Weight loss leads to Ironman competition
David Rumberger of Ohiopyle is an administrator for the Pressley Ridge Schools. Formerly, he was an overweight administrator for the Pressley Ridge Schools until undergoing an exercise regimen and lopping off nearly 60 pounds. But Rumberger, 45, has gone overboard. He’s turned a health kick into triathlon madness. He and three friends from the Uniontown area will go off the deep end July 28 at the Ironman USA in Lake Placid, New York. It’s one of nearly two dozen such events in which triathletes compete for a spot in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Is Rumberger apprehensive?
“Of course,” he said. “It’s my first time and you have to have a healthy respect for the distances. But I’m ready.”
Sounds good. But there’s the little matter of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run with which to contend. Then, Rumberger and his pals can truly consider themselves mad, er, triathletes.
“To do an Ironman is the pinnacle of our hobby,” said Bill Ulmer, the group’s unofficial spokesman. “We all have enjoyed a little bit of success in doing some of the events regionally, so we wanted to set our goals high enough and try to do an Ironman before we’re too old.”
Ulmer, 40, of Uniontown, is a purchasing manager at E.W. Bowman Inc. He and Rumberger will be joined in the race by Phil Thomas, 45, of Uniontown and Janet Gates, 43, of Smithfield. Thomas is a Fayette County probation officer and Gates works in the IT Department at West Virginia University. She was the one named, or blamed, for getting this ball rolling.
“Last year, after a couple races, Janet suggested that three or four of us should get into this,” said Ulmer. “I took a week to think about it, consulted with my wife, and decided to do it. I’d done them years ago when I was in college, but I moved back to Uniontown and hadn’t raced for 16 years. In fact, I had done very little jogging.”
But two years ago, Ulmer started running again and doing smaller triathlons, including the Uniontown Triathlon (200-yard swim, 10-mile bike, 4.25-mile run) two weeks ago with the rest of his group. Gates finished second overall among women at Uniontown, while Ulmer, Thomas and Rumberger all placed in their respective age groups.
“I’ve become very close friends with these people,” Ulmer said. “We were associates but not as close as we’ve become.”
The four can only train as a group on weekends, and try to find time in between family and work to prepare for the most grueling physical tests of their lives. Ulmer, for instance, trained between 8 and 14 hours per week the last 30 weeks. He’ll get up early to train and then runs five miles or so at lunchtime.
While Gates and Thomas are the veterans of the group in triathlon competition, none of the four has ever competed in a full-blown triathlon. As novices, they’ve studied the guiding schedules put out by the race and believe they’re ready.
“At least I hope I am,” Ulmer said. “You never know. A lot of it is mental, as well as you have to watch your nutrition and your intake of water and your electrolyte replacement.”
Ulmer believes the male winner will finish in a shade less than nine hours. The group’s goal is to finish somewhere between 11 and 13 hours.
“From what I understand, the important thing is to stay patient, realize it’s going to be a long day and know that not everything’s going to go your way,” Ulmer said. “Don’t let problems ruin your day. Fix it and move on. The race will be done when it’s done.”
The group ran half an Ironman race in early June in Cambridge, Md. Rumberger had “an exceptional race” as all four achieved their goals.
“It gave us confidence and experience in learning how your body handles it,” Ulmer said. “Now we’re excited. We want to get it done. We want to finish and finish healthy. That’s the important thing. I’ll be excited to be at the finish line waiting for them, or come up to the finish line and see them waiting for me.”