THorsten Schröder is a little unsteady on his feet. “Shit, I’m done!” Says the “Tagesschau” spokesman and grins blissfully. Because that’s exactly why he finally came to Hawaii: because of the suffering in the legendary Ironman. Because of the feeling when it’s done. Pain, pride, relief – all at the same time. “If I sit down now, I don’t know if I’ll get up once more,” he says.
For the 54-year-old, a two-year journey finds its climax and its end at this moment. That’s when Schröder decided: He wants to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii for the second time following 2017. He actually made it, was now one of almost 500 German starters on the island and following 3.86 kilometers of swimming in the Pacific, 180 kilometers on the bike and the final marathon at 30 degrees and high humidity, he crossed the finish line jubilantly. 11:05:45 hours was emblazoned on the display following his name. “Thorsten Schröder,” the moderator called, “you are an Ironman.”
Yes, it’s really done. Thorsten Schröder at the finish of the Ironman Hawaii
Source: Melanie Haack
Since November 1, 2020, he has now cycled, swam and run a total of 20,000 kilometers. How it works? “I often train until just before work, eat something and then drive off quickly. Or I put on my sports clothes right following the job,” he says. Sometimes he also uses the commute to work for training.
For his friends and his partner, not much had changed. “Due to my unusual working hours, I can often train during the day during the week,” he explains. In the hot phase, however, before he qualified in Frankfurt in June and the workload was up to 20 hours a week, things looked different. Schröder is grateful that his girlfriend took a lot from him and made the training possible.
He banned chocolate
He eliminated alcohol from his life before the beginning of the year and is considering keeping it that way. On the other hand, he allowed himself cake. And something else Schröder has banned since the end of 2021: chocolate. “Because once I start it, it’s hard for me to stop.”
Triathlon has been part of his life for a very long time, he has been practicing the sport for almost 25 years. In 2012 he dared to do his first long distance. “For me, as a person who is active, sport means pure relaxation,” he says. “My thoughts change and I relieve stress.” And when Schröder is passionate regarding something, he wants to know regarding it too. And really. The Hawaii qualification for 2017 therefore meant the world to him.
At the time, he labeled the race “brutal”. Mainly because following five kilometers of the marathon nothing worked anymore. 37 kilometers of agony. But the greater the suffering on the track, the greater the relief at the end. “Finally finishing in Kona was pure happiness, all hardships were forgotten,” he says. Fighting your way through, going to the limits – exactly his thing.
Memories: Schröder at the finish line in Kona 2017
Quelle: Nils Flieshardt/spomedis
He wanted to experience that once more. Despite and maybe because of the suffering. And because of this myth – it is the oldest long-distance race in the world. And as usual in triathlon, professionals and age group athletes start on the same day. “The great thing regarding Hawaii is the atmosphere, the trappings, the history,” enthuses Schröder. The extreme conditions are what make it so fascinating. And: Hawaii is the scene of the World Cup. A second time he wanted to be part of the myth. And would love to improve his time from 2017: 10:56 hours. The fact that he qualified in Frankfurt in 9:55:18 hours is not comparable because of the heat, humidity, wind and the course in Hawaii.
“Two years! It mightn’t have ended much better”
After 1:18:44 hours he rises from the Pacific this Saturday. He needed 5:33:26 hours for the 180 kilometers on the bike and 4:00:56 hours for the marathon. 72nd place out of 387 starters in his age group. His jubilation? In the triathlon suit of his club, FC St. Pauli.
“It was exhausting,” he says followingwards. And there was a moment of shock too. At 50 km of the bike course, his bike made strange noises. Thoughts raced in Schröder’s head. “‘The bottom bracket!’ I thought. ‘If the bottom bracket is gone, then congratulations.’” And he asked himself: “Will I reach the finish line or am I lost in the wilderness?” But 30 kilometers later everything was suddenly fine once more, the bike held out.
Towards the end it got really hard. “It was really a tough fight and cramp, because unfortunately I had to do a few walks on the last twelve kilometers. I wanted to stay below my time from 2017, tried everything once more, but mightn’t keep up the pace for long. In the end, the grains were missing.” Perhaps also because of his forced break following a corona infection in the summer.
This is how most Germans know him: Thorsten Schröder as spokesman for the Tagesschau
Source: NDR/Thorsten Jander (M)
At the finish, the torment of the last few kilometers is forgotten. “I’m happy,” he says. “When you know at the end of the race that nothing can happen to you – that’s indescribable. The tears were regarding to come from joy and emotion. It was incredibly emotional because it is the culmination of a two-year journey that was very fun but also very tiring. Two years! It mightn’t have ended much better, very brilliant.” That his time was ten minutes slower than he had hoped? At this point it doesn’t matter.
Schröder looks at his medal, then he says: “It’s really nice. And above all I’m glad that I have it now. That was my big goal.” Then he tries to get up. It’s not that easy…
