There’s a place in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii that some refer to as the “Energy Lab.” It is a stretch of blacktop on the island’s Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway that offers absolutely no shade whatsoever. This is not usually a significant issue for drivers who have car roofs and air conditioning to protect them from the sun’s rays. So why the nickname?
It’s because Ironman triathletes like Marla Zucht have no such amenities as they run their requisite 42 kilometres to the finish line. It’s a full marathon in the heat of summer tacked onto the end of a 3.8-kilometre swim through choppy ocean waves and a blustery 180-kilometre bike ride through barren lava fields. Such was the experience at the 2023 Ironman World Championships on Oct. 14, and Zucht overcame it all.
The longtime Whistlerite knocked down the race in 11 hours, 41 minutes and 27 seconds, fast enough to place her within the top 10 per cent of women in the age 50-54 category. Ladies took centre stage, as for the first time ever, worlds became a gender-segregated event with men having competed Sept. 10 in Nice, France.
More than 2,150 women, including elite professionals and first-timers alike, took to the seas and roads in Kailua-Kona, supported by some 5,000 volunteers. It was Zucht’s fifth worlds outing, her 19th career Ironman, and an experience she won’t soon forget.
Triple threat
Sometimes, Zucht wonders why she keeps going back.
“It's so hot. Every time I’m there [in Kona] doing it, I'm thinking: ‘I never need to run here again. I never need to do this again.’ And yet, I go back again and do it,” she said with a laugh.
Not that it was all fun and games, even for someone who successfully completed a three-day, 550-kilometre Ultraman last July in the Okanagan Valley. Zucht struggled to get out of second gear during her marathon, which she attributes to the heat making hydration and energy management that much more challenging than normal. However, she did feel she achieved her best-ever swim and bike ride.
“Having been to Kona four times before [2023], I certainly have familiarity with the course and the conditions, but it's still really difficult to put a strong race together there,” she explained. “I rarely ever swim in the ocean, so the saltwater definitely shakes your body early on. Then when you get out of the ocean, there's always a strong head and cross-wind on the bike course.”
One would think any person would be starving after that level of exertion, but that’s not always the case. Instead, there can come a point where a triathlete’s body starts to betray them, rejecting the sustenance they know they need to continue.
“It's the strangest thing,” Zucht said. “You're burning all these calories and you know you need [food and water], but you just don't want to put them in any longer. You're trying to force feed yourself without resisting it—without throwing up, essentially.”
Zucht managed to keep her lunch down, however, in the process learning more about what makes her body tick on race day. She’s a student of the game and doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
‘It’s supposed to be tough’
As a lifelong athlete from an active family, it may have been inevitable that Zucht would give herself to pursuing triathlons. She’s been running for a very long time and played a key role in the intramural athletics program of her alma mater, Simon Fraser University. Past mountain biking experience paved the way for a transition to road cycling (though she still does both), and swimming presented perhaps the greatest learning curve.
Combining all three sports—and extending them out to truly impressive distances—is something Zucht has grown to love. All the cross-training inherent within triathlon has helped mitigate the risk of injury and keep her in shape for the winter, when she is an avid Nordic skier. The Vancouver native is one of many who prove age isn’t a barrier to achievement in endurance sports.
“I've found a place where I can maintain a certain level of activity that I need to keep going. I am consistent with my training all year round, but having said that, I switch it up,” she explained. “I actually do believe that I can still improve.”
Zucht has lived in Whistler for more than 30 years, where she now heads the Whistler Housing Authority, but she’s a well-travelled woman having done stints in Nepal, India and southeast Asia. Her master’s degree in environmental studies and urban planning was earned in Toronto. Hawaii is but one of many places Ironman has taken her, but it’s also among the most memorable.
“I can turn the fatigue around and be very grateful for the opportunity, because racing at the World Championships in Kona is nothing short of amazing,” Zucht said. “It's tough, but it's supposed to be tough.”
