Your Members’ Health: Get Inspired!

(Editors Note: The new articles that will come up in the Health and Fitness News section of Club Solutions Magazine Online, “Your Members Health,” will give you the opportunity to take an article and photo we’ve provided you and send it out to your members in your e-mail blasts or on your website at no charge. Just a little something extra to make your job a lot easier.)

How many people have set out to train for a marathon, triathlon or even a 5k and found themselves developing hundreds of excuses as to why they couldn’t make it to the finish line?

If you’re not raising your hand, you’re lying. Everyone, at some point or another has wanted to sit down and forget about training, or finishing the race.

It’s hard to put in the effort every day and it’s nerve-racking when you can’t muster the energy to go day after day.

After doing a little research for another article, I stumbled upon an article on the ironman.com website. Honestly, I don’t frequent this site very often because I don’t train for these amazing events. Regardless, I was writing about an individual that did, and found an inspirational story.

Rajesh Durbal, a man that finished the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 9, 2010, at 14:19:12, is inspiration for us all.

According to ironman.com, Durbal was born with a congenital deformity in his legs and right arm. When he was just a year old, he had both his legs amputated just below the knee. The site said he also had surgery to replace bones in his legs and his partial right arm.

Throughout grade school, Durbal never let his disabilities stand in his way. He continued to be active and play with the other kids. His desire to be active was so inspiring, one of his teachers wrote a book about him.

Durbal was the 1,640th athlete across the finish line at the world championship and the first amputee to race in Kona.

Remember, the Ironman World Championship is a triathlon. It begins with a nice dip into the Pacific Ocean. If the participants make it out, they then move to a bike and then a run across the great island landscape that is the Big Island, Hawaii.

Durbal told ironman.com that he doesn’t have the muscles to control his stride, but that it’s all in his core. “The whole run course felt like I was doing plank and running at the same time,” he told ironman.com.

Finishing the competition for Durbal was a feat, but remember that he trained hard for the competition. That meant waking up every day and gathering himself enough to run, bike or swim great distances. Also, this wasn’t a one-time test for Durbal. He competed in his first sprint triathlon in 2009. Now, he is looking for another triathlon — this time, much faster.

Truly, an inspiration to us all!