USAF ACADEMY, CO (December 2, 2005) – Covenanter Ted Meeker may have felt he had to work as hard to get into the Ironman Florida Triathlon in November as he did to get into the United States Air Force Academy.
With perseverance befitting a triathlete, Meeker kept pleading his case through telephone calls and email until he received approval for the entry. “I think I made some people angry,” he says.
Meeker also was able to raise $2,000 from others, including his fellow cadets, to benefit the relief work. “The whole thing was just a miracle,” he says.
Registration had long closed for the November 5 race when Ironman North America announced September 14 that it was opening 10 slots for the race in Panama Beach at $1,500 each to benefit the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Meeks saw it as an opportunity to help, but didn’t learn of the openings until a day later – after the slots had been taken.
With perseverance befitting a triathlete, Meeker kept pleading his case through telephone calls and email until he received approval for the entry. “I think I made some people angry,” he says.He had to make the $1,500 commitment to the race before he had the opportunity to get permission from his superiors at the academy, where he is a senior. Meeks also had to quickly book flight and hotel reservations.
Once approval was given and the arrangements made, there still was the matter of training for the competition just weeks away. That was the easy part.
Ironman competitors swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26 miles. Meeker had competed in the Ironman Wisconsin races in 2004 and 2005. He already was training several hours a day for the Marine Corps Marathon scheduled a week before the Florida competition.
“I had the race of my life,” says Meeker of the Ironman, a feat he accomplished despite having run in the marathon only six days before, which he finished in 4 hours, 29 minutes. His previous best in an Ironman competition was 13 hours, 19 minutes. He cut that to 12 hours, 12 minutes, and would have done even better had he not lost a half hour due to a flat tire in the biking segment.
Meeker also was able to raise $2,000 from others, including his fellow cadets, to benefit the relief work. “The whole thing was just a miracle,” he says.Despite his obvious fitness, Meeker says his body’s weakness is part of the reason he runs. “As much as I hate to admit limitations of any kind, one thing that doing a race like that really highlights to me is that fact that my body is weak,” he says. “Even at our peaks, we as humans aren’t capable of very much without the Lord’s help.”
While that concept is simple, Meeker says he needs something concrete to make it real. “Ironman is that way. The only way I’ve gotten through any of my races – and indeed much of the training – is by giving myself up and letting God carry me. Even though the triathlon itself is a silly race and doesn’t amount to much, I know that I’m being taught a very useful lesson through it, and that something much greater than just a race will come of it in the future.”
As for the future, Meeker is scheduled to graduate in 2006, and if asked, he can tell you to the second how much time he has left. He also hopes to qualify for the Ironman Hawaii World Championship in October.
Meeker is the son of Cindy and Chip Meeker, both North Park University graduates who attend Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin, Connecticut.
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