Laboring across the finish line, muscles screaming and bodies exhausted from the nearly 140 grueling miles of swimming, biking and running, those who complete the Ford Ironman Wisconsin are considered winners for simply surviving. Childhood friends, 22-year-old Mike Esser Jr., Jacob Schmidt and Mark Semrad did exactly that.
Believe it or not, their motivation came from Esser Jr.’s father, Mike Esser Sr. Four years ago, at age 47, Esser Sr. suffered from high blood pressure and cholesterol so he began training with his son to get back into shape. Eventually, the two had racked up numerous triathlons and marathons. Now, they faced the granddaddy of them all.
“Mr. Esser was without a doubt the only reason that I got started in triathlons and truly the driving force behind all of us signing up,” Schmidt says. “When Mr. Esser finished his half-Ironman and planned on signing up for the full, I knew it was a challenge I wanted to be a part of.”
Just as Schmidt and Semrad were inspired, Mike Sr. was driven to compete because of the inspiration provided to him by his own father, who lost a battle to cancer.
Ironman athletes have 17 hours to complete the event, beginning at 7 a.m. and finishing at midnight. Competitors complete a 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride before hopping off and running 26.2 miles. That’s 140.6 miles if you’re still counting.
“I was scared crapless,” Esser Jr. admitted. “I thought you guys were more calm than I was …”
When it comes to training, Esser Sr. says he started the first day he started exercising. “I’d say I’ve been training for three or four years now – which is good because it allows you to keep working out and stay in shape,” he says.
Semrad on the last leg of the race.
Schmidt, Semrad and Esser Jr. trained for almost a year and a half – running, biking and swimming at least two times per day.
“Starting last year, we tried to work out twice a day,” Semrad says, “Ideally we’d spend an hour-and-a-half on the bike and an hour or 45 minutes running. But we always tried to do different things each time whether it was a bike and a swim, or a run and a bike.”
For all three, timing was an issue during the school year. All are University of Wisconsin seniors, but once summer came around they developed a more routine schedule.
“Everyday I would get up at 5:30-6 a.m. and go for a 20 to 40 mile bike ride,” Semrad says. “I’d get back, go to work for 8 hours, come home and either run for 1-2 hours or swim or do both.”
Two weeks before the race, the group laid off the greasy food, drank enormous amounts of water and Gatorade and even forfeited drinking beer, as best they could anyway.
“We slipped up once,” Esser Jr. confesses. “It was the first Wisconsin game day, we had to celebrate.”
Besides one day of indulgence, everyone stuck to the schedule until the big day.
The alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. on race day. The group woke up, had a light breakfast and headed to Lake Monona for the start of the race. Filling water bottles and preparing transition bags went quickly. Before they knew it, they were in the water.
“I was really scared for the swim,” Schmidt admits. “And now that there was a time limit, I couldn’t float on my back the whole way, I actually had to hustle.”Once the timer started, the kicking, smacking and shoving began as participants raced from the starting line.
Schmidt says he’s never been happier than the moment a volunteer pulled his arm from the water at the end of the 2.4 miles.
“That’s when I knew I wasn’t going to die,” he laughed.
After the swim, participants have 10 minutes to transition to the bike race over Madison hills.
“That’s when I thought I might not be able to finish,” Semrad says. “There are two loops to the bike race, and the first time you go through it the crowd keeps you going. The second time, no one’s around. … But you’ve just got to tell yourself you can.”
“I thought I was going to puke,” Esser Jr. says. “And the cramps started to get me as I was climbing the hills.”
The last leg was the best part of the race for the guys.
“I thought the marathon was a blast! At that point there were so many people crowded around cheering for you,” Semrad says.
Esser Jr. felt seeing family, friends and total strangers cheering him on kept him focused and energetic during the run.
“I saw my dad first on the run and he looked good,” Esser Jr. says. “Then I saw Jake. I was so relieved because I didn’t know if he had made it through the swim until that moment.”
Esser Jr. was so proud of Schmidt, just seeing him gave them both more energy to finish strong. Soon after, he caught a glimpse of Semrad nearing the finish line.
“He was looking good as he always does. I never doubted that he would finish. His work ethic and spirit were very inspiring as we trained together,” Esser Jr. says.
After 26.2 long miles, they finally reached Camp Randall Stadium and crossed the Ironman finish line. Surrounded by screaming onlookers, Esser Jr. finished in 13 hours and 13 minutes, followed by Semrad at 14 hours and 15 minutes and Schmidt at 15 hours and 46 minutes.
“Watching my roommates, Mark and Jake, cross that finish line was awesome,” Esser Jr. says. “I never thought that all three of us could do something as hard, as intense, as an Ironman.”
But there was still someone left on the course, and his finish wasn’t just a matter of completing another race. It was a gift from a son to his father, a way for Mike Esser Sr. to win one for his dad.
Mike’s father had died of cancer Thanksgiving 2008, but he would conquer this feat in spirit.
“My goal was to finish the Ironman and give him my medal,” Esser Sr. says. “I wanted to tell him that I thought he was the real iron man. Unfortunately, I lost him. It was a bittersweet moment, a quite emotional moment.”
Esser Jr., Semrad, Schmidt and family waited anxiously. With 24 minutes left to finish, Esser Sr. appeared in the chute – a strong, middle-aged man running with an older man, whose face looked out from a small, dog-eared photograph clutched in his hand.
“I knew my grandpa was with him and me all day. He was giving us that extra push that we needed,” Esser Jr. says.
The Essers, Schmidt and Semrad all plan to run the Ironman again next year. Now, two months later, they talk about determination, focus and never giving up.
“Getting through the race is so mental,” Semrad says. “Just stay focused and disciplined, tell yourself you’re not going to quit because your friends aren’t going to.”
Running together helped Schmidt, who says he doesn’t think he could have done it alone. “There is almost no better motivation for finishing the race than knowing your best friends are somewhere out there with you,” he says.
Since the beginning of his training, Esser Sr. is healthier, handles stress in a better way, and has much more energy.
“I accomplish so much more on a daily basis. I can keep up with anyone and stay focused on the tasks at hand,” he says. “ I feel much better too, not out of breath all the time.”
But his number one motivator? “My family,” he says. “I want to be around for a long time with them.”