Bordage skips Derby race and flies to Brazil for a gruelling Ironman Triathlon
LAST year Karen Bordage was out in front of all the female runners in the Marathon Derby. And just when it looked as if the Canadian athlete would cross the line first along came English runner Dawn Richardson who passed Bordage with a mile to go.
“I am not going to be in Bermuda on May 24 — unfortunately I will have to miss the race. I would have liked to redeem myself after last year,” said Bordage this week.
But Bordage will not be relaxing — in fact she will be taking on an event which puts Bermuda’s premier road race into the shade.
“I will be off to the Ironman Triathlon in Brazil — I won’t be sitting on my thumbs,” said Bordage.
While the runners next Thursday will be tackling the 13.1 mile course from Somerset to Hamilton, Bordage will be getting ready to brave a two-and-a-half mile swim off the coast of the resort city of Florianopolis which will then be followed by a 112-mile cycle race and then a full marathon “just in case you were not tired already!”
The race will take place on Sunday, May 27.
“I have never done anything like it before. I have done a half Ironman Triathlon last October but never a full one. I feel it is something you have to go and experience. I have no idea how I am going to do — I just want to get out there and try it.”
Bordage has been putting in a lot of time in on the three disciplines to get ready for the Ironman — especially on the cycle.
“I have been doing a lot of cycling lately in preparation and although I am not a very good swimmer I know I will make it. But my running is my strong suit,” she said.
And she will not be travelling to Brazil from Bermuda alone.
“There is a small group of us going,” she said. “Terrance Smith, Julia Hawley who is a great cyclist and Geoff Conyers are all competing and this will be the first time for all of us to compete in an Ironman. “I know it might sound a little crazy but I can’t wait to go,” she said.“Going down there with friends really helps. The training for the Ironman has been pretty long so to have a good support system is great. Although we haven’t done a lot of training together, just knowing that there are other people doing the training is nice and we also meet up from time to time.
“To go to Brazil to do the Ironman with a group from here is absolutely fantastic — it makes it more fun. I am nervous and anxious and it is good to be with friends.”
Asked why she chose Brazil to compete in her first Ironman, Bordage said: “My theory is that if you are going to go away and do a race you should go to somewhere you have never been before — someplace you have always wanted to go.”
The water temperature during the Ironman in Florianopolis is expected to be around 75|0xba|F and air humidity is about 55%. Wind conditions tend to vary from one year to another, but for the last three years there has been moderate winds which makes the Ironman Brazil Telecom a fast race.
The Ironman Brazil Telecom is the biggest triathlon race in Latin America and it is the only Latin America race classification stage for the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii.
Florianopolis is a tourist resort and is also home to former world number one tennis player Gustavo Kuerten (Guga).
The Ironman was conceived by North-American mariner John Collins in Hawaii in 1978 and had the participation of 15 super athletes, out of which only 12 finished the contest.
There are 26 selective contests distributed throughout Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas that define 1500 competitors for the final in Hawaii.
Florian|0xf3|polis, Santa Catarina state capital, has been home to the event during the last six years. With a population of approximately 300,000 inhabitants and one of the best quality of life in the country, the island is easily accessible by land, air and sea.
