Triathlete Stefan Schulz buys a Hawaii ticket

Delayed emotional explosion: triathlete Stefan Schulz buys a ticket for Hawaii

Via Frankfurt am Main to the volcanic island in the Pacific: The 39-year-old from Neuruppin is traveling to the most prestigious triathlon in the world in October – but he has to dig deep into his wallet for it.

Frankfurt am Main. At the finish, an exhausted Stefan Schulz looked disappointed at the video wall. The constantly updated list of results revealed the initially sobering result: 19th place in the age group 35 to 39 – the goal of finishing the Ironman in Frankfurt am Main on Sunday as one of the seventh best in his age group was missed. But one day later, early Monday followingnoon, when a number of triathletes arrived in the Main metropolis for the official award ceremony, the disappointment gave way and turned into pure joy. Partner Julia and daughter Elsa were almost crushed in Stefan Schulz’s arms when the endurance athlete realized that the hardships of the past few weeks and months had paid off. “It went through with me for a moment,” reports “Stippi” of his belated emotional explosion.

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He dragged himself onto the podium, a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.195km run in the limbs. He has been asked if he would like to claim the right to compete in Ironman Hawaii, the oldest and most prestigious long-distance triathlon in the world. And with beaming eyes, Stefan Schulz pulled out his credit card – an entry fee of $1,120 (around €1,060) had to be paid on the spot. If someone gave up, a replacement was there. The 39-year-old is one of those, whose 19th place, thanks to a number of cancellations or already qualified triathletes, was enough to fulfill his dream of competing on the volcanic island.

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“I slipped in as the penultimate in my age group, many people are now put off by the amount of money you have to invest to take part,” reveals the self-employed master painter. At the end of October, Schulz wants to fly with his two favorite women to the Ironman World Championship in the direction of the archipelago in the Pacific Ocean – both amateurs, like him, and professionals are at the start there. What is clear is that attending Kailua-Kona has become a luxury. Stefan Schulz has to dig deep into his pocket for entry fees, hotel rooms, flights and meals: “We have already made inquiries. For ten days on the island, the three of us can probably count on 15,000 euros – if things go well. Actually, a holiday should be added straight away, but that might be too steep.”

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He didn’t want to miss the chance, probably a one-off, but his girlfriend Julia in particular urged her “because she knows what it means to me and how much I gave for it”. Already on Thursday we drove to the Hessian to acclimatize for a few days. On Sunday the time had come for the model athlete – at 6:35 a.m. sharp, he jumped into the Langener Waldsee, which is regarding 15 kilometers south of Frankfurt. “It was the swim of my life, I was super happy with the time of 56:11 minutes,” revealed the member of the Ruppiner Triathlon Club. But it was also tough in the water – Schulz got a fist in his face on the first buoy, and even someone else’s heel on the second: “Something cracked, I noticed that immediately.” And indeed: The bike came loose, too due to one or the other pothole on the route, an upper incisor.

Feet up for a week, then the preparation begins

“Fortunately, the pin tooth fell on my drinking system, I was able to grab it and put it in my pocket – and on Monday it was back where it belongs,” says Schulz, who went through the plan on two wheels: “Every now and then there was a hitch, but all in all I kept going through my boots.” 1,600 meters in altitude had to be covered, his top speed was almost 80 km/h, he averaged a little under 36 km/h – the specifications of the Potsdam trainer Erik Thormann were largely implemented. The running performance was also good despite the tropical temperatures: “I was able to pick up a few people, but I wanted to do the marathon in under three hours.”

After 3:09:27 hours, Schulz had covered the 42.195 kilometers, the three-way battle was over in nine hours, 20 minutes and 29 seconds. 19th place (of 313) in his age group, 75th place among all men who started in 1988 and 78th overall (of 2245) – Stefan Schulz was proud of himself. I’m not setting myself any times for Hawaii,” explains Stefan Schulz, who knows exactly what is also important in the coming months: “I’ll be frugal until October.”

By Marius Boettcher