Get to know the incredible 53-year-old Hungarian Ironman
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Ferenc Szőnyi is in his early fifties, but he is so active in sports as most of us never will be. He has already run 480 kilometers in the Himalayas and he has swum 76 kilometers in a row. He is often called “Racemachine”, and not without a reason. According to Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, he has been doing sports for merely ten years, he has done some of the most challenging trials of strength. Moreover, he has won most of these contests.
His most recent challenge was the Great Himalayan Ultra Running, in which he ran almost 500 kilometers among the harshest circumstances. He is also a recurring participant of Ironman contests (one of which was hosted in Budapest a couple of years ago).
He has already completed more than a 100 Ironman challenges, 30 of which he did on subsequent days.
As he claims, the stress caused by his work and the growth of his belly were the signs that warned him about his health condition. He lived in the countryside and this had a negative impact on his food consumption as well.
He began to do these challenging tasks by degrees, but he started from a quite high level anyway. He was doing long distance cycling and completed a marathon before turning to more difficult exercises. His attitude changed the most, as he found sports a burden earlier. Then he and his friends began to go jogging more and more often, making it a challenge for him.
He began with a 12-hour-long contest, which was followed by a double Ironman.
It was a challenging beginning, but then a progressive career followed. He still considers himself an enthusiastic amateur.
He stated that a strict daily routine has to be followed during an Ironman challenge. The first part of the contest is 3.8 kilometers of swimming, during which there is only a minimal opportunity for rehydration. It is followed by 180 kilometers of cycling; this is the best part concerning food, as the contender can consume some bananas, cereal bars and isotonic drinks. When the running part comes, then the focus turns towards rehydration again.
