Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 94, May 2017 | Page 22

Ma Feature
“You Are An
Ironman!”
I
t was touch and go whether 46-year-old Richard would be
allowed to start this year’s Ironman, out of concern for his
medical condition, but on the morning, race doctor Conrad
von Hagen (also Richard’s former GP when he lived in PE) told
Richard that the blood test results were OK and he had no
medical reason to pull him from the race, even though he wanted to...
And so Richard started, taking it slow, having told his watching daughters
Mckinnon (11) and Bailey (8) to expect him to finish in at best 11 and a
half hours.
Richard celebrates
his Ironman 2017
finish with his
daughters
One of the greatest moments for a triathlete is hitting the
finish of an Ironman and hearing the commentator say those
famous words, “You are an Ironman,” but when Richard
Wright made it to the finish of the Standard Bank Ironman
SA in Port Elizabeth this past April, it was much more than
just a finish, it was symbolic of his sheer will to live, having
once again completed the race in spite of a rare form of
brain cancer, and being told midway through 2016 that he
had just six months left to live. – BY SEAN FALCONER
I don’t think people
realise how important
Ironman is to me –
because I know that
if I can do Ironman,
22
I can beat cancer.
ISSUE 94 MAY 2017 / www.modernathlete.co.za
With incredible support from the many people who knew his story, he cruised
the swim the bike, and then found he was actually able to still run in the final leg –
until the second lap. “I knew it was going to hurt, due to my lack of training, but then
my body clocked out. The tears rolled down my cheeks and I wanted to stop so many
times, but then I thought, Richard, tomorrow you start another round of chemotherapy,
and I got angry. I decided I am not going to give this thing power over me. Then my
head took over, and somehow I ran a 3:26 marathon for a 10:20 finish. I have no idea
where that came from... and I don’t think we have any clue what we are truly capable of,
until we have our backs against the wall and are literally fighting for our lives.”
Destiny at Ironman
Richard began his Ironman journey in 2007. He had been a long distance triathlete,
but had taken a six-year break from the sport while focusing on his marriage to Kirsten
and pursuing his career in real estate with Pam Golding Properties. Then in November
2006 he was coaching some triathletes when he decided he felt like racing again, partly
because cracks had begun to appear in his marriage and he needed an outlet, and he
finished 23rd at the SA Long Course Champs that January. “Then friends suggested I
tackle the Ironman, and I thought, what the hell.”
In spite of falling ill two weeks before the race, throwing up during the swim and again
during the run, even temporarily bailing during the run, Richard still managed to finish
57 th overall in a very respectable 10 hours and 20 minutes. Having moved from Joburg
to PE after that race, he was back in 2008 and clocked a PB 9:17 to finish 16th overall
Richard in training