Beyond belief: Triathlon runner going the distance

For some students, walking from the first floor to the fourth floor of DeMoss seems like an athletic achievement. Meet Liberty University student Jaime Azuaje, who completed the triple-iron triathlon, which consisted of a 7.2 mile swim, 336 mile bike and 78.6 mile run — the longest official triathlon in the United States held in Virginia.

Motivation — Azuaje contiunes his search for more marathons in different countries. Photo credit: Alyssa Bockman

“The opportunity was too great not to try,” Azuaje said.

Azuaje is a member of Liberty University’s triathlon team. His love of sports in high school led him to pursue the ultimate athletic challenge — triathlons.

“I played football and ran track in high school and was very active,” Azuaje said. “After graduation, I didn’t want to get fat so I got into cycling. I wanted to do a cycling race but couldn’t find any races in my area. All I could find were triathlons, so I thought to myself, ‘Well self, you can bike, so that is the longest part. I run a little, I just need to learn to swim. So I did my first sprint, a 500-meter swim, 13-mile bike and a three mile run.”

Training for a sport like the triple-iron triathlon is practically a sport itself.

To prepare for the race, Azuaje had to train nearly every day.

“I swam five days a week about 8-10 miles a week. I would bike whenever I could about four times a week. Ran five times a week from 40-70 miles a week. And lifted weights twice a week,” Azuaje said.

Motivation is key, especially in such physically demanding sports like the triple iron triathlon. Azuaje relied on a higher power for his strength.

“What motivates me to try is the gift that God has given me of health and capability to be able to attempt these races,” Azuaje said. “There are people we come in contact with who are not able to get out of bed, so I see every mile as a precious gift that God allows.”

For Azuaje, simply running the race was not his source of satisfaction. Finishing the race was what kept him going.

“A lot of people say that they are addicted to running or racing. I do not believe that I am. I believe that I am addicted to finishing,” Azuaje said. “The relief you feel after you know that you are done is what gives me that runners high everyone speaks about. When you finish, the race director plays your national anthem and you run the last couple hundred yards with your nation’s flag. I finished fourth overall and felt very honored to be the first American across the line of 2011.”

For those brave students looking to get started in triathlon races, Azuaje offers advice that he once received from Liberty University professor David Horton.

“You can do more than you think you can.”

Since completing the triple ironman triathlon, Azuaje is looking to the future.

“I would like to compete in more ultra triathlons overseas maybe in Spain or Germany and do the Hellgate 100k mountain bike race. Also, not as a race, but I would like to bike across America and hike the Appalachian Trail,” Azuaje said.

Azuaje is living proof that with strength, determination and a belief in Jesus Christ, all things are possible, even the triple-iron triathlon.

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