By Sheldon Spackman

Local man completes Ironman Mont-Tremblant

Aug 26, 2018 | 5:19 PM

A Red Deer area man is basking in the glow of completing his 10th Ironman competition last weekend.

Competing in the Male 40-44 category, Craig Schmitt finished with a time of 9:49:26 in the Ironman Mont-Tremblant on August 19.

Schmitt says it’s an amazing race that’s well organized and in a beautiful location he may normally not see.

“It’s a long triathlon, so you swim for four kilometres, then you bicycle for 180 kilometres and then you run a marathon which is 42 kilometres,” Schmitt explains. “Last year, I actually took the year off from doing any triathlons and I missed it and my wife and my kids, they all encouraged me to get back into it. So basically last year, the same day this event occurred last year, I signed up for it and started training then.”

In addition to a strong showing at the Mont-Tremblant Ironman, Schmitt says his ultimate goal was to make it back to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for the World Championships October 13.

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“I was fortunate enough that I came in high enough ranking that I’m going back to Hawaii this year for that,” he exclaims. “When you‘re in these races, one of the things you’re always looking for is the perfect race and I think that that’s not realistic but this is one where I felt that I could look myself in the mirror and I didn’t lie to myself or anyone about my training that I put the time and the effort in and on that day, that is the absolute best effort that I could have put forth, it was the best race that I could do.”

Schmitt acknowledges that although running is a very individual sport, the support of family and friends and especially his wife can’t be underestimated.

“I had my wife and my children there, I had some friends there, so there’s a big group of us all there to watch me,” says Schmitt. “I don’t think it was pressure but I felt the need that they deserved the best out of me. So it wasn’t just me racing, there’s a lot that goes into something like this and my support system is, I mean really it’s unmatched, I know I can’t do as well without it.”

Aside from the physical challenge of an Ironman competition, Schmitt says the mental aspect can also be grueling.

“The longer the race becomes, the more mental it is,” he admits. “I wasn’t in a position I necessarily wanted to be in through three quarters of the entire race but at the same time, I promised myself two things before the race. That I would leave exhausted with nothing left and number two, I would not walk at any point of the marathon.”

Schmitt adds that strange things can sometimes happen during the last 10K of a marathon.

“That’s where I think I passed maybe four people in the last six kilometres in order to secure my spot to go to Kona, I didn’t quit” he recalls. “You go in dark places sometimes for sure, you hate it, you question it, you question your wife, you think of weird things but this was as prepared as I’ve been and I was willing to suffer for it and I think it was worth it in the end.”

Schmitt says however the most inspiring part of his weekend at the Ironman Mont-Tremblant was the amount of kids he saw at the event.

“This used to be a sport when I first started, that was just dominated by people who were obsessed only with doing this ironman,” he explains. “This one, we did a kids fun-run and there was literally thousands of kids doing it and I thought, it’s pretty cool to have all these kids doing what their parents are being an example of doing. That’s the one thing I kept saying to my wife while we were there, how many people with kids are doing this.”  

Following nearly a week of rest, Schmitt says he now plans to resume his training this weekend for his upcoming trip to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for the World Championships October 13.