Those who know Ken Welsh are aware of his extensive knowledge
and unmatched dedication to the sport of triathlon —
as well as his ability to suffer like no other!
His family, friends, and fans spent most of their Sunday watching,
with anticipation as he raced his ninth Ironman in Louisville, Kentucky.
It had been NINE years since his last Ironman race.
A nine year hiatus would prove an obstacle for most athletes,
but Ken is not "most athletes."
Personally, I don't know anyone that prepares the way Ken does.
He trains hard and with consistency — he races the same way.
Never distracted by what the "other guy" is doing—
he keeps his head in the race and remains present till the finish.
He's smart.
He doesn't make excuses.
Fun history..I met Ken around 1998 in a masters swim class;
he was (and still is) very encouraging to everyone in the class — and FAST.
As I got to know him better I learned about this thing called "Ironman"
and determined he was nice, but insane.
Months later, sitting next to him at a party I discussed how crazy
even a Half Ironman sounded and he said,
"You've swam a mile in masters swim, haven't you?
You can ride a bike, right? You can run, can't you?"
I pushed back a bit with regard to the distances but he had a come back,
"All you have to do is train and you can do a half."
And there, he did it.
He planted a seed and watered it with encouragement and hope.
Two years later I did my first Half Ironman...
then a couple years after that... I did Ironman Wisconsin.
One of my best memories of Ironman Wisconsin
was Ken rounding the last turn and heading to the finish line...
as I was heading out to START my marathon. (sigh)
HOURS later, it was dark and I was finally finishing the race;
at the finish line Ken, who had qualified for Kona over 6 hours earlier, said,
"You know, what you did was harder than what I did...
you had to be out there so much longer!"
Seriously!? He qualified for Kona a second time
and somehow made the moment about someone else?!
Back to yesterday...
Ken's Ironman PR was 10:04... eleven years ago.
Yesterday, at Ironman Louisville, Ken finished in 10:04
taking SECOND in his age group as well as his THIRD Kona spot!
Balance is hard for everyone.
Balance is nearly impossible for triathletes – especially IRONMAN athletes.
Yet, somehow (probably because of his wife Holly) and unlike most,
Ken seeks balance between family, his company, Midwest Triathlon Coaching and training.
He keeps the ego in check and is never, too cool to encourage others.
If you think you'd like to give Ironman a try... he's they guy to talk to!
Midwest Triathlon Coaching