The World’s First Eco Ironman?

Friday, 09 October 2009 12:18

A bike made of bamboo, shoes made with no chemical solvents, and ‘Seal the Deal’ logos on his kit. This is how (27) from UK competed in Challenge Barcelona on October 4, an Ironman-distance triathlon.
 
“I'm trying to show that it is possible to build appreciation time for the natural world into our day-to-day lives”, Jon Alexander writes on his blog.

By aiming to keep his carbon footprint as close to zero as possible, Alexander wanted other athletes to start thinking more carefully about their carbon footprint and making changes to their lifestyle, particularly in what they eat and how they travel to events. According to him, myths about greener diets and equipment compromising performance prevent athletes from adopting a sustainable approach to their lifestyle.
 
“I believe all athletes are environmentalists at heart, if you define environmentalists as people who love the natural world. And the interesting thing about the more eco-friendly kit is that some of it is actually better”, Alexander said in an interview with The Ecologist.
 
He also raised money for the Wilderness Foundation along the way, and managed to raise almost one third of what the foundation needs to formalize its TurnAround project in 2010.
 
Eco-friendly preparations

The ambitious Ironman-length triathlon Challenge Barcelona consists of 3.8 km swimming, 180 km biking, followed by a marathon (42.2km), and is regarded as one of the most challenging endurance events. Being a freshman in the competition, Alexander gave himself three months to practice, 40 hours every week, and fitted his sessions around his job as Sustainablilty Strategist for the advertising agency Fallon London.
 
‘Going eco’ of course means that all preparations must be done in eco-friendly ways. He travelled to Barcelona by train, and although living in the centre of London, Alexander has only been practicing outdoors. He turned vegetarian already a year ago and uses only organic ingredients for his meals, topped up with sports nutrition products from the fair-trade company Torq Fitness.
 
“My athletic performance has improved dramatically because I am leaner, trimmer and don’t feel so weighed down”, he insists, adding, “don’t believe people who say you need to eat meat to be an athlete, it’s not true.”
 
Alexander also believes that by encouraging more people to fall in love with nature, a large number of us will be motivated to do something about saving it.
 
Impressive result

The races in the grueling triathlon series take about 12 hours to finish. After recovering from the challenging race, Alexander could announce an impressive result on his blog: 11 hours and 32 minutes. Further, his carbon footprints after six months training and travelling showed 0,56 tonnes. Although hoping for a lower number, the Eco Ironman still spent nearly three tonnes less footprints - compared to the average Ironman, who ends up with 3.48 tonnes.

“To me, this proves the point that we as athletes really need to think about what we're doing. All humans depend on the natural environment to thrive - but we should have good reason to be more conscious of that fact. And to do something about it”, Alexander writes on his blog.

And according to BBC, he will now auction off his bike and other reusable pieces of his environmentally friendly kit to raise even more money for charity.