Heart racing and adrenaline pumping, these are the kinds of feelings that many people have begun to embrace this month at The Recreational Eagle Center.
The first ever Indoor Ironman event began Nov. 1 and will run through Nov. 30.  It is being orchestrated by the UW-La Crosse Triathlon Club.
The idea was brought up with by the Triathlon Club’s President Andrea Schaefer, a junior with a major in exercise science.  She said that she got the idea from a YMCA that was putting on a similar event, and thought it would be a good way to gather interest in triathlons.
There is a slight difference between an ironman and a triathlon, however. An ironman is a triathlon that is at a farther distance than a typical triathlon.  Therefore, the Triathlon Club is really trying to challenge students this semester by encouraging them to push themselves in this event.
The Indoor Ironman itself consists of three separate categories: a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run.  Together, these  events make a total of 140.6 miles of physical activity.
Understandably, to some this sounds like an absurd number to try and complete in a single day. Thankfully, this is only one option a person can choose to participate in.  The event itself lasts the entire month, and allows everyone who participates to keep track of their miles on a spreadsheet located in the REC just outside of the strength center.  This is where anyone can sign up for participation and goes to record any amounts of swimming, biking or running they choose to do.  This way, people do not feel overwhelmed by fearing that they must complete it right away, but can do it at their own pace in the time given to them.
Though there is no specific prizes given to them in regards to completing the Indoor Ironman, anyone who signs up to participate will be put into a raffle for various gift cards from The Grand Bluff Running Company, located on Main Street in downtown La Crosse.
Schaefer said,  “I would rather this be an event for people to give these activities a try rather than make it about winning a prize.”  This way, it will help to draw more attention to the activity, and hopefully lead to more interest in the Triathlon Club.
Any student or faculty member is free to register for the event at anytime this month, so there is no feeling of losing out for anyone who might be interested but has not had an opportunity to check it out.
Schaefer stresses people to “just give it a try and see what happens,” because this isn’t meant to scare people away, rather, to give people a chance to try something new.