Two Arrowhead teachers, Christina and Ryan Dodge, completed a full Iron Man triathlon. The Dodges competed on September 9th, 2018, in Madison, WI. Christina and Ryan have always had a sense for competitiveness. Christina has completed two Iron Mans and Ryan has done one half Iron Man.

“I started to train for this event a little over a year ago,” Ryan said. “The thing that got me through was my son. I have a five-year old boy who is a cancer survivor. I knew that no matter what kind of pain I went through on that day, or how hard it was going to be, that he went through harder stuff and came out on the other side.”

The Iron Man is a race consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.22 mile run. Many people are not able to complete it, and they will do half Iron Mans instead. Ryan was able to find his own strategy in order to finish the race and qualify.

The Dodges have done a variety of training for this race. They have reported that they worked out every single day to keep in shape during the preparation for the race. They were not able to take breaks for more than a day due to the big triathlon.

“I obviously swim, bike, and run, but I think the most important additional exercises are yoga and strength training,” Christina said.

Christina said she believes training is a good way to overcome the mental blocks to keep her in the best state. She was able to get past her mental blocks with her strength both mentally and physically.

The Dodges say they love the atmosphere triathlons create. The Dodges would both like to continue the experience of training in triathlons. The Dodges have said they love the competitiveness sport offers. They tend to soak all of the energy up and have a good time.

Ryan has an ultimate goal of qualifying for the world championships in Kona, Hawaii. Ryan said he isn’t ever able to be satisfied. Ryan wants to strive and only improve as he moves on through the races.

Ryan says, “A lot of people think I am crazy, but I love the competitive nature of sports and this is a good outlet for that. ”

Both Christina and Ryan say they have overcome their struggles in different ways.

Christina said, “The hardest part of the race…was coming from the bike to the run.” She said wind conditions affected the biking portion of her race, and required more energy. She said she felt faint, but there were many volunteers there to help with snacks and drinks to keep her going through the run.

Christina’s family and friends were there to support her.

“The best part of the race for me was seeing everyone who came out to cheer my husband and I on…A triathlete does not accomplish their goals on their own—they have many supportive people in their life helping their dreams become a reality.”

Christina has shown the effort it takes in order to be successful while taking on the tasks. Christina had shown what it is to have a team, even though they were competing individually.

Ryan said, “Seeing my family, son, and friends on the course cheering us on was amazing…Seeing the joy on their faces as I went by was really powerful.”

They Dodges agreed that if their family were not there it would have been much harder to accomplish. They had a whole support team to keep them going during their hardest moments.

When training for the race, Ryan said, “I refused to be afraid of failure.” Ryan said he trained up to six-seven days of the week, the days he felt sore or tired, he always referred back to that saying to keep him going.

“The best tip I can give to someone…is to expect that something will go wrong,” Christina said.