Ironman

Jeff Green | Jul 17, 2008

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Denis Morel and Bob Harding. Photo by Elke Morel.

Local triathletes Denis Morel of Hartington and Bob Harding of Sydenham are winding up their 6-month preparation for the Lake Placid Ironman triathlon race on July 20. An Ironman triathlon consists of a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike followed by a marathon (42.2km) run. Training began in January and has slowly increased from 5-6 hours per week to a peak of 16 hours per week. For Morel, it will be his 16th Ironman race, but for Harding, it will be his first. "My goal is to complete the race in the required time (less than 17 hours) to post an ‘official’ Ironman finish, and a bonus would be to beat Denis. An Ironman race is as much aboutmental toughness as it is physical endurance, and no one is mentally tougherthan Denis; they don't call him ‘the bull’ for nothing,” says Harding.

Besides training long distances together, both Morel and Harding have another trait in common...they both feel it is important to give back to their community. As part of their Ironman challenge, they have joined the Ironcops Kingston team. The team is a group of triathletes dedicated to racing Ironman events and raising funds for the Cops for Cancer program... a Canada-wide fund-raising program involving both police officers and civilian members that supports the Canadian Cancer Society.

Both athletes have been closely touched by cancer ...Harding lost his mother to cancer and Morel has recently lost two co-workers and a close training partnerto the disease.

Pledges in support of their upcoming Ironman race can be done by cheque made payable to the Canadian Cancer Society and mailed to: P.O. Box 464, Sydenham, ON, K0H 2T0. OfficIal tax receipts will be issued for donations of $20 or more. For more information about the Kingston Ironcops team and the Cops for Cancer program, go to: www.ironcopskingston.ca