Here’s one teacher to whom I wouldn’t dare make an excuse. Anne Hayes, a philosophy and English instructor at Kitsilano secondary, recently competed in the Ironman world championship in Kona, Hawaii. Hayes finished 11th out of 19 in the world championship. She qualified for the event after placing first as the fastest woman in the 60 to 64 age group in the Penticton Ironman in August.
Hayes told The Courier that the Ironman competition ranks among most difficult moments of her life. She was isolated on the Hawaiian island of Kona, thrashing against headwinds and barely halfway through a 180-kilometre bike ride. She’d already swam nearly four kilometres and still faced a 42-km marathon run.
“I had to dig as deep as I’ve ever dug,” Hayes said. At a half-way mark, she burst into tears. A volunteer looked at Hayes and said, “I’ll see you at the finish.”
“It was the best thing she could have said to me,” explained Hayes. “I thought, ‘OK. I’ve got to get going. I’ve got to finish this thing.'”
And she did.
Read the full story here.
