Sunday, 10th of September 2023 at 7am I stood at the starting line at the Cote d’Azur in France to compete in my 20th IRONMAN. The race consists of a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bike ride, and a 42.2 km run as part of the inaugural World Championship for this sport in Europe. There was much debate in the lead-up about the shift from Hawaii to Nice and the division of the women’s and men’s races. The bike route through the French Maritime Alps, replete with 2500 meters of elevation, steep ramps, breathtaking descents, and rugged curves, more reminiscent of a Tour de France stage than a triathlon bike course, was also a focal point of discussion. In preparation, I had repeatedly trained on the steepest ramps in the northern Black Forest, especially the Oppenauer Steige.
My race day kicked off with the news that due to the water temperature of 24.8 degrees, no wetsuits were allowed. Despite my preference for the buoyancy-enhancing suit, I quickly adapted to the new situation. After 1 hour and 26 minutes, I transitioned onto the bike to tackle the day’s most challenging discipline. My legs didn’t feel exactly nimble on the longest ascent between kilometer 40 and 60, where a height difference of 900 meters had to be overcome. It was not until the second half of the bike ride that I gained some strength and was able to use the long descent back to Nice to improve my standing. After another seven hours, I jumped into my running shoes.
By this point, I could already sense that it would become a long day. I had to pay tribute to the first two splits and couldn’t play my running strength as usual on the four rounds of the turn-around course along the world-famous Promenade des Anglais. But giving up was not an option, and so, after almost 14 hours, I ran into the finish line amidst the cheers of the still numerous spectators and my family.
In long-distance triathlon, everyone who reaches the finish line can feel like a winner. Of course, the ambition is high to find one’s name as far up the result list as possible. Nonetheless, the spirit among non-professionals is fraternal, as demonstrated by the following episode. About 25 km into the running course, I was plagued by severe thigh cramps. A fellow athlete running behind me noticed this and spontaneously offered me a salt tablet, which allowed me to continue after some time.
The toughness of the competition is also evident in the fact that out of more than 2200 participants who started, only 1962 finished, and in my age group, 214 out of 251 reached the finish line. Therefore, my 127th place in my age group among the world’s best triathletes does make me a little proud.
Now, I have two World Championship participations, one in Hawaii 2017 and now another one in Nice, plus eighteen more successful finishes in the most beautiful places in Europe to my credit. Whether this was my last race, my „Last Dance“ over the long IRONMAN distance, like Jan Frodeno, one of the greatest in this sport, I’ll decide after a bit of distance in a few weeks.
As in 2017, I’m running a fundraising campaign for the Kinderhilfe Organtransplantation again this time. You can find all the information here: eptingsfit4u.com.
Wolfgang Epting 