Mont-Tremblant Ironman | A marathon as fitness

Running a marathon is in itself an extraordinary achievement. Doing it a month after suffering from mononucleosis and pneumonia is almost a miracle.

Nicholas Richard
The Press

This is what Nathan Marthouret is about to do. At 18, he will be the youngest participant in the Ironman de Mont-Tremblant. With his teammates Sacha Rousseau and Simon Gaudet, they will divide the three stages of the competition. Skilled runner, Marthouret will take care of the running.

While last month he was unable to get out of bed, he will participate in the most important competition of his life, somewhat against the advice of his doctor. This Sunday, he will cover 42.2 kilometers. This is equivalent to the distance as the crow flies between Montreal and Saint-Jérôme or between Île-aux-Coudres and La Malbaie.

Before he got sick, he had a time goal. Given what happened to him and the fact that he recently returned to full training, he would now like to finish his marathon between 4:15 and 4:30.

Moreover, what the young man from Quebec is about to achieve is all the more spectacular as it will be his first real marathon. He did it in training, but the longest distance he has ever covered in a competition format is 10 kilometers.

Despite everything, the feverishness and the excitement of the main interested party felt on the end of the line, Friday, when he stopped by car in a rest stop on Highway 40 to discuss.

He was accompanied by his friends, who were just as happy. They were having one last adventure before starting their first year at university.

Between body and mind

While battling mononucleosis and pneumonia, Marthouret was torn.

On the one hand, he wanted to take part at all costs in the competition, one of the most important in the world in the discipline. “My doctor told me to give up Ironman, because I couldn’t play sports for a month, but there was no way I would give up this challenge. »

On the other, his aching and exhausted body sent him daily warning signals. But he persevered. “Obviously there was a time when I thought about giving up, because for two weeks I couldn’t get out of bed. So for two weeks I couldn’t run at all. »

Luckily for him, his parents supported him relentlessly. He also wanted to do it for Ash and Simon, who had also trained extremely hard for this monstrous challenge and who, unfortunately, were dependent on their comrade’s state of health.

When he was able to get out of bed, he resumed training and gradually his condition improved. He was able to resume an optimal rhythm, of pain and misery.

Prove that anything is possible

Nathan Marthouret doesn’t want to cross the finish line just to prove to himself that he was right to fight.

As the youngest participant, he also wants to show that young people are capable of doing great things. It was during our interview that he learned that he was the youngest of Ironman.

His two teammates are each 19 years old. Together, they had participated, a year ago, in the mythical Pentathlon des neiges, in Quebec. “Afterwards, we wanted to take on a new challenge and we had thought of the Ironman as a team. »

A multidisciplinary athlete who has played soccer for nearly a decade, Marthouret will try to earn a spot on the Université Laval Rouge et Or cross-country team in the fall.

The trio still had two hours to drive before arriving at Place St-Bernard in Tremblant when Nathan Martouret hung up. This Sunday will be a special day. His family and friends will be at the bottom of the cable car that dominates the facilities to welcome him. This will also be his greatest reward.