The ironman triathlon was every bit as grueling as Islamorada resident Claudia Stober imagined it would be.
“It was exactly as horrific as I thought it would be, possibly more,” said the 49-year-old mother of two with a laugh.
On April 22, Stober, along with her niece, Robin Okunowo, and training partner, Sandy Brito, donned their “Badass and Beautiful” T-shirts and headed to The Woodlands, Texas to compete in the ironman. The ironman triathlon is undeniably one of the most challenging one-day competitions in the world.
For Stober, getting to this point was not easy. The local mortgage broker had completed three half ironmans in the past, but the fear of running a 26.2-mile marathon sidelined her.
Last year, Stober went to Texas and cheered for her friend Brito, a local dentist, as Brito completed the ironman. This triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile marathon, all of which has to be finished in under 17 hours.
“I watched her compete and I was so disappointed in myself that I allowed the fear of running a marathon stand between me and basically the holy grail for a triathlete,” recalled Stober.
That’s why this year she vowed to push through the pain of running a marathon. As her husband, Rob, and daughters,15-year old Shay and 12-year-old Lola, looked on, Stober broke down in tears about halfway through the run.
“When I was struggling in my second lap around and crying and not wanting to continue and all of that my youngest actually ran alongside me, encouraging me and cheering me up and trying to get me to run a little further,” said Stober.
“I ran with her for a couple of miles,” said daughter Lola Stober. “It was really fun and I did it because I didn’t want her to be alone and I heard that she was having a rough run,” she added. The Plantation Key School sixth-grader is also a triathlete who completed the Key Largo triathlon last year.
Stober’s journey to fitness started six years ago when she was 100 pounds overweight and knew a lifestyle change was in order.
“My focus was never on the weight loss, it was more on the feeling good and getting healthier and getting stronger. The weight loss was just the icing on the cake,” she said.
Stober began competing in triathlons in 2018. Being a positive role model for her daughters motivated her to press on.
“I do it for me, but I want them to see you can do hard things,” added Stober.
During the April triathlon in Texas, Stober recalled what she said to her girls right before the 2.4-mile swim. Which, by the way, took place in a lake full of duck poop, she said.
“The last thing I said to them before I went in the water was ‘I hope I make you proud today.’ I gave them a hug and a kiss and then I went in the water,” said Stober as she choked back tears.
And make them proud she did. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, how many kids can say their mom is an Ironman?
“Watching my mom finish it was definitely inspiring,” Lola said.
“I’m really proud of her and it’s been really exciting to watch her cross the finish line.”
