The road is long and arduous

Any Tri athlete will tell you that the sport of triathlon is a long game. It is even longer if you aim for Ironman status. Craig Alexander is one such athlete that has made it to the pinnacle of the sport. Competing his first triathlon 23 years ago in the southern Sydney suburb of Kurnell, Alexander would never have thought that he’d still be competitive at the age of 34, let alone becoming one of the most successful and respected athletes to ever race Ironman events.

Ironman triathlons are an even longer game. To start off with, most compete in a 750 metre swim followed by 24 kilometres on the bicycle, then it is capped off with a 5 kilometre run. That is called a “Sprint” triathlon, because it is so short. The next rung up is the “Olympic” Triathlon. This one involves a 1,500 metre swim, a 40 kilometre cycle and a 10 kilometre run; it is called the “Olympic” Triathlon because that is the distance they compete at during Olympic events. Even then, that is only half of the available distance categories. The next two are classified as Ironman events. The Ironman 70.3 is measured in miles. A 1.2 mile (1.93 kilometre) swim, a 56 mile (90.1 kilometre) cycle and 13.1 mile (21.1 kilometre) run – that’s a half marathon.

Finally there is the Ironman. A gruelling race consisting of a 2.4 mile ( 3.9 kilometre) swim, 112 mile (180.2 kilometre) cycle and a 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometre) run, or, a full marathon.

At the age of 38, Alexander set the world record of 8:03.56 on the 226 kilometres track, becoming a legend along the way. The Australian is a three-time Ironman World Champion (2008, 2009, 2011) and two-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion (2006, 2011). And he isn’t letting up. He will compete in the two new China races announced recently.

The Ironman 70.3 Hefei and Ironman 70.3 Xiamen in China, set to take place on Oct. 16 and Nov. 13, 2016, respectively. In Xiamen, Alexander will compete in the professional field for a piece of the USD$25,000 prize. In Hefei, Alexander will race as part of a relay team for the International TriClub. And as if these competitions aren’t enough, Alexander will continue his coaching duties, participating in a pre-race training run for the Chinese TriClub.

On top of all this, Alexander has become an official Pro Ambassador for Ironman China. His aim is to introduce new athletes to the sport while developing existing ones.

With the recent Ironman 70.3 race additions, Alexander is dedicated to seeing the sport grow in China. "China is the next big frontier in our sport,” said Alexander. “I am really excited to be heading up there in October and November to attend the two new Ironman 70.3 races. It will be great to help spread the word about what an amazing sport triathlon is and the lifestyle that accompanies it.”

Yes, becoming an Ironman is a long game.