He tensed at the prickling pain of the dewy asphalt road underneath his bare feet. The air was crisp with salt in the sunless morning, and he stood squeamishly in a sea of green swim caps strapped tightly to the heads of the hundreds around him. His wet suit hugged him as he listened to the distant splashes, followed by enthusiastic cheers and encouragements.
Flooding with anticipation, the jittery group slowly snaked forward, leaving the asphalt behind and working through the cold sand. Time flashes forward for the young man as the water creeps closer and closer, the splashes no longer being an ambiance. Without much time to think, he was already standing face-to-face with the coastal waters. With a spiked heart rate, Matt Bush dived into the chilled ocean.
A rush of energy filled him as he started the 1.2-mile ocean swim, an anxious start to Furman 24' students' first 70.3 Ironman Triathlon. "It was the first time I had come up from the water during the swim, and I realized the sun had fully risen. It was beautiful. It was just, silent. All you heard was the splash."
The Ironman Race is not for your average athlete. Triathletes consider the 140.6 Ironman the highest level of endurance training. It consists of the endurance trifecta, a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike, and a 26.2-mile run.
Having been a competitive runner since his sophomore year of high school, Matt took on his first triathlon sophomore year of his college career with the help of the Triathlon club.
Matt has grown in the sport and is now president of the organization. He envisions a bright future for the underground club, "Having people who care about similar things, being able to meet each other and just run together... I fell in love with the sport, because I just met people through it."
Running those six miles with friends may have felt easy to Matt in the past, but the final miles of a 70.3 Ironman would be a new level of mental strength.
"I felt feverish," said Matt as he folded his hands in his lap, "I was stopping at every single water table, and I would just put my head down." The young athlete dragged his feet through his final miles. Crowds of grinning faces and hopeful cheers lined the race, but the noise drowned the athlete. "I was dead and there were 13 miles left to go," he laced his fingers under his chin, "I walked for a bit, which I have never done in a race before... I would say that was the most in pain I've ever been in."
Darren Cox knows better than anyone the pain young triathletes endure on race day.
Darren's wife stood giddy as she watched the live race times. Her husband was fighting ferociously throughout the infamous Ironman Arizona 2008 finals miles. The heat index was so brutal, that 18% of the field never saw the finish line, recording the third-highest dropout rate in Ironman history.
With no escape from the glooming sun, the dry heat harassed Darren as salt built around his brows. Sharp pains vibrated through his fast-twitch fibers as the dust flung behind him. "I saw my wife a mile from the end. I had nothing left, and the cramps were starting to win."
With doubt rising in Darren's mind, his wife calmly smiled, saying, "If you don't walk, you will break 10 hours."
An adrenaline rush floods him following his wife's encouraging smile. Pushing Darren to run a 9:54:50 Ironman, placing him in the top of his age bracket and qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
As a surfer in his juvenile years, Darren didn't begin cycling until age 20. Eventually, his wife would introduce him to the intricacies of distance running. Darren's love for movement, especially when accompanied by his closest friends, grew into an obsession as he eventually completed 13 full Ironman races.
Reflecting on his sub-10-hour Ironman, a gentle smile fills his face, "That was more important to me than doing Kona. It was the journey to get to Kona. So that I would say, I will never forget that run."
Darren had competed in Ironman Arizona with two of his closest friends. In a test of strength and will, the three athletes would all qualify for the Kona Championship. "That was huge," said Darren, "It made the whole celebration so special... To all qualify and go to Kona, Hawaii together was unreal. But it wasn't all about the race." He explains how the camaraderie and journey to the championship meant so much more than the actual race day.
Now living in Greenville, Darren involves himself in the triathlete community, working at Carolina Triathlon on Welborn St. where group cycle rides are held on the weekends. Sharing his love for the community, Darren says, "I think any exercise, no matter what, is just great. It puts you in a good mood, and you can make some of your closest friends through it. That's why I do it to this day."
Matt embraces the same community, "It's satisfying and meaningful to do those hard things with your friends. I think it's a uniting value."
When the remaining miles gloomed over him during his 70.3 Ironman, the sight of his training partner renewed his strength. "I was dead, but there was still 13 miles to go," he leaned back with a smile, "but seeing him out there reminded me why we trained for this."
Simply knowing a friend was out there experiencing the same pain inspired Matt. He picked up his heavy feet through every stride of the remaining yards. The world around him narrowed as he floated through the finishing gate; the grueling six hours disappeared as the referees finally announced, "YOU are an IRONMAN."
Matt still devotes his free time away from school to training with the Triathlon club. It's a small group, but he explains that the community brings a lot to the table. "We work hard and play hard together," he grinned, "I love getting out and working hard with the people you care about. And after we're done, we get meals and celebrate... Just going out and having fun with something that's hard and doing something that isn't necessary. Just because we know it adds to our lives.”
Comments