Student Kaylee Thompson’s father, Travis Thompson, made it to the World Championship Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. This Ironman race is a grueling 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike, and a 26.2-mile run to finish, totaling 140.6 miles. Thompson shared, “I got to the finish line by thinking of all the years of training and support from my family and friends.”
Travis first began training for triathlons in 2018 and completed his first race in 2019. He said, “I got interested in Ironman triathlons because they looked very challenging, and I wanted to attempt something I didn’t know if I would be successful in.”
When Travis started training, it was close to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained, “It was hard to be motivated to train during this time because everything was closed, but I found motivation to improve myself to race when COVID was over.”
In his training, Travis focuses intensely, making sure not to be distracted so he can perform at his best. Although he always tries to be as prepared as possible for each race, he admits that he never knows for sure if he will cross the finish line. He shared, “There were a number of times in the race where I was not sure if I could keep going, much less make it to the finish line. So, I just focused on each next pedal or step to keep going.”
Travis has completed a total of 4 full-distance Ironmans (140.6 miles), including the 2024 World Championship, and 5 half-distance Ironmans (70.3 miles), one of which was the World Championship in St. George, Utah.
