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Iron maiden dreams big

This 29-year-old from Bangalore competes in triathlons, is the CEO of her company Patn Marks and is on the verge completing her doctorate in electrical engineering.

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There is nothing that Anu Vaidyanathan can’t seem to do once she has decided to do so. This 29-year-old from Bangalore competes in triathlons, is the CEO of her company Patn Marks and is on the verge completing her doctorate in electrical engineering.

Being the first Indian to compete in an Iron Man and Ultra Man race, Anu was in Mumbai to participate in the Mumbai half marathon, though she was unable to compete after suffering a trauma to her right ear.

She said, “I took a local anaesthetic and decided to come to Mumbai but on race day I had vertigo so I was unable to participate. I gave my bib (chest number) to my brother’s friend who competed on behalf of me and completed the race”. She added, “Mumbai has a feeling of solidarity and belonging, there just seems to be a great vibe to this city.”

The athlete has decided to step up things and has hired a coach, Siri Lindley, only this week. Lindley is a former short course world champion.

“I’m happy as she coaches very few people but we both share the same attitude and hopefully I’ll be able to increase the number of Iron Man from two to four or six. It took a really long time for me to figure out who was right for me,” Anu said.

Anu completed the Ultraman Canada race, arguably the toughest triathlon competition in the world with a 10km swim, 430km bike and 84.4km run, with a total of 450 people taking part. It was also
her favourite course.

Anu practises for 25-35 hours a week waking up as early as 3:30 and starting with riding her bike, followed by running on the road or treadmill and finishing off in the swimming pool. She did have trouble in the pool initially though.

“The lanes were built width wise rather than length wise so there was hardly any distance to swim. Plus I think we need to overcome the social stigma over here,” she felt.

Anu is sponsored by Timex and Booster juice. “Triathlon is a very equipment based sport so it helps as you need a bike and a pool for practice.”

Anu won’t be competing in India’s first triathlon in Goa as the dates are clashing with a triathlon event in Australia. “This event is a great thing for India and a positive step.” Anu also enjoys cooking and writes Haiku poetry.

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