San Marino resident Nancy Szeto Ko has completed one of the toughest triathlons in the world – all while raising money for the charity organization she leads.
By gaining sponsors for her participation in the recent Ironman Arizona, she raised $7,500 for National Charity League Juniors.
That money will be donated to the Huntington Hospital NICU and PICU.
“To compete and complete the Ironman is such a huge feat,” said Ellen Tsang, NCL Juniors vice president of philanthropy. “To know that Nancy swam, biked and ran with a purpose to support NCL Juniors’ cause in supporting Huntington Hospital’s NICU and PICU is inspiring.”
On Nov. 20, Ko took part in the triathlon – also called IMAZ – in Tempe, Ariz. that consisted of a 2.4-mile single-loop swim in Tempe Town Lake, a 112-mile three-course bicycle ride that proceeds through the Sonoran Desert and, lastly, a 26.2-mile two-loop run around Tempe Town Lake and through Papago Park.
Her husband, Jonathan; their 8-year-old triplets, Ethan, Nicholas and Jennifer; Ko’s parents, Warren and Mee-Lee Szeto; and Ko’s friends, Ly Ly Ta and Lam Nguyen and their daughter Kaitlyn, all traveled to Arizona to cheer her on. Dozens of her friends and family in San Marino and beyond also were ‘tracking’ her progress in real time via the Ironman Arizona website.
Ko completed the triathlon in 15 hours, 28 minutes and 32 seconds, breaking down to 1:39.59 for swimming, 6:54.31 for biking and 6:28.03 for running. She ranked 1,933rd overall, 116th in her division and 519th in her gender. There were 2,441 people registered, a number that includes people who didn’t start and didn’t finish.
Ko said she experienced doubts before the triathlon.
“The hardest part was starting,” she said. “I was so nervous and scared. I didn’t want to start the race. I just got there and thought ‘I don’t know if I belong here.’”
She ended up seeing Mike Reilly – “The Voice of the Ironman” who announces finishers at many of the Ironman triathlons – before the triathlon and approached him with a question.
“I asked him if I could have a photo with him if I don’t make it to the finish line,” Ko said. “Then, he gave me a pep talk and he gave me a hug. He said, ‘You’re going to do it. You’re going to cross the finish line. Today is your day. You’re going to become an Ironman’”
Ko said once she started, it became easier. She said she wasn’t sore, but she started getting sleepy toward the end of the race because her bedtime is usually 8:30 p.m. and her day went well past 10 p.m.
She said she was ecstatic when she finished.
“I think it was the happiest day, next to the birth of my children and the day that I got married,” Ko said. “I was on a high. It just felt so surreal when I saw the finish line, and to have Mike Reilly announce that I was an Ironman was amazing.”
She said her family was very excited to see her when she rounded the course and her children were able to hold her hand while running for a small portion of the race.
Ko said in addition to raising money for Huntington Hospital—which was where her triplets were born—through NCL Juniors, she also competed in the IMAZ to set an example for her children.
“I think they learned that nothing comes easy and you have to work every day,” Ko said. “I didn’t become a triathlete overnight. They saw me every day waking up early in the morning and coming home late just from training, to practice and finish the race. They saw you need to work hard and be dedicated. And it doesn’t matter that I didn’t come in first place.”
She continued, “They said ‘What place did you come in? Did mommy come in first place? I said, ‘No, mommy came in 1,933rd place’ and they said, ‘What??’”
Ko said they’re used to hearing first, second, third in most of the races that she competes in.
She trained for six months with triathlon coach, Lynne Fiedler, for the IMAZ, with some of the hardest days involving her training on a bicycle for at least seven hours followed by a one-hour to two-hour run.
Ko said she also received some inspiration from the “Vegan Ironman,” Kevin Tran, a few weeks before the triathlon when she visited his restaurant in the San Fernando Valley.
“He gave me words of wisdom to think about during each leg of the race,” she said.
Ko called the IMAZ “the most positive thing I’ve ever experienced.” She said she could definitely imagine competing in another Ironman competition in her future.
