Triathlete Bob Scott Continues to Excel
By Richard Daub
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
The annual Ironman Triathlon held in Kona, Hawaii is widely regarded as the world championship event of the sport. Its slogan, “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!” coined during the very first Ironman in 1978 by then Race Director John Collins, is imposing enough to discourage even the most highly conditioned athletes from pursuing such a boast.
Then there are those who accept it as a challenge.
Bob Scott is one such athlete. In 2005, the 75- year-old Scott shattered the Ironman record for his age group by nearly two hours. Since 1987 he has competed in all but two Kona Ironmans, and the only year he started one that he didn’t finish was in 2003 when he became dehydrated and was joined on his bike by a swarm of bees.
“The bees went in through my helmet vents and stung my head and distracted me quite a bit,” Scott recently told The Erickson Tribune from his home in Naperville, Ill. “I had to stop and try and get something to put on it to keep the pain level down. I got back on the bike and I said, ‘You know, it just feels awful good to sit down.’ After the swim and the bike, I just said, ‘You know, I don’t need to do this anymore— I’m just exhausted, totally wasted.’ So I didn’t finish.”
Ironman Condition
To remain in Ironman condition, Scott, a retired mechanical engineer turned personal trainer and coach, trains twice a day every day except Sunday, which is the day he reserves for a nice long bike ride and short run afterward.
“It might be a five, six, or seven hour bike ride, and you come off the bike and you go for a half-hour run after that just to make sure the legs work after biking that long,” Scott said of his Sunday workout. “On midweek days, I run four, five days a week, and each time you go out for a run, there’s something specific to do— you just don’t go out and jog around. You’ve got to do some track work, some tempo work, and long runs, too.