Natalie Grabow’s motto is simple but blunt: “Move forward.”
Just a few weeks ago, Grabow became the oldest woman to complete an Ironman World Championship in Hawaii at the age of 80.
The Ironman (“iron man”, in English) is a long-distance triathlon, known as one of the most rigorous endurance and physical fitness tests in the world.
The competition is divided into three phases: 3.8 km of swimming in the sea, 180 km of cycling and 42.2 km of running on foot, which is the marathon distance.
“The challenge delights me,” Grabow declared on the radio program Newsdayfrom the BBC World Service.
“As long as I have the physical capacity to compete… This is the reason why everyone participates: the challenge and the feeling of achievement, of having achieved a great goal. I believe it is a great boost for self-confidence.”
Grabow was part of the 1,600 competitors who competed in the race in Hawaii. Of these, 60 were unable to finish the race. The route is famous for its long, steep climbs and strong crosswinds.
It was Grabow’s 11th Ironman competition. She finished in 16 hours and 45 minutes, within the 17-hour time limit.
“I felt really good running,” she says. “It was a very pleasant feeling and gave me the confidence that I would have no problems finishing the Ironman.”
Late departure
Grabow worked as a software engineer. Now, as a grandmother, she lives in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey.
She started running when she was 40, but at the time, she didn’t know how to swim.
“My friends started doing triathlon and encouraged me to participate in a triathlon sprint [a versão mais curta da prova]which was held close to home.”
But Grabow felt ashamed, until he ended up confessing to his friends that he didn’t know how to swim. She asked one of her daughters to do that part of the test for her.
Ultimately, she loved the competition and decided to learn to swim at age 59, so she could participate in other events.
Injuries
Grabow arrived at Ironman with an injury to his hamstrings, the muscles at the back of the thigh. She suffered the injury during one of her bike training sessions, about five weeks before the race.
“I went to therapy,” she says.
“I was stopped for about five or six days, I missed some important training sessions and I was a little nervous about that. It bothered me, I needed to stop more often and try to relax that area.”
As she neared the end and people began cheering her enthusiastically, Grabow tripped and fell.
“Well, it was very surprising, a little embarrassing and unexpected. It had never happened to me before,” she told the BBC.
“The carpet was a little wrinkled at that point, it was lifting up and I imagine I didn’t lift my foot properly,” she recalls. “But I got up and finished.”
When Grabow crossed the finish line, Cherie Gruenfeld greeted her with a hug. Until then, Gruenfeld held the record for the oldest woman to complete the race, which she achieved at the age of 78.
“I was happy to see her,” says Grabow. “We spent years competing with each other.”
“She set the record in 2022. There were four of us in the 75-79 age group and two of us didn’t finish. She beat me to it.”
Natalie Grabow has no intention of slowing down. She has already signed up for two half-distance Ironman triathlons for the first half of next year.
But she claims that it is not the great achievements that motivate her.
“I like competition, but for me, the most important thing is daily training. Even if I stop competing one day, I will always stay active, I will always get up and do something.”
This text was originally published here.
