The great thing with Achilles is that there are a lot of inspiring people joining each workout. Stefan, who will be one of my guides for the marathon is one of them. For most people an Ironman is a lifetime achievement, for him, it became a routine. This week-end he did the Mont Tremblant Ironman in Canada, hoping to qualify for Kona, the World Championship in Hawaii. In order to qualify, he had to finish in the top ~1% of his Age Group, I know, it sounds impossible!
All week-end, I’ve been thinking of him, hoping that he had a good night, that the weather would be to his liking etc. I was in New York City, running with Matt, who will also guide me in November. As you probably know, it was very hot in NYC, and doing our long run was no fun. But I kept thinking to myself: “Charles, this is just 14 miles, Stefan is doing a triathlon that ends with a marathon, you can’t complain!”
Well, I did complain anyway, Matt could confirm, but I was inspired and humbled. Stefan did more than inspire me, he also made all of us very proud. He finished in 9 hours and 29 minutes, placed third in his age group and yes, he qualified for Kona! Just to give you an idea, he ran the marathon of the IM in 3:15:21. That’s why he is the Chief Pain Manager in team Charles, and that’s why we call him the Kaiser! (you can read his story here: http://charlesruns.nyc/stefan-irion)
Bravo mon ami, I can’t wait to run the marathon with you.
