An Ironman triathlon might just be one of the most impressive feats a human can say they’ve done.
Many do it to prove to themselves they’re capable of doing what’s viewed as impossible to some.
One former NHL player’s hobby recently seems to be completing Ironmans.
What former NHL player ran a sub-five-hour Ironman?
An Ironman is basically a triathlon (Swimming, biking and running) but with extreme volume that forces humans to endure pain like they’ve never felt before.
The distances can vary. Former NHL player Zdeno Chara just completed a sub-five-hour Ironman that consisted of 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking and 13.1 miles of running.
He finished with a time of 4:56:47. For a player who played 24 long seasons in the NHL, consisting of 1,680 games, you’d think he’d want to enjoy retirement once he called it a career. Chara has done the opposite.
Chara stated in the past, “My athletic journey post-hockey naturally gravitated toward endurance sports” (Runner’s World).
At age 48, Chara is getting every bit out of his body that he has left, and is doing it with a smile on his face, even after logging 39,485 minutes on the ice in his career.
He stands at an increible height of 6-9 for an NHL player, tied with Rangers’ Matt Rempe for the tallest player to ever play in the NHL.
Chara was a seven-time all-star, a Stanley Cup Champion and most importantly, a Hall of Famer.
He recorded 680 points in his career, with 209 goals and 471 assists.
No signs are pointing towards Chara ending his post-NHL racing hobby just yet, so we should expect to see more impressive endurance feats from Chara in the next couple of years.
