24 Jul From Newcomer to IRONMAN
From Newcomer to IRONMAN: Guru Sara’s Inspirational Journey with MetaSport
In my seven years working at MetaSport, I have met many inspirational people, but none like Guru Sara. Guru arrived in Singapore ready to relocate from India. He literally came straight from the airport to our office!
He introduced himself and said, “I want to complete a half Ironman.” My reply was, “Well, you have come to the right place!” He then proceeded to tell me that he couldn’t swim. I said no problem, we will teach you. He told me he didn’t have a bike – my reply was let me help you buy one. He said he could run a little – I said, “Great, we are one-third of the way there!”
He then came to his first MetaSport training session, where he had to stop after 12 metres. Together with some great training and his determination, he soon could swim 200 metres! He bought a bike and learnt bike handling skills. Through regular training, he could run further than he had before. Then Covid happened. But that did not stop Guru.
He kept cycling and running in his neighbourhood and got stronger and faster. As soon as the pools opened, he was back at swim training. As there were strict rules and travel and races were not allowed, Guru decided he would attempt a half Ironman on his birthday by himself in Sentosa. After completing the 90km bike, he went home, dropped his bike, and started the 21km run. I met him on my bike and rode beside him, cheering the whole way. When he finished, I gave him one of my own medals and finisher towels. It was a proud day. Guru continued training hard and last May, in Malaysia, he completed his first official 70.3 (half Ironman). I was there to see him finish. This year he had to work extra hard on his swim to compete in T100 Singapore. He had a tough day, cramping on the run, but he did it and again I was there to watch him finish. He then asked fellow MetaMates and coaches for advice on nutrition to prevent cramping. This made a big difference to his training.
Guru signed up for a full IRONMAN in Cairns, Australia in June (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2 km run). He rang me and said, “You have been there for all my race achievements, please will you come to watch me become an IRONMAN.” How could I refuse?!
I flew to Cairns and cheered him on. Never have I cheered so loudly or been so proud of one of my athletes. He completed the swim in an excellent time. He biked well and then it was time for his favourite leg, the run. The course is well set up for spectators and I saw him eight times during the marathon. I ran alongside him for 100 metres then headed to the finish in a time of 14:46. He got to hear those magic words, “GURU YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”
We at MetaSport are so proud of his achievements. We asked him, what’s next? He replied with a grin, “I’ll need to come to more training as I want to swim Oceanman and do some ultra runs!”
Training with a community really does help. If you would like a free training session, email me.
DONNA MCWILLIAMS
Relationship Manager – Training and Events
