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FORT LEE, Va. (Aug. 23, 2012)- Capt. Quentin Walsh, a Combined Logistics Captain’s Career Course student at the Army Logistics University here, fulfilled his longtime dream of competing in the Ironman U.S. Championship Aug. 11 in New York City and New Jersey.
“I’ve always been drawn to challenges so, naturally, this qualifies,” said Walsh, a 25-year-old native of Plainsboro, N.J., and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. “Completing an Ironman triathlon has been a goal of mine for a long time.”
Held in metropolitan areas of New York City and New Jersey, the 140.6-mile race included a 2.4-mile swim in the Hudson River; a 112-mile bike ride on the Palisades Parkway; and a 26.2-mile run that began in Fort Lee, N.J., and finished in Riverside Park in Manhattan. Walsh completed the journey in a respectable time of 12 hours, 19 minutes.
“I’m very proud of what I accomplished,” Walsh said. “The Ironman is both mental and physical, and it will test your individual weaknesses whatever they may be. So, it means a lot when you can look back and say, ‘I did that; I overcame that challenge.”
Walsh also touted the $3,700 in charitable donations he raised for Swim Free Inc., a New York City non-profit organization that tries to “get everyone in the water” to reap the health and safety benefits associated with swimming.
A competitive swimmer during his earlier years, Walsh began entering “sprint triathlons” – a mini-version of full-scale events like the Ironman, consisting of a .47-mile swim, 12 miles of cycling, and a 3.1-mile run – when he started college. By the time he reached his junior year, he moved on to even greater challenges like half-Ironman competitions and the longer Olympic-distance triathlons. Each event, he said, was not only an opportunity to cross items off his “bucket list,” but also to train for the full-scale Ironman and push his endurance levels to even greater heights.
“I resumed training immediately after arriving here,” said Walsh. “At the peak of my training, I was doing a run of at least three hours and a bike ride of at least five hours each week.”
Walsh said he was motivated by Family, friends, career course instructors and classmates at Fort Lee. He also acknowledged their support toward the charitable endeavor, Swim Free Inc., that is “near and dear” to his heart. “This cause has some personal ties to me because I learned to swim at a very young age and have always enjoyed the water,” said Walsh. “The chance to bring that joy to others is awesome.”
Offering words of advice and encouragement to others who set fitness goals or even consider an ironman-style competition, Walsh said, “It’s all about finding what’s right for you; it has to be personal. The other part of it is recognizing the unique challenges that you will have to overcome in order to come out stronger on the other end.
“The ironman is a good example; it’s a series of milestones that you have to overcome individually,” he continued. “The key is not giving up or letting the struggles beat you. I encourage everyone to keep striving to complete their personal goals whatever they may be.”
Additional information about the Ironman U.S. Championship series can be found at www.ironmanuschampionship.com. To learn more about the charitable organization that Walsh supported during the race, visit www.swimfree.org.
The actual story can be found in the Fort Lee newspaper, the Traveller, at: http://www.fortleetraveller.com/.
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