Jeannette Schönbein is looking forward to the competition in front of her home crowd in Frankfurt.

"When you start with the Eintracht jersey, the enthusiasm of the crowd carries you to the finish line," she says.

The 38-year-old woman is one of 100 participants who compete in the Ironman through the Main metropolis for the club, which is actually associated with football.

25 of them prepared like professional high-performance athletes with a trainer - including Schönbein.

For seven months she trained 19 hours a week for the competition.

Anna Schiller

volunteer.

  • Follow I follow

What annoys her a little a few days before the start despite all the anticipation: Two weeks before the competition she does without caffeine drinks so that the cup of coffee gives her a boost just before the start.

"I don't like to torture myself," says Schönbein, who will be swimming, cycling and running a marathon on Sunday.

The Ironman is simply a full day of sport – it's exciting, but she won't strain herself.

Schönbein has always enjoyed sport.

A performance diagnostic found that her body was made for endurance sports - so she came to triathlon in 2019.

Last year in August, Schönbein completed her first competition.

She also lives out her enthusiasm for sports professionally: she works as a consultant for health sports at Eintracht Frankfurt.

There she trains, among other things, jogging beginners.

Within ten weeks, she takes the participants in her course from the couch to a five-kilometer endurance run, she says.

"Anyone can do it"

"It is particularly important to me to get more women interested in endurance sports," says Schönbein.

There are still significantly fewer women than men taking part in triathlon competitions.

In her experience, the reasons are varied: women often do not dare to make the effort or feel obliged to take care of the household and children in addition to their job instead of doing something for themselves.

Schönbein wants to encourage them: "Anyone can do it," she says.

Enjoyment of movement is the only requirement.

She advises women who want to compete in a triathlon for the first time to start cycling.

The musculoskeletal system has to get used to the new training workload.

Cycling is easy on the joints.

Beginners should allow about a year to prepare for their first triathlon.

Schönbein recommends women to join training groups.

Then the pressure is greater to go to training.

Children can be involved in the exercise routine by letting them ride their bikes at the same time.

Patricia Flach is a mother who enjoys exercise.

She slept five hours and 16 minutes last night.

Her son, one year old, kept her awake.

However, the lack of sleep doesn't keep her from training, says the twenty-seven-year-old: "Running gives me strength for the whole day." At the Ironman in Frankfurt, she will be the captain of the Mainova's City team.

Joy instead of competitive pressure

Flat is still on maternity leave and can organize her endurance units freely.

She runs or cycles when her son is asleep.

If need be, even late in the evening.

"When you're passionate about something, you automatically make time for it," she says.

Flach calls herself "running parrot" because her colorful running clothes have become a trademark and she likes to talk a lot.

On her Instagram channel she wants to motivate people to exercise more.

With more than 11,000 followers, she shares her running routine during pregnancy and tips on equipment and technique.

Flach wishes bad weather for the Ironman on Sunday.

She is a "rainwalker".

When the temperatures are cooler, she finds it easier to run.

However, a race is also decided in the mind.

"I can only advise everyone not to compare themselves to other runners," says Flach.

A mileage depends on the daily form, the surface and many other individual factors.

With the pressure of competition, you take away the joy of running.

For Schönbein and Flach, the Ironman is just one stage on the way to higher goals.

After the competition at the weekend, the sports-loving women will continue their training.

Schönbein wants to run a marathon in October.

The triathlete's big goal, however, is the Ironman in Hawaii: she wants to take part in the international competition by the age of 50 at the latest.

For Flach, it's off to the mountains in July: In an ultra run over 49 kilometers on the Zugspitze, she will overcome more than 2000 meters in altitude.