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In her first triathlon after a six-year hiatus, Christy Kunkle finished 189th out of 221 men and women.
That was more than five years ago, and Kunkle feels she is in a lot better shape than she was then. But now the challenge is much stiffer.
Next Sunday, Kunkle will travel to Cozumel, Mexico, to compete in her first Ironman competition - a grueling combination of a 2.5-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a full marathon run (26.2 miles).
Her goal is to simply finish the race, especially since a doctor told her less than a year ago that she should give up running forever because of a recurring knee injury.
Kunkle (then Christy Schenk) got her first taste of a triathlon in the early 1990s. She pedaled only the bicycle portion of the race and teamed with two other high school friends who handled the swimming and running parts.
A swimmer and cross country runner in high school in Clearfield, Pa., and in college at Gannon University (Pa.), Kunkle occasionally swam in open-water races on nearby Lake Erie after graduating and picked up biking again .
Kunkle ran in a few 5-kilometer races after college and competed in her first triathlon in 1998. But she didn't get really serious about the sport until several years later, after moving to Charlotte.
In early 2004, relieve stress, she enrolled in a spinning, or exercise, class, which led to her picking up road cycling again, and she joined a masters swim group.
This summer, with her wedding approaching, Kunkle registered for the Over the Mountain Triathlon in Kings Mountain because "I wanted to lose that last five pounds to get in my wedding dress."
Putting a guilt trip on her husband, Andy, for not buying her a wedding present, Christy Kunkle bought herself a $3,000 bike, making him contribute a portion of the cost. Soon after, she hired her first coach .
Kunkle competed in a half-Ironman, which is a 1.5-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and a half marathon, in Orlando in 2006. That same year, she began participating in North Carolina's triathlon .
Before last Christmas, Kunkle set her sights on competing in the Cozumel Ironman. But a recurring knee injury led her to seek medical advice.
In January, her doctor recommended surgery to shift a dislocated kneecap into place. He told her to never run again. Ever.
"I laughed at him and asked for copy of the MRI," she said. "I went to the chiropractor. The first time he saw my kneecap, he moved it back into proper position. He worked with me to change the way I ran and got me into some different shoes."
Kunkle was back running by May, and if the knee aggravates her at all, it's while she's cycling. The injury has slowed her but her training regimen is still intense: swimming indoors a couple of days a week; biking about 115 miles on the weekend; and, once a week, running as much as 13 miles.
A teacher and cross country coach at Olympic High, Kunkle said another reason she participates in her sport is to inspire her students and athletes, who will be able to follow her progress during the race on the Internet. At 35, she'll be competing in the 35-40 age group.
Kunkle anticipates getting through the swimming and biking parts well. It's the run that concerns her, and she said she may alternate running and walking to ensure she finishes.
Ultimately, she would like to compete in the Ironman world championships in Hawaii, "even if I have to wait until I'm 80 and there's no one else in my age group."
