Nadi Khan and Anant Morar of the Lenasia Athletic Club, took on their 12th South African Ironman at Hobie Beach, in Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth).
In the race were many of their friends which added to the fun, although the event was classified as a ‘hard’ one.
The race also has the status of African Championships.
With a field of about 33% foreign athletes taking part, there was very much an international flavour. The event, described as the hardest single day endurance event in the world, has a 3.8km sea swim, followed by a hilly 180km bike ride and followed by a full marathon of 42.2km.
Nadi Khan completed the race in 11 hours 25 minutes, covering the swim in 1:14, the 180km bike in 5:56 and the 42.2km in 4 hours 3 minutes. He was followed home by Imraan Sallie in a sub 12 hour finish of 11 hour 56 minutes.
Ahmed Badat looked good and was very pleased with his 12 hour 30 minutes, while Morar did a time of 1:47 for the swim, 7:33 for the bike and 6 hours for the marathon. His finishing time was a comfortable 16 hours 49 minutes. He declared himself ready for Comrades.
Also in the field was novice Faheem Mohammed in 13:45, Gasant Brand 13:59 and Saydeen in 16:23. Doing his second Ironman was Zane Gamiet in a time of 14 hours 33 minutes, Imraan Sardar in a time of 14:58, and Lloyd Langa in a time of 15 hours 26 minutes. Myles did it in 16:27.
“The morning conditions were testing as the sea was full of blue bottles, both Faheem and Zane were stung several times. Despite this they continued and both did well on the day.
Choppy seas, windy conditions during the bike race, and extreme heat on the run meant you did not have an easy day. Despite this many were pleased with their efforts,” said Khan Zane Gamiet (41) of Pietermaritzburg, a mechanic at SAA, who has been doing triathlons for two years connected with the Fun Tri group while swimming at Ellis Park. He started doing triathlons to feel the ultra endurance events and to raise funds for Kids Haven.
Nadi Khan.
He started Kung Fu in 1998, but ever since he got into the triathlons, there hasn’t been much time for anything else.
Gamiet, who did it for Kids Haven, added his penny’s worth, “The swim started off very well. About halfway through, I had some issues with the local sea-life (a run-in with a jelly fish) and lost some time. Regardless, I had a pretty decent swim and thoroughly enjoyed it. I tried pushing a bit harder on the bike to make up for lost time.
The first 90km went very well; the next 20km I had to do without water because I lost a water bottle just after the last water point. I continued to push through despite showing slight signs of dehydration. By the end of the bike ride I was already broken. I suppose I overcooked it on the bike and burned myself out. It was hot and I was tired, and the thought of another 42k run was quite challenging.
This is where it started getting difficult. This was where the power of mind took over from the body. I ran the first 15km at a slow steady pace… all the while feeding off the energy of the amazing crowd and keeping my thoughts on the reason I’m doing it. Kids Haven is a rehabilitation centre for abused and abandoned kids, and I needed to show them that anything is possible with hard work and dedication. So I never stopped moving forward.
Even when things were at their darkest, the thought of quitting never crossed my mind.
The amazing group I trained and raced with provided much support and encouragement. I was soaking up the atmosphere and support from these amazing guys and the crowd.
It was indeed a magical moment crossing that finish line after having so much fun; and of course, most important is the exposure I got for Kids Haven. I can’t wait to register for next year and hopefully improve on my time.”
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