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Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Ironman: By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Sports 53 | Thursday, October 20, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Oakville paraplegic Buren's `second chance' leads him to complete worlds in Hawaii ward and slammed his head into the ground. He spent several months at a Toronto rehabilitation clinic. Within a month of returning home, he got a hand bike and began training. He did the 200-km Ride To Conquer Cancer that summer. The following year, he did a half marathon in Ottawa in a wheelchair and soon after completed a marathon in Bermuda. In 2013, when he became the first Canada paraplegic to complete an Ironman triathlon, he thought to himself, "What could top that, except competing with all the best in the world?" · · · · By the time he slipped into the water just after 7 a.m., Buren had already been awake for four hours. He uses a custom wetsuit that buoys his legs, keeping them near the surface. It was his first ocean swim so he didn't push the pace. However, the water was so clear, he had to be careful not to be distracted by the tropical fish swimming below him. Buren called it the most challenging swim he'd ever compeleted, finishing in 1:35:22. The biggest challenge to finishing the race lay ahead, though. Competitors have a time deadline to complete the bike course, otherwise they are pulled from the race before the final leg. The 180-km course winds along the coast and while it is scenic, competitors are focused on surviving. The course features more than 1,700m in elevation changes and strong winds coming off the ocean have actually blown riders off the road. Buren began the bike course in fourth and slipped back to fifth early on. But he fought the urge to catch his rivals, sticking to the pace he had set for himself. Within 30 km, see Buren on p. 54 For 13 1/2 hours, Rob Buren pushed his body to the limit. His arms were throbbing. His lips were sunburned. His body was so dehydrated from the hours in the 40-degree heat that he would spend the night in hospital. And yet as he approached the finish line in the dark of night, the cheers from the crowd lining the race course gave him enough of a boost to summon the energy to raise his arms above his head and pump his fists in the air. And that was the easy part. Since completing his first Ironman triathlon (3.8-kilometre swim, 180-km bike, 42.2km run) in 2013, Buren had set his sights on the sport's Holy Grail. Last Saturday, when he rolled across the finish line at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, he became the first Canadian paraplegic to complete the grueling race. "I can't believe the response I've been getting," Buren said from Hawaii. "I was given a second chance. If what I do inspires someone else to make the most of their life, that makes things worthwhile." His time of 13 hours, 30 minutes and 26 seconds earned him a second-place finish in the physically challenged division. But Buren said just getting to compete in the race was his prize. There are just three races each year -- Luxembourg, Australia and Texas -- in which a competitor can qualify for the world championships in the physically challenged division. The winners in Australia and Texas earn spots at worlds while the first and second-place finishers in Luxembourg qualify. Last year, the 45-year-old Oakville resident Oakville's Rob Buren crosses the finish line at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Buren finished second in the physically challenged division, becoming the first Canadian paraplegic to complete the race. He finished the 3.8-kilometre swim, 180-km bike and 42.2-km run in 13 hours, 30 minutes | photo submitted went to Luxembourg hoping to secure one of the two spots but finished fourth, delaying his bid to compete in Kona. This year, he set his sights on the Buffalo Springs Lake Half Ironman in Texas in June. Buren finished second behind Scot Hollonbeck, but with the five-time Paralympic medallist having already secured his world championship spot in Luxembourg, Buren was awarded one of the coveted entries for handcyclists in Kona. "Being the first Canadian was a huge goal in itself," Buren said. "It was an honour just to be here." But as thrilled as he was to have the chance to compete against the best athletes in the world, Buren hadn't devoted himself to countless hours of training just to compete. Completing the race became his goal. · · · · Buren arrived in Hawaii almost eight years to the day that he broke his back in a mountain-biking accident. 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