He may be one of the most decorated and respected triathletes in the history of the sport, but that didn’t stop TV chef and part-time triathlete Gordon Ramsay cheekily calling out Jan Frodeno for his seeming reluctance to take on one of the biggest running challenges in the very country where he grew up.
The unlikely duo had just finished filming the first episode in Frodeno’s YouTube series for IRONMAN ‘Beyond Finish Lines’ – which is embedded in this article below – when the Scotsman laid down his challenge. One which his legendary host seemed to, albeit reluctantly, accept.
Charting Ramsay’s rise to stardom, their fascinating discussion highlighted his difficult childhood growing up in a poor family, and went on to explain how the multi-disciplined life of competing in Ironman races was the perfect antidote to the pressurised life of a global superchef.
And then the bombshell landed…
“I can’t believe you’re the one of very few South Africans I’ve met that’s never, ever, ever done Comrades…” said Ramsay, clearly thinking that an athlete of such standing would surely have found the time to compete in an event which is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious in a land where German-born Frodeno spent his formative years.
Comrades calling?
An ultramarathon of approximately 88 kilometres, the Comrades is run every year in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg, with the race run in alternating directions each year.
It is the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon race, and one which Ramsay himself has completed three times (2000, 2001 and 2004), clocking a best finish of 10 hours and 31 minutes.
“Well, yeah, it just doesn’t fit,” replied Frodeno, before Ramsay went in for the kill in his typically acerbic tone.
“No, get your s**t together,” he said. “I don’t give a f**k how many championships you’ve got. How can a fat chef, in his 50s, have done Comrades and here he is sat with one of the most prolific athletes in the world and he has never, ever done a Comrades?”
Before the camera switches off, a smiling Frodeno seems to have accepted his fate.
“Alright,” he says. “We’ve got it on camera. I’ve got to sign up now.”
Whether the 44-year-old does or not remains to be seen. However, you can bet that a certain Mr Ramsay is not about to let him off the hook that easily.
With a healthy flow of mutual respect running through the entire video, Ramsay explains how he looks to try and fit in at least three 70.3 events each year, depending on his filming and business commitments and when his family are able to join him.
Wife Tana also competes alongside him, as do three of their six children. He even points out that when all their friends were getting iPads and cars for their 18th birthdays, the Ramsay children were getting charity entries to the London Marathon.
This year has seen him return after a serious cycling injury, with appearances in the IRONMAN 70.3 Luxembourg Remich – Région Moselle and then cheering on ‘Team Ramsay’ at the T100 in London.
The key to success
With 95 restaurants, a team of more than 3,500 staff and his Restaurant Gordon Ramsey having kept its three Michelin Stars for the last 25 years, it is easy to understand why the Scotsman sees competing in triathlon as the ideal way to release the pressures of being a global businessman.
“I think the Ironman scenario has saved me,” he admits. “After running so many marathons and ultramarathons, it still wasn’t enough, so I needed more time back. It got me more time out of the business. Which then made my whole perspective a little bit clearer.
“Ironman decompresses me. It’s this incredible chamber that is just perfect, I’ll be honest. It’s set in some of the most beautiful settings anywhere in the world. The atmosphere around the camps is electrifying and is addictive. The support locally, whether you’re on a beach in San Diego or a vineyard in Luxembourg, there’s just something magical in every race.”
And he believes there are distinct parallels in just how organised and methodical he must be in both of his worlds – be it in the kitchen or out on the triathlon course. It is a search for perfection.
“I can connect with that level of perfection. I won my third Michelin Star at the age of 33. From a culinary perspective, it wasn’t about, ‘there’s nothing else to win’. I’ve maintained it now this year at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, it’ll be 25 years at three star,” he said. “That can only be possible because of the synergy with Ironman, because everywhere we go from the swim, the bike set-up, to the run, to the shoes, to the vest, to the Garmin, it is absolute utter perfection.
“And so there’s this parallel. We jump in, and we jump out, but every time we jump out, I’m going into another level of perfection. Pressure is healthy; very few can stand that. And that level of perfection is one of the most refreshing attitudes to have, so I take it personally, really personally.
“The one thing that gets me is a f*****g puncture. That’s the one thing that p****s me off, because I know my coach will be complaining that I was 20 minutes behind everybody else on my bike, and saying ‘What the f**k are you doing, spending 20 minutes, when I’ve shown you multiple times, multiple times, how to change an inner tube?”
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