Ironman European Championship

Today the Ironman European Championship passed through our little town of Bad Vilbel!

Ironman is one of the most difficult athletic challenges there is: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and then a marathon (26.2 mile run). The most elite athletes take over 8 hours to complete it. Other athletes can take 17 hours or longer.

Bad Vilbel is home to the most difficult hill climb on the bike course: Heartbreak Hill. And to add insult to injury, athletes have to circle the bike course twice to make up the full 112 miles, so they have to climb Heartbreak Hill twice.

Here is one case where the dismal German weather:

- yes, that's 14 C (57 F) in the middle of July -

was actually a benefit, as the athletes gave it their all.

For those of us who weren't giving every ounce of our blood, sweat and tears to the course, there were a variety of refreshments in true German style:

Sausages right off the grill

And beer

We saw the lead male and lead female pass through, each with their own police motorcycle escort and cameraman. We saw senior citizens and novice athletes. The enthusiastic crowd cheered them all on, snapped their photos, and drank a beer in their honour.

On the way back down the hill, Indira and I came across an athlete whose luck had run out.

Alex had been in the top 100 cyclists this morning, but his bike gave out on the first loop of the cycling course and was irreparable. His countless hours of training for this prestigious event weren't to be rewarded today.

I stopped and chatted with him for a while, and he had a surprisingly good attitude about the whole thing. He took it as a matter of fact, and even had a sense of humour about how he was going to get back to Frankfurt since he couldn't finish the course. He was an inspiration.

Once home, we switched on the TV and watched the event from the comfort of our couch. It's 8pm here now, and some athletes are still out there, slogging away on the marathon course, over 12 hours after they started. May we all have their determination, heart and perseverance, whatever passions we choose to pursue in our own lives.