Recreation Insider

What's a bigger physical challenge than running a 26.2-mile marathon? Completing an Ironman Triathlon, which adds a 112-mile bike ride and 2.4-mile swim to a marathon run.

Given his choice, Richard Hyre of Fort Worth would take the Ironman, however. Hyre, 55, completed his 20th Ironman on Saturday, the Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach, Fla., and he has also run about 10 marathons.

"They're actually not as much fun," Hyre said of the marathons. "The difference is the intensity, I think. You just can't go as hard for the length of an Ironman."

Hyre completed his latest Ironman in 11 hours, 54 minutes, 3 seconds, which placed him seventh out of 45 in his age division.

Chuck Burr, Hyre's swimming coach from Team Ridglea, said, "I was amazed that he was able to complete the race in less than 12 hours. I was hoping for 13 hours. He just does not stop -- he just keeps going and going like the Energizer bunny."

Burr was most impressed by Hyre's performance in the bike portion -- he covered the 112 miles in 5 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds, the second-best finish in his division, and at a pace of almost 22 miles per hour.

Hyre said he felt good about his biking, but he wished he had finished faster on the run. Although he got into running before the other sports, he was less satisfied with his marathon time of 5:12:11.

"It was a pretty flat course," Hyre said, "but a flat course is not necessarily an easy course."

Hyre's best time in the Ironman, which he first tried in 1989, is 10 hours, 42 minutes, although the Florida performance was his best in the past several years. His wife, Nina, has also completed several Ironmans.

Marathon tough enough for me

While Hyre might prefer the rigor of an Ironman, the idea of aiming for anything longer boggles my mind. I'm having enough trouble fitting in the training time and keeping the motivation to train.

But my marathon training is on track, with the Disney World Marathon less than two months away on Jan. 12.

I pushed through my longest run to date Saturday -- 17 miles along the Trinity Trail in Fort Worth. While I did have to walk several times, I'm counting it as a major accomplishment that I actually finished. My legs were burning from the minute I started, which nearly convinced me to stop right there. And the gusts of wind were almost overwhelming while heading west.

My plan was to run an 8 1/2-mile route, stop at my car for some water and an energy bar, then do the same thing over again. I almost found my car too inviting to leave to run the second half. After a couple minutes of rest, I got back on my feet to start the final 8 1/2 miles. And I kept on jogging (with a couple pauses to walk) right until the end.

I'll tell you, for any fellow marathon runners out there or for those contemplating a marathon, training with a team or charity program really helps. I probably would have backed off of my marathon plans over the last month except for all the people I've already told and all the pledges I've received for Prevent Blindness America. It's hard to give up on a major goal when you know you could save someone's sight, or at least pay for a few pairs of glasses and eye exams.

So I'm still running, training and raising money to help wipe out blindness, even though none of my endeavors can compare to Richard Hyre's 20 Ironmans.