After long years of strenuous training, marketing and supply chain management senior Betsy Donahue’s dream finally came true on Sunday night as her feet touched the finish line of IRONMAN Arizona 2014.
Pale and visibly tired, but with a beaming smile on her face, Donahue finished the race third in the 18 to 24 division despite panic attacks, challenging weather conditions and previous injuries.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said. “I saw some incredible people ... I’m absolutely euphoric. It was so much harder than I thought, but I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything in the world.”
Donahue said that she finished thanks to her family, friends and boyfriend, who cheered her on during the last mile.
Twelve and a half hours earlier, at the break of dawn, Donahue plunged into the water with nearly 3,000 other athletes from all over the country and world.
Encased in black wetsuits, the participants vigorously carved through 2.4 miles of the glistening and rough waters of Tempe Town Lake. But after the swim, there was still the almost inconceivable distance of 112 miles of a bike ride and 26.2 miles of run left to complete.
The event took place at Tempe Beach Park and surrounding areas and lasted from 7 a.m. to midnight, allowing both experienced athletes and those who tried it for the first time to finish the course.
Since 1977, when the idea of IRONMAN originated, it has become one of the most challenging and prestigious triathlon events.
Marketing and supply chain senior Betsy Donahue rides her bike around Tempe Town Lake two days prior to the IRONMAN race. (Photo by Ksenia Maryasova)
Preparing for the race
Donahue, a runner in high school and a vice president of Sun Devil Triathlon Team, has had a plentiful experience with endurance sports, but this was her first time to participate in IRONMAN.
Her goal was not to get on the pedestal, but to endure and finish.
“It’s a challenge I’ve always wanted to accomplish,” Donahue said. “It’s important for me because I think it’s a valuable thing to look back on especially when I graduate college. It’s more like a great way to end a very challenging academic career and take a great first step into my real career.”
Donahue volunteered at IRONMAN last year to secure an opportunity to enter a highly competitive event this year.
“Once you volunteer at an event like this, you just get so swept up in the power, and the emotion and the drive and the sacrifice that goes into it that you can’t help but want to be a part of it,” she said.
Donahue, who spent last summer backpacking through Europe, started to prepare for the competition three months ago, unlike many other athletes who dedicated a whole year to this process.
Despite the length of the preparation process, all athletes are driven by strong dedication and a clear goal, she said.
Thomas Gerlach of Tucson rides his bike in the second stage of the IRONMAN triathlon, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014 at Tempe Beach Park. (Photo by Ben Moffat)
“You have to be persistent, positive, diligent and dedicated, because if you’re starting a year in advance and you’re putting in 16 to 20 hours a week training for this," she said. "You’ve got to have a clear goal in mind."
When Donahue returned from Europe, she started to practice 20 hours a week, biking or running for 1-2 hours and swimming up to 4,000 meters a day.
It was not easy to balance school and 20 hours of practice a week, and still find a way to see her friends and family. She had to build her lifestyle around the preparation process, getting up at 4 a.m. before the scorching heat in summer to ride a bike, and going to bed no later than 8 p.m.
“It’s just having to say ‘no’ to your friends, having to say ‘no’ to your family,” she said. “Knowing that this has to be a priority for a while and that is very hard to do.”
Alongside persistence and determination, one of the qualities that helped Donahue prepare for Ironman was the ability to stay positive, she said.
“I’ve been told that I’m really positive and I like to think I am,” she said. “That’s something that has brightened the darkest days for me. It’s just looking on the bright side and knowing that in the end I can count on me.”
Donahue joined the Sun Devil Triathlon Team when she was a freshman. She said many team members then had been experienced with triathlon, which allowed Donahue to look up to them and grow.
“It was an environment that was really competitive, physically challenging and demanding,” she said. “It required a lot of dedication and that sort of environment is a place where I really thrive. When people ask a lot of me I can usually give a lot to meet challenges."
The crowd goes wild
On the course athletes rushed to pick up or leave their bikes and equipment at transition zones, cowbell sounds and encouraging chants accompanied their movements. Families, children and pets came to support their own ironmen, proudly holding balloons and signs high in the air that read “Yay! You didn’t drown!” and “Go, daddy!”
Among the spectators was Donahue’s family who flew from Kansas to provide her with a bottle of water and, mainly, with emotional support.
Donahue’s younger sister Patty Donahue said Betsy is not only a dedicated and passionate athlete, but she is always happy to help other sportsmen on the course.
“If someone is on another side of the road with a flat tire, she’s more than willing to help them,” she said. “This is her first IRONMAN (and) we are really proud of her. She’s really worked hard towards it.”
ASU alumnus Gabriel Wasserman joined the team the same year as Donahue and doesn’t miss a chance to train with them sometimes. Although Donahue and Wasserman haven’t been able to prepare for IRONMAN together, she has always been an inspiration for him, he said.
“She is the most positive person ever,” he said. “She is very humble, super supportive and positive, and it inspires you ... She also does so many things besides triathlon, which is a huge time commitment to all the other things. She’s crazy in a good way.”
Although Donahue had to cut back on her club work to prepare for the challenge, she is usually heavily involved with the ASU running club, Tillman Leadership Through Action Program and other on-campus initiatives.
Marketing and supply chain senior Betsy Donahue celebrates after finishing the IRONMAN triathlon in 12 and a half hours on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014. (Photo by Ksenia Maryasova)
“My life can be really busy, I don’t really sleep a whole lot,” she said. “But I really prefer to be challenged in everything that I do. “
Although graduation and a time-consuming job are around the corner, Donahue said she is planning to keep practicing and taking part in endurance athletics.
“I plan on staying strong, and endurance athletics is a part of my life,” she said. “I will always love riding my bike, I will always like to go for a run and a swim. And I can’t wait to see how much deeper I can fall in love with the sport as the time goes on.”
Reach the reporter at kmaryaso@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @KseniaMaryasova
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