Published: May 15, 2012
Chrissie Wellington of Britain so thoroughly dominates Ironman triathlons that fans measure her success by the number of pro men she beats. Wellington, 35, is undefeated at Ironman, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run. After setting a course record of 8 hours 54 minutes 2 seconds at the 2009 Ironman world championships in Hawaii, she waited almost 20 minutes for the second-place woman to finish.

Chrissie Wellington is undefeated at Ironman, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run.

On Monday Wellington told her audience at the Harvard Club of New York City why she was walking away from Ironman for the next year: she needed a break from the round-the-clock training regimen and monastic lifestyle required to be at the sport’s pinnacle.

“I push my body and mind to the limit, and the way I do things is not necessarily sustainable in the long term,” Wellington said. “Ironman is incredibly demanding, and I did feel I needed to step away and smell the flowers.”   MORE