Park finishes Ironman with broken foot
Timaru triathlete Reon Park ran through the pain barrier with a broken foot to finish the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii on Sunday.
Disaster struck when he broke a bone in his foot in the marathon section when placed third in the 45 to 49 age group. At the first hydration station about six kilometres into the 41.8 km marathon section he rolled his foot on a chunk of ice and without realising it had broken his fifth metatarsal – the long bone on the outside of the foot which connects the little toe.
As he lost his footing he landed on a spectator but she was not hurt, he said. ‘‘I started running but I knew it (foot) wasn’t right.’’
About 19kms into the run it got worse. Determined to finish he ran with a limp, walked and crawled to the end, finishing 223rd out of a field of 264 in his age group. The race saw 2400 athlete compete overall. Park had already swum 3.86kms, and completed the 180km bicycle leg before the foot accident.
Park, transported to hospital at the end of the race, now sports a splint cast up to his knee. He is likely to have caused more damage to the foot by continuing in the marathon. He could have stopped but over the lava fields the only way to finish was back the way he had come so he kept going.
‘‘I was not aware of what I had done ... I’ll chalk it up to experience.’’
The extent of the damage will not be known until he returns home to Timaru on Thursday. In hindsight he said he should have ‘‘pulled the pin’’.
‘‘I’m disappointed but really happy I managed to finish. I would never want to be in a race of this magnitude and not finish ... It makes me hungry for next year.’’
It is the second year he has competed in the international championship. Last year he came second though he was penalised for following too close and given a five minute penalty. He hopes next time first place won’t elude him.