Ironman win sends Kitchener-Waterloo athlete to world championship

K-W woman wins Ironman race in Texas CTV’s Emma Ens hears from Allison Jacob about her big win and how she’s preparing for the world championship.

An athlete from Kitchener-Waterloo won her category at an Ironman race in Texas, qualifying her for the world championship this fall.

Allison Jacob competed in the Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas on April 22 and placed first in the overall female amateur category.

Jacob has competed in six full ironman races before, but this was her first time competing in a North American championship race.

“It was extremely exciting,” Jacob said. “I was a little bit nervous about doing it just because I had done most of my training indoors, so I didn’t know how that was going to translate to being outdoors.”

WHAT DOES AN IRONMAN RACE CONSIST OF?

An Ironman is a long-distance triathlon race that covers a total of 226.3 kilometers.

The race consists of a 3.9-kilometer swim, a 180-kilometer bike and a 42.2-kilometer run.

Jacob has been an athlete for years and her training schedule for this particular ironman started months in advance.

“I would work with my coach, Mark Cullen, and he does typically a 12 week training block,” Jacob said. “It’s about anywhere from four to five weeks training block of consistent training and then one week of recovery and then we just repeat that a few times.”

The majority of her training was completed indoors, since it is difficult to bike and swim outdoors over the course of the winter months.

RACE DAY IN TEXAS

On race day, Jacob said the weather was ‘absolutely perfect’, about 25 degrees without much wind.

“The swim was a little bit dark, the water was a little bit murky,” Jacob noted.

She said the bike ride went well but the run was where she soared ahead of her fellow competitors.

“That’s where I shine,” Jacob said. “I was able to make up a lot of positions. Overall, I had a personal best.”

Jacob finished the race in just over 9 hours and 28 minutes.

Her coach, Mark Cullen, was not able to be with Jacob in Texas, but he was cheering her on from home.

“I think she took over the lead with about 10 kilometers to go in the race, she was kind of having a close battle with another athlete,” Cullen explained. “As a coach it was super exciting but also nerve-wracking to follow a nine and a half hour day like that.”

Cullen said Jacob’s time beat out racers in the ‘pro’ category and he credits her win to her hard work and dedication, even as she works a fulltime job.

“She’s a very humble athlete but somebody that is incredibly hardworking and dedicated to what she does,” said Cullen. “I think I could count on my hand in the last two years how many workouts she’s missed.”

QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Jacob’s win qualified her for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October.

“It was definitely a shock and it still feels surreal,” she said.

With a new bib for her collection and a big accomplishment under her belt, Jacob is already setting her sights on her next race.