http://www.newsday.com/news/health/2014-ironman-world-championship-long-islanders-recount-race-experiences-1.9498292
During a triathlon, there are many obstacles an athlete may expect:
injuries, environmental conditions, and fatigue among them. But when
50-year-old Hewlett Harbor resident Steven Gartenstein took to the
course at the 2014 Ironman World Championship on Saturday, he faced an
obstacle that he didn’t expect: himself.
“Walking a substantial part of the marathon, alone, in the dark, was a true test of mental endurance,” he said.
Overall, Gartenstein
completed the grueling event in 16 hours, 37 minutes and 15 seconds —
just over 20 minutes shy of the 17-hour cutoff — calling it “the most
challenging day, both physically and mentally.” However, he added that
it was an honor to have been a part of it at all, calling the
experience, “truly humbling.”
For all five of Long Island’s elite, making a trip to
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, for the 2014 Ironman World Championship was a
special moment they will never forget.
Along with
Gartenstein, Liz Fernandez, 35, of Rockville Centre; Stefan Judex, 46,
of Port Jefferson; Roberta Leventhal, 63, of East Hills; and Dominick
Oliviero, 49, of Massapequa were part of the 2,187 worldwide athletes
who competed in the Oct. 11 championship.
Oliviero came to the
Big Island after an aggressive, life-threatening battle with cancer in
2011 when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 nasopharyngeal cancer, he said,
but was unable to finish the course.
“It was a tough day out there,” Oliviero said. “I have some unfinished business on this island and will be back.”
The race’s top three
finishers were Germany’s Sebastian Kienle after finishing the course in 8
hours, 14 minutes and 18 seconds; the U.S.’s Ben Hoffman and Germany’s
Jan Frodeno.
Hoffman finished in 8 hours, 19 minutes and 23 seconds, the best finish by a U.S. competitor since 2009.
“I was ready to give my best,” Kienle said. “If your mind is not there, it’s just not happening.”
For the women,
Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae came out on top, capturing her second
straight world championship title and, again, set another run-course
record, finishing the marathon in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf and Great Britain’s Rachel Joyce claimed
second- and third-place finishes.
Yearly, about 110,000
athletes attempt to qualify for the Ironman World Championship through
full- or half-distance Ironman races held worldwide, or by lottery or
legacy. If attempting to quality through an Ironman race, only the most
elite athletes who finish at the top earn a spot at Kailua-Kona. The
world championship is known for its unique difficulty — wicked currents,
strong winds and intense heat.
“The headwinds and
crosswinds on the bike course were unforgiving and made for a very tough
day,” Fernandez said. But after tackling the course in 11 hours, 56
minutes and 10 seconds, she called it “an experience I will never
forget.”
Echoing similar
obstacles, Judex said, “There were as many ups and downs in 10½ hours of
racing, as I would otherwise have in 10½ months.”
After finishing with
the best time of the Long Island competitors, Judex — who completed all
three legs in 10 hours, 39 minutes and 54 seconds — said that despite
choppy waters in the swim and a tough run, “a rough day while racing a
world championship in Kona is overall still a pretty awesome day.”
For Leventhal, who
finished with a time of 16 hours, 37 minutes and 2 seconds, the journey
won’t be ending at the finish line in Hawaii. Instead, the East Hills
resident will be traveling to Israel and using her athletic skills to
raise money for a pediatric rehabilitation facility in Jerusalem that
provides services for children and young adults throughout the region.
“I will be biking
five days and more than 300 miles,” Leventhal said. “With every step I
take, I feel so lucky and privileged that I am healthy and able to do
what I do.”
Making this trip even more special, Leventhal said, will be traveling as a newly-crowned world championship Ironman.
Calling it the
“hardest day” she’s ever had on an Ironman course, she said, “I really
had to dig deep and was thrilled just to finish.”
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/2014-ironman-world-championship-1.9476364