Jordan Selleck is a lot of things. He’s a father. He’s a husband. He’s an entrepreneur and founder. Now he’s an Ironman. So what exactly is an Ironman? Well, let’s start with the definition of this ultra endurance triathalon.

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, raced in that order. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.^[1][2][3]

Most Ironman events have a limited time of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race, course dependent, with the race typically starting at 7:00am. The mandatory cut off time to complete the 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim is 2 hours 20 minutes. The mandatory bike cut off time for when an athlete must have completed their swim, transition and bike varies generally between 10 hours and 10 hours 30 minutes from when an athlete began their swim. The mandatory run cut off varies between 16 and 17 hours from when athlete began their swim. Many races will also have intermediate bike, run, and transition cut off times specific to each race venue. Any participant who completes the triathlon within these time constraints is designated an Ironman.

The name “Ironman Triathlon” is also associated with the original Ironman triathlon which is now the Ironman World Championship. Held in Kailua-Kona, the world championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978 (with an additional race in 1982). Originally taking place in Oahu, the race moved to Kailua-Kona in 1981, where it continues today.^[4] The Ironman World Championship has become known for its grueling length, harsh race conditions, and television coverage.^[5][6]

To sum it up-It’s hard. It’s really really hard. It’s a test of endurance, stamina, willpower, brainpower, pain tolerance, grit..it’s damn hard, and Jordan Selleck did it.

However, that might not be the best part of this story. The coolest takeaway is what this journey meant to Jordan and Jing (his wife). This wasn’t Jordan’s journey. It was the Selleck’s journey. Jordan would push the Selleck little ones for miles while he trained.

Jing supported him by making sure he was able to meet his necessary training schedule. After it was all said and done the Selleck’s decided THEY would race again this time with Jing joining in.

I’ve always had such great admiration for those who can endure such magnificent feats. Hearing Jordan’s story about his road to Ironman is nothing less than inspirational. Enjoy.