Many professional Ironman triathletes fear the toll that 3 or 4 long events a year would put on their bodies – and their minds. For Petr Vabrousek, such an event seems like a sprint and concerns him no more than a trip to the grocery store to put food on the table for wife and two children in Zlin-Malenovice in the eastern part of the Czech Republic.

For Vabrousek, a careful taper would involve a long day as a tourist two or three days before the race. Despite an ungainly run form that resembles a jazz drum solo more than a smooth, biomechanically sound stride, he has never been injured in a race despite a yearly roster of races that would crush most triathletes. In a 20-year pro career that includes 15 years of long course racing, he has finished 138 Ironman distance events, won 30 of them and finished in the top 10 of at least 72 official Ironman contests. He spoke to Slowtwitch a few minutes after winning his second straight Ironman-distance Israman Triathlon this month.

Slowtwitch: How long have you been racing to accumulate 138 Ironman-distance finishes?

Petr Vabrousek: I’ve been racing for 20 years – but I’ve been racing at the Ironman distance for 15 years. My first Ironman finish was Australia in 1999.

ST: You average 9 a year?

Petr: No no no. The first two years I did Ironman racing [1999 and 2000] I combined Ironman with Olympic distance events. So I only did 7 Ironman races the first 2 years. And the last 6 or 7 years I average around 14 Ironman distance races a year. I still do a lot of middle distance and half Ironmans.

ST: It seems you have figured out a way that makes you money. You enjoy it and your body doesn’t break down with a number of long course races that others can’t believe.

Petr: I don't break down. The thing is my training is very limited outside of actual racing. So I am keeping in shape through Ironman and half Ironman and Olympic distance racing and marathon running. I pretty much race every weekend all year long. And that keeps me a lot of time for my family.

ST: Tell us about your family.

Petr: My wife is Vera and we have a 14 year old boy – Filip – and a 2 year old daughter Vera as well.

ST: In 1992 Paula Newby Fraser raced the long course Nice International and two Ironman races in 5 weeks during the summer – and then won Kona. She said she raced from one to the other with hardly any training in between.

Petr: I can imagine doing 30 Ironman a year. But it wouldn’t be feasible with the family. They can’t always go with me if it is outside of the summer. So, in the middle of summer I will do 8 Ironman races in 9 weeks. Pretty much every weekend I will do an Ironman.

ST: Most people say that you must be biomechanically perfect to survive so much mileage.

Petr: No. Anyone who can seem me running can understand it is way, way away from anything so efficient.

ST: Your stride is closer to herky-jerky Emil Zatopek than silky smooth Paul Tergat?

Petr: Yeah. I would say so. For me running on the track I would probably need two lanes to fit in. I am just jumping far and jumping wide and jumping high. It is nothing efficient. It is all about power.

ST: Many great long course triathletes talk about a third Ironman in a year as something that will shatter them and break them. Why not you?

Petr: Everyone is individual. Most guys put their bodies through training camps with a lot of hard work. They do a lot more work than I. For me, the longest training ride would be three hours. Very sparingly I would do it. Through the season my longest run would be hour and a half. And my season is from January to December with a month off to the end of December and that's it.

ST: Are you numb to the pain? Or do you have the same amount of pain as any other human being?

Petr: If you are putting your body through the race and you feel your quads and hamstrings and are doing well , it is good pain. The funny thing is after two or three days tops that pain is gone. I have never suffered a running injury. I've never been ill. I've never been overtrained. So I don't know what overtrained means. The last training camp I have done is before my older son went to school, which is 8 years ago. Since he is in school, I didn’t do a single day of training camp. That takes so much time training and eating and sleeping.

ST: People in the sport call you laid back. It seems you are not subject to neuroses?

Petr: I just enjoy it. I just finished one of the hardest races I've ever done and I am already looking forward for the next race.

ST: Compare Israman -- with its 2,050 foot climb the first 10k of the bike and that leg smashing 10k downhill to start the run -- to the most difficult Iron-distance courses?

Petr: I would say this is the toughest. Tougher than Embrunman, Nice, Lanzarote.

ST: Would you like to do Norseman?

Petr: I almost did it two years ago, but my daughter was about to be born. So I had to skip it. My summers are quite busy you know. So many races, close to my home. It is hard for me to go to Norway in the middle of summer. But it is on my list.

ST: How does I make you feel that some people laugh at how many Ironman you do in a year and do not take you seriously?

Petr: LAUGHS. It is their problem. It is not my problem.

ST: Your top runs at Ironman are not to be discounted. At the 2009 Quelle Challenge Roth you ran 2:47:33 and at the 2010 Challenge Copenhagen you ran 2:46:13.

Petr: In my career, I have won 30 Ironman distance races so far. And I have [at least 72] top 10s in official Ironman races, which is about twice as much as the second guy. I have won two official Ironman races [Ironman Asia and Ironman Africa in 2000] and I won one Challenge Ironman distance race [Challenge UK Henley in 2007]. So I am laughing at that opinion. I enjoy myself. I don’t need to prove anything. I've been in Kona as a professional 15 times in a row. Ken Glah did it 30 times but probably only Scott Tinley has done more than I have as a professional.

ST: Why do you have so much trouble at Kona?

Petr: The trouble for me in Kona is the swim. [In 2013, Vabrousek swam 1:03:56 and finished 9:22:39 as 38th professional male and 168th overall. His best Kona finish was 19th overall in 2002 in a time of 8:57:26 – 26 minutes behind Tim DeBoom] For me, with my swimming ability and everybody else being a strong swimmer, Kona is a funny day. I am just enjoying the atmosphere.

ST: My memory may be wrong but I had the impression you are terrible on the bike – in Kona last year your bike split was 4:53.

Petr: I might have been bad on some days, but I did a 4:16 bike split in Florida in 2012. So that is not bad -- 43k an hour.

ST: If you were designing a triathlete to make money, your approach would be like McDonalds. Volume over focusing on a few quality races and always winning some prize money. You do not bet all on one race and then DNF.

Petr: They can make fun of me. It is kind of strange. But if somebody says you have to train hard the whole year for one race– let’s say Kona. Or maybe two races. But to do so you would have to stay most of the year in training camp, I wouldn't do it. I’m completely serious. I wouldn’t leave my family home for that long. I wouldn’t go away somewhere to train for months. You know the way I do triathlon? Having tons of fun. Just easy training so it doesn’t make me too tired and doesn’t take too much time.

ST: You toured Jerusalem days before the recent Israman race?

Petr: That is what I am talking about. Last year before Israman I went to Jordan to see Petra. This year the same thing – I went to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. So I only spend 4-5 days in a race location. That is enough for at least one day to go and see something. For me, doing triathlon is a way to know the world.

ST: How much is world travel a motivation to race so many times a year?

Petr: It was one of the big motivations, one of the big reasons I started to do this sport. My first really big races were the ITU World Championship in Olympic distance triathlon and in duathlon in 1995 in Cancun – the first non-drafting big world championships. For someone who was living behind the communist curtain until 1989, going for two weeks to Cancun in ‘95 was like I was living in a wonderland.

ST: You have much greater success at the other races, so why do you keep coming back to Kona where on your best day you were 19th?

Petr: I have been to Kona 15 times in a row. I am still looking forward to come back – to feel the atmosphere and see everyone.

ST: Some other folks think ‘If I am out of top 10 at Kona, I will have to retire.’

Petr: I know. All the other guys are building their season around Kona. To be honest, Kona is one of the races I don't do specific training for. I don't do a specific taper for it. If I were a swimmer in the first group -- different story. For me Kona is being alone the whole day. I cannot be competitive being alone the whole day behind the groups ahead. But I will always do the race. I feel a privilege to qualify. Last year I was 13th in the pro rankings in the first cutoff. I was 16th and 18th in the years before. In the old qualifying system I qualified like 5 times a year. It was never an issue for me to get there with my frequent racing. But yeah, I just like to travel.

ST: How does it work moneywise? Some stars have two big paychecks. You have many little paychecks?

Petr: It is OK. It helps pay the bills of course. But the amount of visibility I give my sponsors is incomparable I would say. So without sponsors it would be impossible to sustain my career.

ST: Who are your sponsors?

Petr: Author is the Czech bike company. Nutrend is the Czech nutrition company. Ceska -- the Czech Triathlon Association -- is supporting me. They do so because except for the Ironman I also do the ITU European ITU World Championship long distance every year. I also have SL3S Compression Socks and asics running shoes, Blue Seventy wetsuits, Tufo tires.

ST: Why do they sponsor you?

Petr: Show me another pro who would be on the podium 15 times a year all around the globe. That is me. But talking about prize money? Well forget it. There are no big paydays in triathlon. There is nothing like a real sports payday. I mean last year I finished 2nd at Ironman Japan and that prize money just about covered my costs to get there. So to make it work, you have to give a lot of feedback for your sponsors. You have to make appearances for your sponsors.

ST: So what do you do for them?

Petr: I am working part time for my sponsors. I am working for Tufo. I am doing a lot of product development for Nutrend and Blue Seventy and SLS compression socks from California. In addition, I am distributing these things on the Czech market. It is small market, it is small money. But it is something and it gives me some more income.

ST: What did you study at University?

Petr: I got a masters degree in economics at Brno University and a masters in marketing at Zlin University. And I keep doing a little bit of business as well as training and racing.

ST: How much of your income is prize money?

Petr: Prize money is definitely not a major part of my income any more. Over the last few years it went down at some races and also the exchange rate between the dollar (which I am earning) and Czech crown (which I am spending) went down. Our currency is twice as strong now, as it used to be 10-15 years ago. To show an example, getting second at Ironman Japan last August paid just about enough to cover all costs with getting to the race.

ST: How much attention do you get from the Czech press and the triathlon media?

Petr: It is quite good. I am not trying hard to get more attention. I just don’t have time to do that. But whoever asks me for an interview gets it. The most media attention I got was last November when I decided to go to something slightly different and I went to Antarctica for a marathon and a 100k race at the end. I won both races in record times.

ST: Snowshoes or regular shoes?

Petr: Regular shoes. It was deep into Antarctica. The races were very close together. First the marathon and two days later the 100k. So it was like a trip to a new dimension.

ST: Some people feel in such cold they have needles in their lungs. What is it like?

Petr: I spent two weeks at home training in an industrial freezer.

ST: Like Rocky Balboa only you skipped the meat?

Petr: Yeah! Because I couldn’t take my son Filip out of school to go to some mountains. So I just found a freezer and was running in it. So that got me tons of media attention, more than I could imagine.

ST: Is Ultraman on your bucket list?

Petr: That would be lovely. But the fact is there is no prize money. It is expensive to fly there. You have to put your support team together. Maybe this interview is a good way to let the world know – if there is a sponsor interested for me doing Ultraman for him then I would do it. It is definitely one of the things I am built to do. For me, Ironman is short. So Ultraman would be about perfect.

Petr: Hillary Biscay got a lot of attention for her Ultraman win and 3rd overall finish against the men last year.

Petr: I would definitely do it if there was a sponsor willing to cover the costs and put some money on the table for me to do it under his or her brand.

ST: Have you ever daydreamed about what sort of crazy long race would you devise?

Petr: I've never thought about this. I just let other people think about races and I would choose to do them all.

ST: Do you have any heroes in or out of sport?

Petr: I do not have any heroes in sport. A lot of people catch my attention. I can appreciate lot of people and what they do and results they achieve. But there is nobody I would be looking up to. I just do it my way – way, way different than anyone else.

ST: What about Emil Zatopek?

Petr: Yeah he is a big hero in Czech history.

ST: Not only for his racing but for his stand against the Communist regime.

Petr: Yeah of course. That brings me to an interesting story. I started rowing when I was 10 years old and I rowed to age 20. When I was 16, I tried my first triathlon, a sprint triathlon, but still kept rowing. And when I was 16, there was a 10k running race about 5k from my house. As a rower, I ran 2 or 3 kilometers for training every day. But I had never run 10k. This race was in ‘89 and at the start of the race was Zatopek himself. So that got me to the finish line. I wanted to see him. I still have the race number signed by him from that race. That is the only race number I have at home. I don't have any other memorabilia.

ST: So where did that lead?

Petr: Zatopek got me into my first 10k run. I did it in 55 minutes and I was almost last. But from that day in ‘89, 25 years ago, I started to run frequently. And from that day I started to do 5k, 7k, 8k and 10k runs, which helped me to switch into triathlon a few years later.

ST: You look like you have not aged. There is not a line on your face?

Petr: I don't feel old. I feel pretty much the same as when I was 20. I don't feel the difference with age -- there is still nothing that would be aching when I would wake up in the morning after a race. Like I said, I have never been overtrained or injured. Wait -- I was injured but not in a race. I had an accident with my son on Segway and I broke my elbow about 3 weeks before that Antarctica race.

ST: Segways are dangerous. You know the Segway owner died in 2010 when he ran off a cliff on a Segway?

Petr: I know about that. So that elbow was the first thing I broke in my life and it made me miss Ironman Florida where Filip Ospaly did a sub-8.

ST: A fellow Czech. Is he your friend?


Petr: Yes. Florida was his first Ironman. We have known each other a long time. When I started doing short distance triathlons in the early ‘90s, Filip Ospaly and I were pushing it together in small local races around Brno in the Czech Republic. And we are still both doing it. It is funny. We spent 10 years going to races together. So we arranged a home stay together at Ironman Florida. I sent my bike ahead from Hawaii to Florida. But Filip’s brother had to take it back for me because I broke my elbow and I couldn’t fly.

ST: Were you worried about racing Antarctica with a broken elbow?

Petr: I was supposed to have the cast off the day before the marathon. So I actually took the cast down 4 days before I left home to make sure that the left arm gets a little bit better before the race. I still couldn’t use it. But at least I didn’t have to wear the cast the whole time.

ST: What does your wife Vera say about you traveling the world to all these races?

Petr: She never accepted it. Never ever. But I say it is not so bad. I spend about over 300 days at home over the year because I don't do any training camps. I always fly just to the race and fly right back. And some of the races she flies with me.

ST: She raises the kids and has done some work before your young daughter was born?

Petr: When Filip got older and our daughter was not yet born, my wife was teaching English at University for a couple of years. But since our daughter was born Vera is at home with the kids.

ST: I met you in Brazil in 2001 and you brought your mom?

Petr: Once a year I take my mom Ludmilla to see another part of the world. She visited all the continents already with me. So maybe next year she might be coming here to Israman.

ST: I would love to take a tour of historical places with you at some race.

Petr:I think it is important. I am not a typical pro who would 100 percent concentrate on the race only. Also, a lot of the races I take a lot of Czech and Slovak guys. Because I have been to all the races, I know all the places, I know the people. I help them get around. Every year in Hawaii I help the newcomers who are doing it for the first time. So I am often functioning like a travel agency for them. With the difference I am not paid for it. But I have tons of fun with them.

ST: How does that affect your racing?

Petr: I am enjoying myself. And that helps keep me so long in the sport – and mentally healthy. I am training and I’m racing and I am into it. But it is only about 3 hours a day. And then I have another 10-15 hours a day. Nobody cares about my wattage at home. Nobody asks me how my swim was. The only reaction is when I say I am going for a 2 hour bike ride and everybody just makes the long face. ‘For such a long time? Two hours on the bike?’ And that is it. Whenever I put the shoes down or get out of the pool, there is no triathlon. No discussions about splits or whatever. I think that keeps me eager to do more.

ST: Do you read triathlon magazines?

Petr: On the planes, yeah. Sometimes I do. It is nice to see how things turned out at other races I didn’t go to. I like to read what other people do about training. It actually makes me happy. Whenever I beat those guys in races, I know they are doing two times more training-wise. It makes me happy that I didn’t have to go through so much. It makes me happy I didn’t have to spend so much time training and still managed to beat them.