeed.
How did the triathlon come into existence?
During a sports award ceremony in 1977, a few people were debating the fitness level of swimmers and runners. Contrary to the group, Mr John Collins, a US Navy Commander, claimed that cyclists are fittest in the three. With this, Collins thought of combining the three races which will test the endurance and perseverance of the participants. And came the Iron Man into existence in Feb 18, 1978, when the first race was flagged off.
Have a look at the video of the triathlon.. Who knows, you may be the next Iron Man !
Nerd Notes:
- The current world record for completing the triathlon is 7 hours, 41 minutes and 33 seconds. Andreas Raelert, took 46 minutes for swim, 4 hours 11 minutes in cycling and 2 hours 40 minutes for marathon.
- Some people pee while riding a bicycle to make sure they don't stop
- Gordon Haller, became the first Ironman by completing the race in 11 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds
- Ironman 70.3 is a half triathlon consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run
As I write this blog, my schoolmate 'Rhythm Garg' will be competing for the Ironman competition this year. I wish him all the very best for the D-Day.
Keep reading and don't forget to smile 😃
-Prakhar
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