2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

36 / /June 2019

FEATURE

PatrickLangewasborntoIronmanracing.

Deepdownhe’dalwaysknown,yethewasn’tready

toacceptit untilhewasindangeroflosingit all.

“WhenI lookbacktomychildhood,I didn’ttire

comparedtotheotherkids,”Langesays.“Atthe

ageof15,I rodea 120kmmountainbikemarathon

andI canhonestlysaythatI neverbonked.”

BroughtupinBadWildungen,a smallcityin

centralGermany,Langeracedgo-kartsinhisteens

beforea two-yearstintinthemilitary,andwhen

hedidtransitiontotriathlonit wastomid-pack

obscurityinthird-tierITUraces,histraining

compromisedbyphysiotherapystudiesandthen

work.Unfulfilled,hedecidedona riskyfull-timetilt

atprofessionalsportattheendof2015,inspiredby

hisfirsttriathloncoach,a six-timefinisheratthe

IronmanWorldChampsinKona,Hawaii,to“trythe

long-courseracingI’dalwayswanted”.It washis

nextcoach,though,whowould really up the ante.

COACHINGPHILOSOPHY

CompatriotFarisAl-Sultanhas,inthewordsof

Lange,“madeallthebigmistakessothatI don’t

haveto.”Al-Sultanranhisfirstmarathonaged16,

racedhisfirstIronmanaged19,wontheworldtitle

in2006,andwouldcycle350kmintheMiddleEast

intraining.Withthebodyhavingcalledtimeonhis

owncareer,he’sbecomea sortofanti-trainerfor

Lange,imposinga reversepsychologythatdraws

thebestfromhischarge.

“Farisis completelydifferent,”Langesays.

“Whenwestarted,hesaid:‘You’renotreally

talentedandI don’tknowif you’lleverwina big

race.If youwantmetocoachyoutowinKona,I’m

thewrongguy.’HewasmakingthepointthatI need

toimprovea lot.ButFarisis alsoa bigidolforme.I

likenhimtoZinedineZidane.If a youngplayer

comestoRealMadridandisn’tconfident,he’lllook

tothesidelineandseehischildhoodhero.”

Intermsofcoachingphilosophy,Langecompares

Al-SultantosuccessfulAustraliancoachBrett

Suttoninthewayneitherrelyontechnology.

“WhenI gooutforintervalsona bikeride,”Lange

says,“Farisrarelyputsa wattsnumberonit.He’ll

give more of a feeling to aim for, such as ‘speedy’. In

RUNLIKELANGE

Asthefastestmarathon

runnerinIronman,how

doeshecontinueto

consistentlydeliverwhen

it matters?Here’s

Lange’sadvice...

01

Findacoach

You’llbenefit

froma running

coachtoteachyouthe

righttechnique.Thekeyto

a fastandfunIronmanrun

is efficiency,andthebest

waytodoit is totake

objectiveadvice.

02

Confidence

tostaycalm

Notgoingout

tooquicklyat thestartis

stillthemagicingredient

fora goodrun.Weall

knowit, butit’shardtodo,

yetif youwanttorunyour

bestmarathon,stickto

yourpacingstrategy.

03

Nailthebike

nutrition

I believe75%

ofcarbohydratesforthe

wholeraceshouldbe

takenonthebike.Thisis

fundamentallyimportant

tobeabletopacetherun

correctlybecauseyou

cannottakeonmanycarbs

onthemarathonwhen

yourstomachis bouncing

up and down.

somewaysit’sclosetoSutton’s‘moderate,

medium,mad’stuff.”

Despitetheguidance,it lookedlessa smartcareer

moveandmorea guaranteedloss-makingventure.

Langemighthavereceived1,000a monthfromhis

onlyregularsponsor,buthalfofthatwenton

privatemedicalinsurance.Thankfully,results

camequickly,andalthougha winatIronmanTexas

inJune 2016 stampedthetickettoKona,it was

defeatinanIronman70.3raceinthePhilippines

threeweekslatertothe42-year-oldtripleKona

champ,Australia’sCraigAlexander,thatconvinced

theGermanhehadtheabilitytothrivein

oppressiveconditions.“Iseta newbikecourse

record,butCrowiecaughtme5kmfromthefinish,”

herecalls.“Iwasalsoluckyenoughtomakemy

nutritionmistakesthere.”

Withhindsight,Lange’s2:40:01marathontowin

inTexasshouldhaveraisedmoreeyebrows,butan

asteriskremainedaftera shortened151kmbike

course(insteadof180km)andKonawouldsurelybe

a differentstory?It was– onlybetter.

SeeingLangerunontheQueenKa’ahumanu

HighwayinHawaiiis oneofthegreatestsightsin

triathlon.Whatcomessofleetinglytomeremortals

• thoseraremomentswhereeverythingflowsin
  unison– is hisstockintrade.In2016,heran2:39:45
  forthirdplacetobreakMarkAllen’srecordfromthe
  famousIronWarshowdownwithDaveScott 27
  yearsearlier.Thefollowingtwoyearsheran2:39:59
  and2:41:32.Lastyearheloweredhisownoverall
  courserecordto7:52:39.Conditionshadneverbeen
  better,butis therestillroomforimprovement?“I
  don’tliketosay‘no’,but... no,” Lange says. 2018
  wastheperfectday.

FRANKFURTSHOWDOWN

Yetthere’sonevenuewherethetaskremains

trickierthanwinningagainontheBigIsland.

IronmanGermanyis nowinits15thyearin

Frankfurtanddrawshugecrowds,stellarfieldsand,

onthemen’sside,featuresthebesttriathletesin

long-courseracing,whoallhappentobeGerman.

ForLange,whohasmovedtonearbyDarmstadt,

it’salmosta hometownrace,buthisbestfinishis

thirdlastyearwhenfellowGermanJanFrodeno

out-ranhimby8mins.Whydidthetablesturn?At

over30°C,conditionsshouldhaveplayedinto175cm

Lange’sfavouragainsthis195cmrival.But

FrankfurtlacksthehumidityofHawaii’sBigIsland

thatlocksintheheatandLangealsobelievesthe

flatterruncoursenegateshistechnicalsuperiority

onthemarathon.“Konais muchmorechallenging,

butinFrankfurtyoudon’thavetoadaptyour

runningstridesooften,”heexplains.

Yetmoretellingthanallofthisis thatLange

simplyisn’tanywherenearhispeakinJuly.Given

triathletes can take a career to crack the Kona

“WhenI lookbackatmy childhood,I didn’ttire likethe other

kids. I can honestly say that I never bonked”