Showing true steel in training

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ABU DHABI // A teeming triathlon is a truly intoxicating event, and it continues to spawn some fascinating and full-on characters. There remains breathing space within the clammy confines of Abu Dhabi for budding participants, and their apparent unblemished willingness to espouse the Corinthian spirit by flogging themselves. Even at this level, there is no room for wilting.

Prospective triathletes can be found thudding the streets, cutting up the sea and pedalling furiously on bikes, usually before the larks are up and about. Charity and self-improvement seem to be the prime aims behind subjecting one's self to a triathlon. It is all a heady mixture of madness and mayhem, governed by the adrenaline rush of maintaining the body's motor. The Ironman was born in the US, and Joel Dopson and Garret Lowe are good old, wholesome American boys. Their studious natures, chisselled features and healthy outlook makes one think that they are ripe to undertake the full Ironman in Hawaii on Saturday, or the full Monty as it should probably be regarded.

They have been party to this game over the past few years, and are both pilots. A bit like Maverick and Goose from Top Gun, if one wants to paint a mental picture. They are ready to flit into the UAE's very own half Ironman. It will be staged halfway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the penultimate day of January. For competitors, men and women, emboldened by the chance to purge their souls, look deep within themselves and push their physical boundaries to new frontiers, it could easily be staged somewhere between heaven and hell.

Getting your kicks this way is not everyone's idea of fun. Taking the dog for a daily walk it is most certainly not. The training schedule for the half Ironman does not mean Dopson and Lowe are full of half measures. The thought of attempting the half Ironman seems enough to leave one buckling. A 1.9km swim, a 90km bike ride and a 21km run is a perishing thought. In training for their date with heavy duty, they are also lending time to assisting novices for a Sprint Triathlon on Nov 28. Both events are being staged at the Al Jazira resort at Ghantoot.

The term "sprint" tends to give off the wrong image of what is involved in the half Ironman's little brother, or sister. An 800m swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run sounds simple to the uninitiated, until you dive deeper into the reservoir of demands. "I'd reckon you would need to stay in the water for around 30 minutes to do 800m," says Lowe, with an air of nonchalance you would expect from somebody who is training to swim over a mile.

While it goes by the riveting moniker of the Ironman, a steely resolve is as much of a prerequisite for anyone saddled with serious notions of confronting the sweat-glistening spectacle that is the triathlon. Fitness is essential, but being of stout heart is as applicable as being draped in comfortable attire. Such traits are never asked for on any registration form. Yet they exist at the very core of such an event. In every nook and cranny. In every sudden movement of its aspirants.

Dopson wears the once cancer-stricken Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong's yellow band with the motto "Livestrong", while Lowe is aiming to finish the half Ironman in a time between five and six hours. As conversation goes between them, it is all the rage. Garret should not veer far off the right path wearing a watch that passes for a mini laptop. On his watch, the real concern of aspiring triathletes seems to be tossing themselves into open water.

For many competitors wet behind the ears, it is a cause of genuine concern, perhaps bringing new meaning to the term, to swim with the fishes. "You stay pretty buoyant in the salt water, believe it or not. It is easier than in a pool. You can tread water easier," adds Lowe. Jennifer West is buoyant without the need for salt water. A full-time mum, she and Joel's wife Christy, who hails from Louisiana, were competing in a bodybuilding competition in Texas in June, before gliding towards the triathlon.

For members of her fledgling Sprint Triathlon team, Team COCI, she is the organiser and companion in lifting morale like weights. A native of Houston, Texas, this is her fourth triathlon. She has raised US$50,000 (Dh183,000) from her previous expeditions. Team COCI stands for Cherish Our Children International, but charity also begins at home, and the need to cherish this event. "I think you have to have a goal, and this is a real fun way to raise money for our charity. We'd also like to get more people on to the team to train. They would be made welcome. The more people, the better," comments West.

Team COCI have cosied up to a professional triathlete in Jason Metters, who is based in the UAE for the season and has lent his support to the team. He will oversee a session during the impending chaos of training for more than a month to ready themselves for competition day. It is all highly exhausting stuff, and the ongoing, reddening issue of chafing suddenly seems to be of minimal concern. [e-mail]