Calm waters for the second swim leg
MULTISPORT
The satisfaction of being done with two back-to-back Ironman triathlons weeks before the start date . “ It was just normal flu , but I was worried that it could be COVID , because I was so congested and my chest was sore . I ’ m also a chronic asthmatic , so I had to watch myself . I was dosing up with meds , but it only started lifting on the Wednesday before the start , and then I also had to work late on Thursday night , so I was on the back foot from illness and working late , but I still started day one aiming to finish in a comfortable 12 hours , because I knew I could cycle that route in six hours flat , and I could do the run in less than four hours .”
“ I had cycled and run the routes I was going to use , starting and finishing at the Lion and Rhino Park , and I had dialled everything in , so that there would be no surprises on the day , but on the Friday afternoon when I started running , the sun came out . The Cradle is notorious for heat in November , and the Cradle Ultra is the hottest race I ’ ve ever done , but this was 33 degrees Celsius , and I actually changed my run route on the day . I found a set of trees on this one patch of road and just ran in their shade ! I thought , if the sun is like this tomorrow , I ’ m screwed .”
Theo says it also helped that he had solid support from a number of people throughout the two days , looking after him and making sure he was able to focus on the challenge at hand . “ I had two people with me for both days – one was Grant Nock , who is another of the Paige Project directors , and the other was a friend of mine , Michael Henry , who dedicated literally 48 hours of his life to us . They also took turns running with me later on at night , and another friend came out to do about 20-odd kays with me . Of
course , my wife was there , doing her thing – she ’ s the most incredible person in the world – and my children were also there , as were my friend ’ s children . In fact , there were more people that came that I thought were going to be there – one of my friends even flew up from Durban to surprise me . It was incredible !”
Of course , Theo also had to monitor his health during the challenge , especially after being ill in the lead-up . “ My doctor said , you can do this event , but I need you to go to the hospital after day one and do kidney and blood tests . I wasn ’ t keen to finish an Ironman , then get in the car and go to hospital and have my blood tested , thank you very much , but my wife said , if you don ’ t do this blood test , you don ’ t do the event . Yes , ma ’ am . Fortunately , everything was fine , and then I could finally get some sleep back at Cradle Moon Game Lodge ,” he says .
Secrets to Success
With a full Ironman under his belt , some may have expected Theo to wake up on the second morning feeling a bit stiff , perhaps even sore , but he says he felt great . “ I am a massive ambassador for strength and conditioning , and that not just saved me from being sore , but allowed me to get up and do it all again . Another is that I had been following a plantbased diet since November 2019 . So , I put my wetsuit on , went into the water and did the 3.8km swim in 1 hour 20 minutes , after doing it in 1:13 on day one .”
“ The first half of the second bike leg was also great , as I was joined for about 80 kays by my boss from Dimension Data , Jeff Jack , and a group of his riding mates from the Biogen Cycling Group . That was great , and the weather was also great . In fact , it was drizzling in the morning , which kept things nice and cool . I did the second 90 kays of the cycle by myself , and then came back to our station at the Rhino and Lion Park , where we ’ d set up our gazebos at Chobe Café , and that ’ s where all the people were , and the festive vibe .”
Much to Theo ’ s relief , his call for people to come out and join him had paid off , and he had what he describes as a “ massive crowd ” join him for the final marathon run . “ When I say massive , I mean probably 10 to 15 people at various stages running with me . One of them was a friend that I met through my kids ’ school , and he did the whole marathon with me , while his wife also ran a section with us , as did Ruth , and one of my guys that I coached , as well as his kids , who did four to five kays . Several of my friends who are big runners , also came and ran with us , so I had someone running with me at all times on day two , and that ’ s how I got through this thing ,” says Theo .
“ I ’ m so overwhelmed by how much attention this has drawn to the Paige Project . That ’ s what I wanted , because we need money , but I also want to thank all those who sent me messages or called me to congratulate me . I couldn ’ t help thinking that James Lawrence did 101 of these in a row in the USA , but everyone ’ s going bananas about me doing two , but still , thank you to all who supported me , especially those that know where I came from to where I am now , and all the hard work I ’ ve put in to not only stay clean , but to start this new life in the world of endurance sports .
Next Big Fundraiser
Looking ahead , Theo says he already has an idea for an even bigger fundraising triathlon challenge , but says it will be a massive logistical exercise , and thus needs a lot more thought and planning . “ I want to swim , bike and run in order to touch all nine provinces of South Africa in one go , using just my body , and along the way , find children with severe cerebral palsy , do an analysis and fitting , followed by a wheelchair handover . I ’ ve already marked out all the open water swim locations around the country , and I ’ m in the process of reaching out to the dams to ask if I can swim in them . I can then work out the roads using Google Earth to connect all of these locations . Once we ’ ve got a preliminary route , then we ’ ve got to go and start working out details , including drilling down into what type of terrain I ’ ll be crossing ,” he says .
“ I think it will take four to five months and it ’ ll be a big ask of me , and the rest of the Paige Project guys , and it ’ ll be an even bigger ask of my family . So , we still need to look at the specifics , but that ’ s the next crazy thing that we are going to do . On that note , and this is important , I first have to give my wife a year off after the Double Ironman . She ’ s been doing this dance with me since 2016 , and last year was hard , because I did the PE Ironman , which was 16 weeks of training , and then I took on the Double Ironman , with all the intense training I needed for that . The time away from my family was intense , and came soon after we had spent so much time apart because of the whole immigration thing , so I ’ m giving my family a year back . No crazy stunts , no bug races , just being present with them .”
Cooling the feet during the run leg
For more info on The Paige Project , including how you can help children with cerebral palsy , go to www . paigeproject . org . za .
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