Newmarket elementary school teacher Melanie Reid brought new meaning to the word “perseverance” for her students when she crossed the finish line at the Vega Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.
She has checked the box on the “life-changing” ultimate endurance competition, taking on a gruelling 226.3 kilometres — a 3.8 km swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, 180 km of biking across the lava to Hāwī and back and a 42.2 km coastal marathon from Keauhou to Keahole Point and back to Kailua-Kona — in 13 hours last October.
“I love a challenge,” understated the Grade 7 teacher at Alexander Muir Public School. “I like to overcome my limits, it’s something I’ve always done.”
The immensity of the achievement is not lost on her students, many of whom watched the competition live on Facebook and on the Ironman app, virtually cheering her on.
More than 2,000 athletes took part in the championship that challenges the body, mind and spirit, after qualifying at triathlon events held around the world.
It’s one of the most sought-after endurance competitions in the world, with almost 100,000 people competing in events around the world for a chance to fly to the island paradise and race through its amazing landscape. Only about 26 per cent of the athletes qualify.
The Newmarket resident acknowledges it takes “huge dedication”, particularly when balancing a busy family life, too, with two active sons, age 10 and 7.
Her husband and boys were there to celebrate with her when she crossed the finish line.
“It’s my passion, it’s one of the things that drives me in life,” she said, “it’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.”
Literally.
The training involved workouts twice a day — one before arriving at school at 7:30 a.m. and again at the end of the day — adding up to 20 hours of running, swimming and cycling weekly, Reid said.
Strong, brave, gritty, goddess are some of the words her students use when asked to describe their teacher.
But ultimately, perseverance is the trait the passionate teacher most emulates, inspiring them to apply it to their own lives.
“She has taught me how to persevere, get through hard times in your life and stuff like that,” said Shahab, who has had Reid as a teacher for three years. “She has taught me to keep my head up, so, perseverance, keep trying, keep doing what I’m doing, and help me be the person I am today.”
Posters on the walls of her classroom share the perseverance theme: I can do hard things; Progress is impossible without change, and It’s OK to not know, but it’s not OK to not try.
“She has taught me a lot of things, like how to deal with frustration and stuff like that because I was a very frustrated learner. She helped me overcome many problems I had at school,” student Sarina said.
“I was very hard on myself, so she has taught me to have a growth mindset and it helped me get through a lot of tough times I’ve had like in math and any other subjects.”
As you might imagine, there are no excuses for not doing homework. Reid said she stresses the importance of making the most of your time and scheduling priorities, which include homework and school.
“Our big thing in our class is that they may not be able to do it right now… but you will be able to do it soon. So we try to re-adjust that attitude and try to keep going and try that next step again.”
“I’ve learned from Mrs. Reid that perseverance is a big thing that is needed for personal and school life,” Grade 7 student Reese said. “Especially with subjects that you get frustrated with, she’s taught me that it just takes practice and time.”
Inspired by Reid, student Aleeza said she took up cross-country running at school.
Reid launched a running club two years ago for students of all levels — and she has been delighted, in particular, by the number of girls who have joined.
“That’s a special thing for me, to see girls motivated to get active.
Her students’ excitement and pride in her Ironman achievement have been “really touching”, Reid said.
“We had a saying in our class, 'if you believe it, you can achieve it’. So it’s one of those things that has kind of stuck with me. It’s something I’ve embodied and passed on to them — and it seems to be working so far,” she added with a laugh.
“And it’s been nice to share the journey because their excitement is pretty cool.”
Speaking of perseverance, there is no resting on her laurels for Melanie Reid.
She is already in training for the next triathlon qualifying event in Mont Tremblant next August.
