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That's a 3.8-kilometre swim in Lake Okanagan; a tough 180-kilometre bike ride and a 42-kilometre marathon.
"I've been doing things lately that I thought I could never do, such as riding my bike for eight hours," said Homan, 33, who teaches autistic children at McNally High School.
Christoffel was scared of deep water, but last September she decided to go to the pool regularly and relax. "I eventually took swim and scuba lessons," she says. "And then I discovered I had a problem with my inner ear. "I began wearing earplugs, took medication for nausea and changed my stroke. I'm doing well now." In Penticton, both will wear Cops for Cancer Team Ironman colours. Christoffel is married to detective Dave Christoffel of the bomb squad, a three-time Ironcop veteran.
"I've lost uncles and cousins to cancer," he said. "But nearly everyone on the team has lost a relative or friend. We have lots of motivation."
The are 16 members of the Edmonton Police Service on the team and 56 people from all walks of life, said police officer Kerry Nisbet, who founded the team in 2000. Teachers, lawyers, nurses, business executives, we've got them all," he said.
In 2000, 10 members of the original team raised $40,000. At the post-race banquet, a woman who'd fought cancer for nine years thanked the team. Nisbet then declared: "We can do better." He began involving officers from Winnipeg, Calgary, Halifax, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. To date this year, members have jointly raised more than $1.2 million for the Canadian Cancer Society. "I think we are now fast closing in on $2.5 million in total," said Nisbet.
Lisa Bentley, one of the world's top triathletes called that "an amazing feat" when she arrived from Toronto this last weekend to coach the team. Subaru has been so impressed with the cops' cancer fundraising that the auto company made a donation to the team; paid for half of its weekend camp and sent Bentley, one of their sponsored athletes, to coach. Bentley is a professional and said she's so busy racing she can only take time to coach at one training camp each year. The native of Etobicoke has won 10 Ironman events since 2000, with victories in Canada (2); Australia (5); New Zealand (2) and Germany.
"There are few better qualified to teach the secrets of successfully completing an Ironman," said Stephanie MacDonald, who organized the camp. Bentley whipped the team through a swim Friday night, a 180-kilometre bike ride Saturday and a run to Rundle Park and back from the Kinsmen Sports Centre on Sunday. She had already run for an hour before she jumped on a mountain bike and gave tips to runners. "I didn't want to get up at 4 a.m. today to do my long run," she said. "So I ran for 2 1/2 hours on Thursday."
Bentley runs at a 4:20-kilometre-a-minute pace, which has helped her post a personal best Ironman time of nine hours and three minutes. Her competitive times are about 55 minutes for the swim; five hours, 15 minutes for the cycling portion of the competition and a three-hour marathon.
How many Ironman events can someone do? "There are people who have done more than 100," she said. "I've competed in 28."
Bentley, at 37, has no plans to ease up. "I don't know how many I will do," said the five-foot-four athlete who tips the scales at 115 pounds. "I do know I have a full race schedule ahead and my times are still improving."
But for many, Ironman training is a big strain on family and work. "I suggest to people who ask about training for an Ironman that they first discuss it with their family," said Bentley.
Others suggestions for the those contemplating one of the world's toughest, one-day endurance events:
- Begin with a shorter distance. There are much shorter sprint-triathlons in many centres. And the Olympic distance triathlon is a 1.5-km swim; a 40-km bike and a 10-km run.
- Get a swim coach. "Most people find swimming the hardest event," said Bentley. "They have no body perspective. A coach will help with technique."
- Get in shape before beginning specific training for a triathlon.
Eighteen year old Dale Nisbet, who has entered the Ironman for the first time this year, heard Bentley Saturday tell of a young lad interviewed in Australia, who said he planned to beat his father. "To be the man, you have to beat the man," said the youngster. Sure enough, he was handed a T-shirt Sunday by his dad Kerry Nisbet with those words on it. Dale's mother Susan, who also teaches at McNally, has been instrumental in boosting team numbers. "It was Susan who bugged me about the Ironman until I said I would give it a try," said Homan. "I took a few swim classes and enjoyed them. I found the bike the hardest. I stopped riding one when I was 12 years old."
Some 14 schools got behind their teachers and with fundraising events --often head shaves -- raised roughly $270,000 of the local team's $800,000. "One student raised $4,000 and shaved his head," said Bill Bagshaw, a teacher at Avalon Junior High, where $43,633 was generated in four months. "The school really got behind me and students asked me regularly when I was injured if I would still be able to compete. "One boy, who lost his mother just before Christmas, raised more than $1,000 and apologized for not raising more."
A good example of couples co-operating to give one another time are Matt Kiesman, 30, and his wife Jennifer. They have a three-year-old son and a baby born three weeks ago. "Jennifer gets to do it next time," he said. "She's very supportive and understands there's a great deal of training." The six-foot-six massage therapist has another kind of problem. "I take a size 15 running shoe," he said. "It can be frustrating trying to find a pair my size."
The cops' Team Ironman campaigns and takes part in Ironman Canada every two years. But Jan Jagodzinski, 58, a U of A visual arts and new media professor, has invited the team to compete in his native Austria next year. "I've always trained by myself and it has been most enjoyable to share in the camaraderie of the group," said Jagodzinski, a veteran of 18 Ironmen competitions who met Nisbet at the World Triathlon Championship in Hawaii two years ago. "I know they will enjoy Austria."
Meanwhile Homan is proof that long hours of training pay dividends."My 10-year-old son Jacob asked me one day if there was something I'd discovered that would help him at his age," she said. "When I told him you can do anything you put your mind to, he said, 'You've already taught me that.' "
nlees@thejournal.canwest.com