But in terms of all-around athleticism, the ability to punish your body for 10 hours or more, to keep going when every muscle says, “No more,” there’s no one better than Payton right now. He will compete Saturday in the world’s most famous triathlon, the Ironman World Championships, in Kona, Hawaii.
“I’m a little nervous, but I’m pretty confident,” said Payton three weeks before the race.
Payton was the 48th overall male finisher in a field of 1,810 last November at Ironman Florida. It was first attempt at a full Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run). Payton finished the race in 9 hours, 51 minutes, 27 seconds (1:08:21 swim; 4:53:19 bike; and 3:37:10 run), and he qualified for the World Championships based on his ninth-place finish in his age group (40-44).
“You have three goals going into Ironman for the first time,” said Payton, a member of the Champion City Cycling team and the Springfield Triathletes and Area Racers (STAR team). “A: To finish. B: To have a pretty good race. C: Would be that dream day. Kona was never a goal, so to do that the first time was silly.”
Payton, a 1989 Kenton Ridge graduate, didn’t even start competing in triathlons until 2010. His main sport growing up was football, and he played linebacker, defensive end and tight end for the Cougars.
He and his wife Alix, who completed her first Ironman in Louisville this summer, had two sons — Colin and Seth, who is now a senior at Northeastern — when they were in their early 20s. They didn’t have as much time to train, though Alix qualified for the Boston Marathon. Only in recent years have they gotten into triathlons.
Dan owns Payton Plumbing and credited his four employees for being self-motivated, allowing him the time to get his runs, rides and swims in, though it’s never easy. Dan and Alix also help coach coach at Northeastern.
“With a full-time job, during track season, it was really tough,” Dan said. “Even though it was early in the year, I knew I had to get my volume pretty high. As soon as we got back from Florida (last year), I had that high of knowing I had qualified and knew I had to jump into the higher volume training.”
Payton also qualified for the age group world triathlon championships in New Zealand. He would have worn the Team USA jersey for the first time, but the race was one week after the Ironman World Championships, and he ultimately decided he wouldn’t have enough recovery time to give his all in New Zealand. It also would have required a bigger financial commitment to travel to the second race.
Payton also realized it would be easier to qualify for the age group championships in future years. Kona is just a bigger deal. In the triathlon world, it’s the biggest deal.
Dan and Alix both traveled to Kona last year to volunteer at the finish line. Dan swam the swim course. He biked all 112 miles. He knows what he’s getting into, but doesn’t have an exact goal. The conditions are so tough, most racers say your goal should be your best time plus 45 minutes.
“I would say anything under 12 hours would be fabulous out there,” he said. “That’s being realistic and taking it as it comes with all the variables, the wind and heat.”
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