BYU Student Wellness is offering students a way to complete an Ironman triathlon throughout the month of November, but with a twist.
The Lazy Ironman consists of a 26.2-mile run, 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride. It may sound intimidating, but these distances will be distributed throughout the month for students to complete at their own leisure.
The goal of the event is to stagger the exercise and distances to promote student wellness and offer students the opportunity to say they completed an Ironman while still maintaining their couch lounging time.
Registration for the Lazy Ironman triathlon ends on Nov. 5. Registration for the triathlon is available online and costs $5. More information concerning locations and times will be available upon registration.
Though running, biking and swimming might not seem especially appealing in the midst of a busy semester, it appears there will be some BYU students interested in registering.
A student administered survey polled 41 randomly selected students and found that 68% of them would be willing to participate in the event. Some were encouraged by the fact that they would have more time to complete the event and not have a concentrated level of stress for an entire race.
“I’ve already considered doing something like that,” BYU computer science major Daniel Spiesman said. “That makes sense that they would spread it out over time. Super cool.”
The majority of the polled students who responded they would be interested in participating said their schedules were very limited. They said they felt that if there was a way to maintain exercise and not mess up their structured time, it would be ideal.
Other students weren’t as thrilled about the Ironman. BYU senior Yvonne Andrewsen said, “I would not do that ever. I would never. At all.”
The main issue students found with the triathlon was the timing of the event. The majority of the students who said they wouldn’t participate asked why the event was scheduled in November.
“It’s cold! I would want to do it more if it was in the summer,” BYU marketing major Robert Reynolds said. “When it’s winter, it’s hard enough for me to get out of bed.”
Despite the challenges and the cold, many students are revving up to participate and say that they’ve completed an Ironman triathlon.
