Local couple competes in their third Ford Ironman at Lake Placid
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Ryland Coyne
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Derek Featherstone of Kanata powers his way along the running course during the 2009 Ford Ironman Lake Placid. He completed this year's event in just over 14-and-a-half hours.
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EMC Sports - Derek Featherstone has always loved athletics. All through high school and university, the Kanata resident thrived on competition, focusing primarily on rugby, a tough and sometimes violent sport in and of itself.
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Kathryn Featherstone speeds alone the near-200 kilometre cycling route in and around Lake Placid, N.Y. during last year's Ford Ironman. The Kanata resident completed the 2010 event in 16-and-a-half hours.
So after watching his brother Gavin compete in the Ford Ironman Lake Placid back in 2005, he was hooked.
The ultimate test of strength and endurance, the popular international event opens with a near four-kilometer swim. After emerging from Mirror Lake following two laps around, the athletes then cycle for close to 200 km. across state, county and municipal roads. And with lungs burning and muscles aching from top to bottom, they transition into long distance running, completing a 42-km. marathon along a route that passes through the downtown four times all within a 17-hour time limit.
Clearly, this is not for the faint of heart.
While he only caught a brief glimpse of his brother on the course that day in 2005, it was enough to convince both he and his wife Kathryn to sign up.
"Watching him on race day were three of the most exhilarating minutes of sport" Derek had ever experienced, he said. "Watching all these people competing in this grueling event, for me that was it.
"I turned to my wife after he'd run by...we knew...we have to be part of this."
They returned the next year as volunteers then took the plunge, literally, in 2007.
The Goulbourn native remembers how utterly exhausted they both were at the end, vowing at first never to do it again. But 10 hours later, with their bodies having started to recover from a near complete shutdown and now celebrating their achievements with fellow competitors at the athletes' banquet, they'd already had a change of heart.
This past Sunday, July 25 marked Derek and Kathryn's third Ford Ironman Lake Placid. Once again the couple - parents of three young children - was able to complete the event in less than 17 hours, the time limit set by the organizers. But as Derek explains, the goal is not to place in the top 10 or aim for course records. Just crossing the finish line, hopefully with family and friends cheering them on, is the ultimate.
"It's magic being able to do this," he said. "Crossing the finish line and being greeted by family members...that's amazing."
Putting oneself through 15 or more continuous hours of strenuous activity, the toll on one's body and mind is almost too much, he admits.
"When you're out there, you play mental games with yourself," he says.
Being able to overcome the pain and willing oneself to the finish is the key.
"In my head, I quit 10 times," Derek said of his first Ironman in 2007, adding how each time he was able to push ahead and fight through it.
The fact he and Kathryn, along with brother Gavin and his wife Michelle are all able to participate together makes the Ironman even that much more special, he explains.
"We've kind of taken on this individual sport and turned it into a bit of a team sport."
He admits to having "a healthy rivalry" with his younger brother Gavin. And having shaved more than 90 minutes off his time in 2009, he had hoped to break the 14-hour barrier this time around.
He just missed that mark this time around, completing the event in just over 14-and-a-half hours. Gavin turned in an impressive performance at 13 hours and 20 minutes while their wives crossed the finish line together at 16 hours 30 minutes and one second.
TRAINING
Both Derek, 39 and Kathryn, 38 are not unfamiliar with leading a healthy lifestyle. Kathryn is a regional manager for GoodLife Fitness and manages the Group Exercise Department. Derek runs his own web development company called 'Further Ahead' and also teaches fitness classes in town.
And they are also sharing their love of physical fitness and exercise with their three children: Kaitlyn, 11, Kyla, 9 and Kampbell, 6.
"We involve the kids in it as well. We involve them in our training as much as we can," Derek said, explaining how their girls can ride their bikes while their parents run.
There's no shortage of that to be sure. Preparation for the Ironman is an almost year-round endeavour. With a training regimen set up by their coach, the sessions become more intense the closer they come to event day.
From eight or nine hours of training per week six months ago, the number of hours builds to between 14 and 17 in the weeks leading up to the Ironman. Particularly intense on weekends, their schedule would include a six to six-and-a half hour bike on a Saturday followed by a long run and/or swim on Sunday.
"It depends on how close you are to the race," he said.
By keeping their children in the loop, they hope to have them develop healthy practices at a young age.
"Being active is an important part of overall health," Derek said. "We want them to be involved in (active lifestyle) and know what commitment is."
The two girls will be experiencing their first mini-triathlon next month while their son has participating in what's called a 'Surf 'n' Turf', a short swimming and running event.
WHAT'S NEXT
When he hung up his rugby cleats for the last time, the 5 ft. 7* in. athlete says he weighed 215 pounds. The constant training has not only resulted in tremendous health benefits, he's also experienced body transformation which has seen his weight drop to 178 lbs.
"I really enjoy that as well," he said.
And with their children starting to reach an age where they can start to participate in similar events of their own, Derek and Kathryn aren't about to slow down now.
So having competed in the Ironman Lake Place three times, Derek says he and Kathryn have talked about a new challenge for down the road, possibly a different Ironman event in Arizona.
STRONG CITY CONTINGENT
Most majority of people would never dream of taking on such a beast of a course, but in the Ottawa area alone, 67 individuals drove the three hours south to Lake Placid, N.Y., a picturesque city in the Adirondack Mountains, to do just that in the Ford Ironman.
Each year, more than 120,000 athletes compete for slots in either the Ford Ironman World Championship and the Foster Grant Ironman World Championships, and every year Ottawa residents win spots. 2010 marked the sixth year Ford has sponsored the 2010 U.S. Ironman Event Series and to help support athletes, the company has created an online training community for athletes to share tips and videos for a chance to win prizes.
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