Ironman, Zurich: The boys are coming to get you!

With less than a week to go for the Swiss leg of the Ironman, its time to have a quick brush up of the few contenders that we have going for the event to raise the bar of endurance at Zurich this Sunday, 28th July 2013. There are 5 who will be the India flag bearers and here is a quick glimpse at the boys who have been training hard for the last few months, and 5 days from now is when all their sweat and toil will come to fruition.

Sunil Menon:

Also known as the desi superman and based out of Hyderabad, Sunil is another inspirational man. He comes from a running background and is known among runners as a speed demon. He is known to do his Full Marathon (42.2K) training runs in 3hrs 20 mins. As is the case which happens with most endurance athletes, they start with one event and the bug catches them. It is always about pushing for a little bit more, punishing yourself just that much more and enjoying the sweet pain which follows.

He has done great work in spreading the run bug in Hyderabad and has been instrumental in setting up one of the premier events (Airtel Hyderabad Marathon) in India. His training regime and lifestyle speaks of his passion, dedication and single minded focus. It is definitely not for the faint hearted. 4:30 am starts with a gruelling 4 hours of training every day for the last year, with a strict diet regime and complete self control is what goes into the making of this champion. He competed in Ironman 70.3 at Sri Lanka in Feb 2012. This is his first Full Ironman. With a target of completing it in just under 11 hours, Sunil will be competing under Bib # 1831 this Sunday.

Richard McDowell:

He’s another champion based out of Hyderabad. Richard comes from a cycling background, and he started training just over a year ago. His first triathlon was the Ironman 70.3 (Half) in September 2012 in Indonesia. This was followed by a couple of races in Thailand, one of which was also a 70.3 in December 2012. At the 70.3 held in Thailand, he finished high enough to secure one of the 5 qualifying places for the 70.3 World Championships.

He also participated in a couple of running events, the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon, and the Hyderabad Heritage Half Marathon, finishing 2nd in both. In 2013, he raced in Abu Dhabi and also did an off-road Olympic distance in Nepal. He is attempting his first full Ironman in Zurich on 28th July, where he targets to finish in just under 10 hours. In September, he will be racing in Las Vegas at the 70.3 World Championships. Richard originally belongs to Great Britain but will be representing the Indian Flag at Zurich under bib # 0614

Nagaraj Harsha:

The Ironcub of Bangalore and youngest of the lot, Nagaraj is also a phenomenon in himself. He started with weight training at the gym and it was only a matter of time before cycling became his first love. As seems to be the trend, he was introduced to Ironman, and the allure of completion and racing captivated his psyche. He has been training for this event for 4 months now and it is all that he thinks, breathes and dreams of.

His first Tri event was the Ironman 70.3 at Sri Lanka in Feb, 2012. The completion of that event was the beginning of a new challenge to overcome, in the form of the Full Ironman at Zurich this year. Nagaraj will be racing under bib# 0381 at Zurich this Sunday with a target to complete the event in just under 11hrs.

Akash Korgaonkar:

This man from Kolhapur has a similar story too. He used to train at the gym and was into weight training. He slowly got into cycling doing long rides every Sunday. In Sept., 2012, he met the original Indian Ironman Dipankar Paul at a cycling event. Here he was introduced to the event which goes by the name of Ironman. He got inspired and started training for this event effective Dec 2012.

Again, with the background of a strong cyclist, he realised the need to work on the two other legs of the event. His training regimen included 3-4 hours of training everyday and emphasis on his diet. With this being his first attempt at a tri, true to the Ironman spirit, he aims at completion within the stipulated 16 hour time limit. Akash will be racing under Bib# 0516

Dipankar, another cyclist from Bangalore, will also be participating in the event.

All the athletes can be tracked with their full name or their bib # on the website: live.ironman.com. The event will begin at 6AM (+4.5 hrs IST) on 28th July 2013 at Zurich, Switzerland.

Exciting times ahead. Boys, make us proud!