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  • A tired-but-elated Maria Ogburn crosses the finish line at the Ford Ironman Arizona on Nov. 21, 2010. Courtesy photo

    Ogburn crosses the finish line

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January 22, 2011

Iron woman

Ogburn’s 3-year dream comes true at Arizona competition

Jayson Larson The Athens Review

ATHENS — There’s no real reason to do what Athens resident Maria Ogburn did last November 21 — she swam 2.4 miles, biked for 112 more and then capped it off with a “cool down” of 26.2 miles. One after the other after the other.

No real reason, unless someone is chasing you. Or if you just can’t help doing something most others in the world can’t — and will probably never — do.

That “something” was the Ford Ironman Arizona competition, known to be one of the most grueling athletic tests in the world. There are few other endurance events tougher, and now Ogburn — an active community member and business owner — can say she’s completed one.

She even has the tattoo — a popular tradition for those who actually finished an Ironman — to prove it.

“Now it feels like a dream,” Ogburn says. “It’s like, ‘Did I really do all that?”

Ogburn had never even heard about Ironman competitions until her sister, Michele Burzynski, said she was planning to compete in one about three years ago.

“When she told me, I was like, ‘That’s crazy! Nobody can do that!”

After Michele insisted that people actually do such events, the sisters embarked on a journey that began with sprint triathlons and ended in Arizona.

The sisters began as many Ironman competitors do, biting off smaller events such as sprint triathlons in which to compete. A sprint triathlon is a much smaller, but similar, event in which the participant swims 300 meters, bikes 12 to 15 miles and then finishes the race with a 5K (3.1-mile) run.

After that, they moved on to “Olympic” distances that are slightly longer in each category. Suddenly, Ogburn built up the strength to move up to the Half Ironman competition. She competed in three — in Georgia, Kansas and Austin.

As she moved up in distances, the training became more intense. Working out for the runs alone would sometimes leave her on the road for 18 miles or more at a time.

When the big day arrived, Ogburn was as ready as one can be when preparing for an Ironman. As ready as she was, nothing could have prepared her for swimming in water so cold that she couldn’t move her fingers or for how to persevere after cramping on the bike, crashing and then looking forward to a marathon run.

But she finished alive (and readily admits getting the tattoo the next day was more painful than the actual Ironman).

“When I crossed the finish line, it was elation, euphoria,” she said. “We were on top of the world.”

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