Participants look back on IronMan: “Scorching hot, but great”

For experienced triathlete and Horineese Raymond Joesoef it was not his first triathlon. That does not alter the fact that the heat, which easily exceeded 30 degrees, also got in the way. But it didn’t spoil the fun: he looks back on a successful sporting event. “It was great and unique for the area: it is the only edition of IronMan organized in the Netherlands,” said Raymond.

He only really felt the tropical temperatures on the dike, where the walking route had been mapped out. “There’s no shade there, and you have to go about 1.5 miles back and forth on that stretch. That was sweltering and scorching hot.”

No Dam to Dam run

According to Raymond, most IronMan participants could take a beating, he noticed little of the fellow triathletes who drop out. “IronMan is not a Dam tot Damloop. There are often untrained people at the start. At a sports event like this, people participate who are prepared, for example with good material such as wetsuits and bicycles.” What also helped were the bystanders who helped participants out of the fire. “They rolled garden hoses around their house to keep participants wet.”

For Raymond, the preparation for this sweltering day consisted of a little more training in good weather, two water bottles with frozen contents that were attached to the bike, but above all, setting personal goals. “Last year my finishing time was five hours and eight minutes, now it is five hours and twenty minutes. I attribute that to the heat. I took it easier at the switches and I made an extra stop to drink quietly. During a normal race I would have raced past it as soon as possible.”

Water up

The Belgian Sophie had traveled to West Friesland together with a team of several triathletes under the name Coaching Zone Team. “It was really hot,” she tells NH when she is on her way home, recovering from the intensive race.

“On the bike the temperature was okay, but when I walked I was bothered by the heat.” She has little to criticize about the organization of IronMan. “I only noticed that the water was sometimes empty at the end of the route. That was a bit of a shame. Still, everyone in my team made it to the finish line and we finished high in the rankings. It was well worth it: maybe go me again next year.”