From Bengaluru to Barcelona, a surgeon's journey to Ironman Triathlon

BENGALURU: A professional, whose world revolves around the operation theatre performing surgeries, begins his day much before the break of dawn, to pursue and train for his other passion – athletics and fitness. He trains for 15 to 16 hours every week and cycles every weekend on the Airport Road. Dr Muralidhar S Kathalagiri, consultant - general & laparoscopic surgery has taken part in the 40-to-44-year category in Ironman 70.3 Barcelona Spain this year. “I now aspire to compete in the full Ironman and am training for the triathlon,” says the surgeon.

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and is considered as one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. It consists of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim,  a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a  26.22-mile (42.20 km) marathon run. The Ironman events have a limited time of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race.The Ironman 70.3 involves a 1.9km of swimming, 90km of cycling and 21.1km of running in a hilly terrain, all in one stretch.

Muralidhar’s passion for sports began during his student days in Sirsi.  “I used to take part in 1,500m race and high jump in school in Sirsi. I was in the college cricket team. After completing my post-graduation in surgery (MS), I was in Karnataka Medical College (KMC) staff cricket team,” he adds. Later, when he joined a corporate hospital as a consultant general, laparoscopic surgery because of his busy schedule, lack of proper sleep followed by unhealthy food, he started gaining weight.

“That was an alarm bell for me. By early 2016, I started running with the intent to lose weight and was also able to do the TCS 10 km run in May 2016. After completing my first 10 km run, I felt enthused to do more such marathons,” says Muralidhar. He did his first half marathon in 2016 September and then there was no looking back. He then went for his first Full Marathon (FM) in Berlin followed by second FM (42.2km) in Mumbai in 2018 and third FM in Chicago Marathon the same year. He has completed five FMs till date.

In 2018, when Goa Ironman 70.3 was announced, the surgeon started working towards it. “Ironman has always been my dream since I started running. I registered for Goa Ironman 70.3 and started training for it. I started learning to swim in February 2019,” he says.Muralidhar starts his day at 4am and trains between 5am to 8 am, so that he can start his work by 9am.The 2019 Goa Ironman 70.3 was his first triathlon which was a combination of 1.9km swim in the sea, 90 km cycling and 21 km running in quick succession to be completed in an 8 hr 30min duration. “It took me five hours and nine minutes to complete the triathlon. I stood fifth in my age category,” he adds.

The 2020 triathlon was cancelled due to the pandemic but Muralidhar kept up with his training. This year, after receiving his vaccination, he enrolled for Ironman 70.3 Barcelona. “I take my family along for my athletic events. We turn it into a family holiday,” he says, adding, “I am hooked to my routine of physical exercises. To stay fit requires discipline. I go for routine health check ups to ensure that I am physically fit for these events. Exercises and proper nutrition go hand in hand. I can feel the change in my stamina and energy levels. Physical exercises are a good addiction which I would recommend to everyone.”