Kenyan teacher preparing for UK race

NAIROBI

A 25-year Kenyan teacher will in July participate in the world's most grueling event, the Ironman Britain Triathlon which will be held in Bolton, Lancashire.

Falgun Bhojak, who teaches Physical Education at Oshwal Academy in Nairobi, has enrolled for the energy-sapping event where participants undertake a 3.8km swim, 180km of cycling and a 42.2km marathon run in that order.

G4S Kenya MD John Wheater (left) hands over the report to Sports minister Paul Otuoma (right) and KPL vice chairman Ambrose Rachier. [PHOTO: STAFFORD ONDEGO/STANDARD]

"This is going to be my second Ironman Triathlon undertaking, having participated in the first one in 2007 in South Africa," he told Xinhua in Nairobi.

"I have already embarked on a rigorous training regimen that will only taper off two weeks to the event," he says.

In an Ironman event, there is a strict time limit of 17 hours for participants to complete the race which starts at 7am local time (0400GMT) and where the swim category has a cut-off time of 2 hours 20 minutes, cycling ten and a half hours and the remaining time for the Marathon run as long as the participant will still be within the mandatory 17-hour mark.

His certificate shows that in 2007, while only aged 21 years, Bhojak completed the event in a cumulative time of 15 hours 47 minutes 52 seconds.

In the swim he clocked 01:24.55 and finished the cycling in 07:33.57 while the Marathon saw him stop the clock in a time of 06:43.58.

"I hope to do a better time this year. I have the experience and I am better prepared this year. The event gets better for one as he advances in age as can be testified by the performance of because those in the 50-75 year category," he said while flushing his certificate.

— Xinhua