T.Horsten Schröder is a little unsteady on his feet. “Shit, I’m done!” says the spokesman of the “Tagesschau” and smiles blissfully. Because that’s exactly why he finally arrived in Hawaii: because of his suffering in the legendary Ironman. Because of the feeling when it’s done. Pain, pride, relief – all at the same time. “If I sit down now, I don’t know if I’ll get up again,” he says.
For the 54-year-old, a two-year journey culminates and ends in this moment. It was then that Schröder decided: he wants to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii for the second time since 2017. He made it, now he was one of nearly 500 German starters on the island and after swimming 3.86 kilometers in the Pacifico, 180 kilometers by bike and the last marathon at 30 degrees and high humidity, crossed the finish line with jubilation. 11:05:45 hours were emblazoned on the display after his name. “Thorsten Schröder”, the moderator called, “you are an Ironman”.
Yes, it really is. Thorsten Schröder at the finish of the Ironman Hawaii
Source: Melanie Haack
Since 1 November 2020 he has cycled, swam and ran for a total of 20,000 kilometers. How does it work? “I often train until just before work, eat something and then leave quickly. Or I wear my sports clothes right after work, ”she says. Sometimes she also uses commuting to work for training.
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For his friends and his partner, not much had changed. “Due to my unusual working hours, I can often train during the day during the week,” she explains. In the hot phase, however, before he qualified in Frankfurt in June and the workload hit 20 hours a week, things looked different. Schröder is grateful that his girlfriend took a lot from him and made the training possible.
He banned chocolate
He eliminated alcohol from his life before the start of the year and is considering keeping it that way. On the other hand, he indulged in the cake. And something else that Schröder has banned since the end of 2021: chocolate. “Because once it starts, it’s hard for me to stop.”
This is how most Germans know him: Thorsten Schröder as spokesperson for the Tagesschau
Source: NDR / Thorsten Jander (M)
Triathlon has been a part of his life for a very long time, he has been practicing this sport for almost 25 years. In 2012 he dared to do his first long distance. “For me, as an active person, sport means pure relaxation,” he says. “My thoughts change and I relieve stress.” And when Schröder is passionate about something, he wants to know too. Really. Qualifying for Hawaii for 2017 therefore meant the world to him.
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At the time he called the race “brutal”. Especially since after five kilometers of marathon nothing was working anymore. 37 kilometers of agony, but the more suffering on the track, the greater the relief at the end. “Finally finishing in Kona was pure happiness, all the difficulties have been forgotten,” he says. Fighting, pushing the limits – exactly its kind.
Memories: Schröder at the finish line of Kona 2017
Those: Nils Flieshardt / spomedis
He wanted to experience it again. Despite and perhaps because of her suffering. And because of this myth, it is the oldest long-distance race in the world. And as usual in triathlon, professionals and age group athletes start on the same day. “The great thing about Hawaii is the atmosphere, the ornaments, the history,” Schröder enthuses. The extreme conditions are what makes it so fascinating. E: Hawaii is the World Cup scene. A second time he wanted to be part of the myth. And I’d like to improve his time from 2017: 10:56 hours. The fact that he qualified in Frankfurt in 9:55:18 is not comparable due to the heat, humidity, wind and the course in Hawaii.
“Two years! It couldn’t have ended much better”
After 1:18:44 hours he gets up from the Pacific this Saturday. He needed 5:33:26 for the 180km bike ride and 4:00:56 for the marathon. 72nd place out of 387 owners in its age group. His jubilation? In his club’s triathlon suit, FC St. Pauli.
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“It was exhausting,” he says later. And there was also a moment of shock. At a 50km cycle path, his bike was making strange noises. Thoughts ran through Schröder’s head. “‘The bottom bracket!’ I thought. ‘If the bottom bracket is gone, then congratulations.’ “And he wondered,” Will I be able to reach the finish line or am I lost in the desert? ” But 30 kilometers later everything was suddenly back in place, the bike held up.
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100 kilometers of hiking in one go
Towards the end it got really tough. “It was really a hard fight and cramps, because unfortunately in the last twelve kilometers I had to do some walking. I wanted to stay below my time since 2017, I tried everything again, but I couldn’t keep up the pace for long. In the end, the beans were missing. ”Perhaps also due to her forced break after a corona infection in the summer.
Pure euphoria: Thorsten Schröder at the Ironman Hawaii 2022 finish
Source: Melanie Haack
At the finish the torment of the last kilometers is forgotten. “I’m happy,” he says. “When you know at the end of the race that nothing can happen to you, it is indescribable. The tears were about to come from joy and emotion. It was incredibly emotional because it is the culmination of a very fun but also very tiring two-year journey. Two years! Couldn’t have finished much better, very bright. ”Was his time ten minutes slower than he’d hoped for? It doesn’t matter at this point.
Schröder looks at his medal, then says: “It’s really nice. And most of all I’m happy to have it now. That was my big goal.” Then he tries to get up. It’s not that easy …
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