Local triathlete Heather Ketcham spent last weekend in the Austrian alpine town of Zell Am See — she was not sightseeing on an end-of-summer vacation, but rather competing against approximately 2,700 athletes from more than 70 countries in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
The Aug. 30 Ironman 70.3 World Championship consisted of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim in Lake Zell, followed by a 56-mile (90 km) bicycle ride through the Austrian Alps and a 13.1-mile (21 km) run around Zellar Lake finishing in the picturesque old town of Zell am See-Kaprun, all of which must be completed before an eight and a half hour cutoff time.
Ketcham, a Cazenovia resident, ended the race with a division (women age 40-44) rank of 79 and an overall rank of 1,817, finishing the race in an overall time of 5:59:42, according to the Ironman official website.
Ketcham was unreachable for comment immediately after the race, but the Cazenovia Republican did speak with her just before she left the country last week.
Ketcham has been a swimmer all her life, and got hooked on triathlons after competing in the Syracuse Iron Girl competition six years ago.
“Triathlon gave me the opportunity to continue competitive swimming with a twist. I like a challenge,” she said.
Ketcham, who is part of the CNY Triathlon Club, said she trains between 15 to 19 hours a week, swimming, biking and running. Last year, she competed in the Lake Placid Ironman, a 2.4 mile-swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a full marathon, for a total of 140.6 miles. After qualifying at Lake Placid, she also competed in the 70.3 in Raleigh, N.C., and the Syracuse 70.3, in which she qualified for world championships.
Ketcham also competed in the Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Ironman on Aug. 16, at which she competed with 2,350 other athletes, completed the race 12:02:01, placed 665th in overall ranking, 17th in her division and 102nd among women.
“It is a tough turnaround 10 days later to recover to race again, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” she said of traveling to Austria for the Aug. 30 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Ketcham said competing in a triathlon is an “incredible” feeling.
“To share training with friends and to work so hard, it is exciting to get to the start line. Throughout the day you are focused on nutrition and following your race plan, that includes eating the right number of calories, keeping your heart rate in check and listening to your body. As each leg of the event passes you are closer to the finish line. The crowds are cheering, my family is all over the course and waiting for me at the end. After eating gels and bonk bars for over 11 hours you are looking forward to the ‘real’ food waiting for you,” she said.
And her family members are her biggest fans and supporters, Ketcham said. She, her husband Michael, daughters Taylor, 16, Julia, 12, and Vivianne, 8, have lived in Cazenovia for the past four years. Michael grew up in Caz and graduated from Cazenovia high School. Ketcham was actually born in Germany (her father was in the military) and said she looks forward to visiting Frankfurt after the race.
“I can’t wait,” Ketcham said last week before leaving for Europe. “I want to just enjoy the ride. Given I just raced a full ironman distance, my body will determine what happens, but I will fight hard for the USA and put everything I have out there. My friends and family has been so supportive. I can’t thank them enough for all the love.”
The Ironman 70.3 World Championship was shown live on Ironman.com the day of the race, and will be televised on NBC Sports Network on Nov. 1.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
