From the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Signal Mountain man to be in ultimate triathlon
Friday, June 01, 2007


By Jaime Lackey
Staff Writer

For the past 15 years, Sheridan Ames' dream has been to compete in one of the world's toughest athletic events.

He found out in April that it would finally become a reality, but the 46-year-old Signal Mountain resident still can't believe his name was one of 200 selected from a drawing to choose competitors for the Ironman World Championship triathlon.

"It was excitement beyond belief," Ames said. "It's the luck of the draw, so I've just been biding my time. I'm still beside myself. This is the Super Bowl of triathlons. No other race is more prestigious. Plus, the setting isn't bad either."

The event consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run will take place Oct. 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. More than 6,500 triathletes from around the world submitted their names for the random lottery that selects participants to join the more than 1,500 who qualify through their finishes in other Ironman events.

Ames was the only athlete chosen from Tennessee this year, but his longtime friend and training partner Bruce Novkov competed in 1999. Also selected through the lottery, Novkov said the Ironman is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"The average person that has a wife, kids, job, all of those things, is not going to be able to put the time in you would need to be able to qualify," Novkov said. "The everyday man is probably only going to get there via the lottery. They created this way in so there's always the hope that anybody can compete.

"It's absolutely unbelievable. You literally get to start and compete with the best in the world. The average person doesn't get to go catch a pass from Peyton Manning. There aren't a lot of sports where a regular person gets to go compete in the world championship. But it's still highly competitive."

Ames is spending about 20 hours a week training to make himself as competitive as possible. He began his regimen the day after getting the news, and his training will increase steadily as October approaches.

"It seems like a long way off, but realistically, the last couple of weeks before the race you can't do much of anything," Ames said. "The race takes anywhere from 10 to 18 hours. That's a long time to be out there, so it takes a long time for your body to get ready for that duration of an event."

To prepare for the intense physical demands of the Ironman, Ames said he runs, swims, bikes or does some combination of the three six days a week. In a typical week, he does at least two six- to eight-mile runs and 3,000-yard swims, plus two bike rides of up to two hours.

He does even more training on the weekends but said none of it would possible without the flexibility in his job as a project manager with the Hudson Construction Company.

"In the job that I do, it's not about the hours, it's about getting the job done," Ames said. "That's the luxury I have, and I have a very accommodating employer who has helped tremendously. Without that, it would be difficult."

A New Jersey native who moved to the Chattanooga area 16 years ago, Ames started out as a youth swimmer and high school runner, picked up cycling in college and has done triathlons regularly since 1986.

Since then, the Ironman championship race has been the pinnacle of his hopes, and Novkov said Ames will relish every moment of it.

"It could not have happened to a guy that wants it any more than Sheridan does," he said. "There's nobody more deserving who will embrace the whole event any more than he will."

E-mail Jaime Lackey at jlackey@timesfreepress.com