Please enjoy the story below.
I had to cut and paste this story from the Government web site.
It’ s a bit rough looking but the story is very inspiring,
and proves that great athletes live among of us.



Individual Profile: Antje Helmuth, Victoria (Ministry of Health)


Five years ago, Antje Helmuth, a librarian from the Ministry of Health, laced up her runners and ventured onto the sidewalks of Victoria. The gradual increase of birthday candles, family medical conditions and her "waist", were the primary motivators that got her off the couch and onto the pavement. “The older I got, I was increasingly nervous about my risk factors, I wanted to make a healthy life change,” she says. The May 5k Mother’s Day Walk/Run was the goal she set, with five months to prepare.
“My first few runs consisted of two minutes running followed by a long, long, long, walk.” The gap between walking and running slowly closed, and by the time race day came Antje was ready, and able, to complete the run. “I cried and cried, it was one of the biggest goals I have ever accomplished,” she says about that day.
Not willing to let that athletic achievement go to the wayside, she furthered her running by joining a 10K running clinic. From there the race intensity increased from a 10k race to a half marathon, to a full marathon. All that was left to round out her list of running achievements was a triathlon. She tested her endurance with the smaller "Triathlon for Compassion" in the summer of 2004. But her sluggish mountain bike and limited swimming ability slowed her down. She vowed the next triathlon would be better.
She bought a proper road bike, practiced the front crawl stroke, and worked on her transitions between the three disciplines: swimming, biking, and running. In 2004, she completed seven triathlons (Olympic and Sprint distance). A year later, she tackled her first half Ironman Triathlon at Elk Lake (Victoria). All that was left was a full Ironman, the ultimate triathlon that consists of 3.8 km of swimming, a 180-km bike ride, and a full marathon (42.2 km).
In August 2005, she went to Penticton, B.C. to witness one of the most gruelling races in Canada. In keeping with her thirst for more challenge, Antje signed up on the spot for the following year’s Ironman Canada. At the start of training in January 2006, she had a small meltdown, thinking, “What have I gotten myself into.” But that wasn't enough to stop her from joining a tri-training club under the tutelage of a professional triathlon coach. Six days a week she increased her endurance and power. Her longest workout days were 14 hours, and included all three disciplines.
Success was also dependent on the support of the people around her. “You need a plan, a supportive partner, a house cleaning service, and the acknowledgment that the whole year is about you.” Her boss and co-workers were also very encouraging, she says, and allowed her to tailor her work schedule around her training.
“The Ministry allowed me to work extra hours on other days, so I could take Wednesday mornings off as I prepared for both the half and full Ironman,” she adds. “The office support was fabulous.”

On race day, Aug. 27, 2006, she waved goodbye to her partner and to her parents, who flew out from Ontario to watch her tackle the most challenging event in her athletic career. At 7 a.m. she pulled on her swimming cap and lined the lake with the 2,500 other competitors. “My goal was to finish with a smile,” Antje says. The swim and bike ride went well, but as the temperature soared to well above 30 degrees, the run turned into a walk. “I ended up walking 90 per cent of the run, and I tried to keep well supplied with ice cubes under my hat.”
At 8:24 p.m., just as the sun began to set, Antje crossed the Ironman Canada 2006 finish line - with a smile. Her time: 13:24. She said she smiled again when she looked through the list of participants and saw she was the only librarian listed as a competitor. Antje already has sight set on Ironman Idaho this June.
“I’m hooked,” she says. “A lot of people get Ironman tattoos when they’ve done one, but I said to myself, not for one, but if I do three… “
So what does Antje see as the biggest obstacle to get to where she is now? “My first competitive run,” she acknowledges, “ultimately that was the biggest hurdle. Anything beyond this has not had the same effect on me as that 5k.”