There are no losers in an Ironman. From the initial decision to compete through the training to the day of the event an athlete will go through the full gamut of emotional and physical highs and lows. That’s the case for two Reggae Marathoners who were in Lake Placid for the Ironman last weekend.
Candice Lester and Lisa Laws both from the New York City area and both multiple time runners at Reggae Marathon were separately in Lake Placid to participate in the Ironman. Both trained hard, had lots of support and both were ready…they had vastly different experiences that day.
The Agony!
Candice Lester IRONMAN Journey…. Begin the day with rain but clears in time for the start of the race…. finish my first loop of the swim feeling good even though the rain starts again… Halfway through the second loop I hear everyone screaming and realize I need to swim to shore because lighting is so close we need to get out… So I swim back north to the closest place I could get out … 9 athletes get on a boat and brought back to shore. The race will go on they say so I change and off I go on my bike to start my journey in pouring rain and lighting. Within an hour I’m in an ambulance with hypothermia because it was so cold. My day ended there…I am not an IRONMAN! It was tough walking through door but the gifts, love, support and my official ironman banner made smile! Thank you to those who have supported me on this journey it means the world to me. Congrats to all those who pushed through!
Thank you for sharing your story Candice. I too have felt the sting of DNF…it’s what motivated me to finish my first Marathon at Reggae Marathon back in 2009. You are an inspiration. See you in Negril this December.
The Ecstasy!
Lisa Laws IRONMAN. You may know her as the Queen Bee of the Reggae Runnerz (160+ runners at Reggae Marathon last December…back for 2014 with an even larger group). It is unimaginable to me how a person can face the prospect of swimming 2.4 miles in open water then cycle 112 miles then run 26.2 miles…back-to-back-to-back. And finish with a smile on her face.
That’s what Lisa accomplished last Sunday after months of hard training. Congratulations Lisa. You are an inspiration to all of us. We look forward to seeing you in Negril this December as well.
If you need any further encouragement to just get out and do it look no further than Candice and Lisa. Both put themselves out there with BIG, Audacious goals. Lisa, congratulations on Medalling; Candice, we know’ll you’ll be back.
Until next time…
Reggae Marathon RunninGuy (aks Sugar ‘Tuff Gong’ Bong)
