Two Dubai-based men swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles to win title

“Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles (and) brag for the rest of your life.” This is a quote on the website of Ironman, attributed to John Collins, who is the co-founder of this triathlon concept, which is considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.

And if you are serious about the bragging part, you have to complete the exercise in the exact order mentioned in the quote: Swim, bike and run — all of this without a break.

According to Wikipedia, most Ironman events have a strict time limit of 17 hours. Two Dubai-based men completed Ironman Austria in over 13 hours and just over 14 hours respectively on June 29 in Klagenfurt.

“It was a long day,” says Viraj Shrivastva, 26, who, along with his childhood friend Kush Nijhawan, 27, trained for the event here in Dubai. “I was very nervous at the beginning; three minutes before the start, waiting for the canon to shoot off.”

There was no question of giving up halfway. Kush says: “We were ready. We had trained hard physically. We’d prepared for this and we knew, no matter what ... we knew we had to reach that finish line.”

The two Ironmen have been best friends since they were 13. They went to school together. They came to the UAE after finishing college in the US. Since their training — and apart from it — they’ve helped each other a great deal. They shared nutrition information and spreadsheets, updating the other on the required electrolytes and proteins. Both are remarkably well-informed on the amount and kind of sustenance needed at any point of their regimen. They talked about salt pills and hydration, about gameplans and caution, and about the need for good restful sleep.

Training regime

About six months before the event, they practiced flat tyre replacement, and running in a wet suit, tackling even the lowest probability outcomes. In the many months of training for the triathlon, socialising had to be curtailed; family dinners too. Bed time was 8pm. On Fridays they’d wake up at 2 am, get ready, have a light breakfast and hit the cycling track at Al Qudra, on the outskirts of the city where they’d be through with a demanding cycling session before the sun rose and when friends would be returning home from Thursday evening parties. Initially, one would ring the other, a double check wake-up call. Viraj says: “That stopped after a while. The last thing you want to hear that early is his voice.”

Their exchanges are brimming with levity and flow with ease and understanding, classic signs of a friendship that can be traced back to happy childhood.

Both Viraj and Kush have businessmen fathers. Neither of the two apparently missed a single day at work. “A good athelete will make a good businessman,” says Kush.

Their determination and remarkable feat notwithstanding, there’s no escaping the halo of privilege. The boys are off now to a trek in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, before Kush settles into a season of academia in the US.

While Ironman 2014 was their first full-length attempt, they had previously, in 2012 participated in the Half Ironman competition at Wiesbaden in Germany.

D-day

On the day of the event, during the races, they wouldn’t cross each other for hours. But their families, cheering them on from the sidelines, would pass on information about the other. They both confess to spurts of weakness during the event. The bottom of a hill was tough. Viraj had a toenail turn blue. But they kept going.

By both their accounts, their fellow athletes displayed tremendous sportsmanship, with no malice, no ugly side of competition, the young helping the old.

The location, they say, was beautiful. The month was perfect. And the crowd was extremely lively. People kept cheering the athletes on by name. The back of their shirts had their names and numbers. Viraj’s number was 1221 and Kush’s was 1166. Both the Iromen remember vividly the lively crowd cheers. When they reached the finish line, there was a roar from the crowd.

The announcer declared to each of them: “You are an Ironman!”

It’s no wonder the two are getting their victories tattooed on their ankles: The letter M with a fat dot above it — the sign of an Ironman. All those miles, all those hours, all that effort. They’ve earned their rights to brag a little.

nivriti@khaleejtimes.com