The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : First Indian to complete endurance race

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Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

First Indian to complete endurance race

Kalyan Ashok

Anuradha Vaidyanathan

BANGALORE: Anuradha Vaidyanathan of Bangalore became the first Indian woman to compete and complete the Ultraman Canada, considered as the ultimate endurance race for a triathlete in the world.

In the event which was held in the British Columbia region from August 1 to 3, Ms. Vaidyanathan finished a creditable overall 18th with a time of 35 hours 13 minutes and 58 seconds. Spain’s male triathlete Benat Zubillaga emerged champion with a time of 24 hours 19 minutes and 28 seconds.

Ultraman Canada comprises 10 km of swim in the Skaha Lake, 420 km of biking which was split into two stages of 140 km and 280 km on the first and second day. The first stage ran from the Okanagan Falls through the Richter Pass and back to the Okanagan Falls and the second biking segment was from Penticton to Princeton. This was followed by 84.3 km of running from Princeton to Summerland.

On the race, Ms. Vaidyanathan (28) told The Hindu: “I am proud of my achievement and this was the toughest race of my life, though I had done quite well in Ironman and half-Ironman events earlier in my career. I knew it was going to be tough, but I did not imagine the magnitude.”

Ms. Vaidyanathan said: “The temperatures at this year’s race were brutal, hitting close to 40 degrees Celsius on all three days. I was the sixth woman and the youngest to finish the race. Seeing me struggle with the conditions, a few well-wishers asked me to quit the first day itself, but I kept moving because of my mental toughness. Only a few completed this race and I am proud to be part of that bunch.” She thanked her sponsor Devasish Paul, an Indian who lives in Ottawa, for backing her. “But for his help, I could not have even paid the entry fee.”

She dedicated her effort to her mother, who, she said was her constant source of strength and inspiration.

Ms. Vaidyanathan, who runs her own software firm dealing with patents in the city, felt that her experiences in Canada will help her perform better in endurance races.

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