South Africa’s Matt Trautman had a less than straightforward path to becoming an Ironman pro, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of the sport’s best.
Johannesburg, South Africa (05 May 2022) – If there’s a common route to Ironman triathlon glory, Matt Trautman hasn’t followed it. Trautman began his competitive sporting career as a canoe racer and white water kayaker, representing South Africa at the World Wild Water Kayak championships.
After he left school, he took up racing yachts for a living, working his way up from having never been on the sea to skippering one of the most successful IRC racing yachts in the world and becoming the first South African to complete the Mini Transat – a gruelling single-handed transatlantic race.
In 2012 he teamed up with his brother – adventure photographer Kelvin Trautman – to take on the Non-Stop Dusi Canoe Marathon, kayaking’s toughest one-day ultra. Inspired by their third-place finish and with a rekindled love for endurance sport, he started training to compete in Ironman South Africa.
Trautman won his age group at Ironman South Africa in 2012 and finished 20th overall, and then in 2013, he finished second in his age group at the Kona World Championships in a time of 8h49m12s.
Season 2014 was his first as a pro, and he won Ironman Wales, finished third at Ironman 70.3 Austria and scored a fifth at IRONMAN South Africa. Not bad for a rookie! From there, the wins and podiums have just kept coming, including course record-setting victories at Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire and Ironman 70.3 Durban during a 2016 season that also had its share of injury problems.
Unfortunately, 2017 was a year to forget for Trautman because he was hit by a car during the first race of 2017 and suffered a compression fracture to three vertebrae in his lumbar spine. Luckily his spinal cord wasn’t damaged, however, and he returned to competitive racing after six months of inaction and another long period of intense physiotherapy.
Trautman rounded off his long recovery from that career-threatening injury in style by winning the 2018 Ironman 70.3 in South Africa. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, with a string of impressive results, including a victory on home soil in the Challenge Triathlon Series in 2020.
We sat down to chat with Trautman to chat about what he has in store for 2022.
You took part in the Ironman Africa Championship; what did you learn from it, and what are you planning to take into account at Ironman in Utah?
The African Champs was a very positive experience, which isn’t always necessarily the case over the Ironman distance. It was confirmation that the training has been on the right track and I’m in good form. I probably could have raced with more confidence and in hindsight finishing just one minute behind first that might have been the difference.
Having three South Africans on the podium in a strong international field was incredible though. For the world champs, there is obviously a stacked field, but racing with that belief and confidence will be even more important.
How do you stay in shape – take us through a usual day in your training regime.
My build-up to an Ironman will go through different phases, so the intensity and focus of the sessions differ at the various stages. You want to be gradually building your fitness and strength over a number of months before focussing on race-specific sessions and then sharpening the sword.
The hours per week will generally range between 20-30hrs with 5-6 swim and bike sessions and 4-5 run sessions each week.
What is considered a strong Ironman time for this particular course?
I’m really not sure, to be honest. I think the last time there was a full Ironman in St. George was back in 2012. I haven’t looked at the times from that, and I think the course might be slightly different now as well. It’s a hilly bike and a hilly run, though, so it’s certainly not a ‘fast’ course, but no doubt the times will still be quick.
Are there any specific techniques you use to stay mentally sharp?
Visualising the day and the different scenarios that might play out is a big part of the prep. I’ll do this in and out of training and try to put myself in different situations that I’ll work through in my head, so there are hopefully less surprises on race day. What I’ve come to learn recently, though, is that for me, overtraining is much more easily achieved than undertraining, and the best way to stay mentally sharp is to just not be overtrained and to get to race day fresh and ready mentally and physically to give it 100%
What is your 2022 outlook like? Is there anything specific you would like to achieve?
2022 is a unique year, with there being two Ironman World Championship races in the same year. The biggest goal is to try to get good results in both of these races. Then there are the PTO races and potentially the Collins Cup, which makes it a busy and exciting year.
Between cycling, running, and swimming, which discipline do you enjoy the most?
It really varies, to be honest. Normally it’s the sport that I’m having the most gains and best sessions with at the time. This usually isn’t the swim haha. The ideal is to get into that space where all three are going well, and you feel like you can push and do the hard efforts in a relaxed state without forcing it. When that happens, you know you’re race-ready.
For people who are training for their first Ironman, what should they expect? Do you have any tips to share?
Nutrition is the 4th disciple in an Ironman. Practice what you’ll take while training; the gut is as trainable as anything else. Carbs are your friend, so get used to taking in lots of those during your race-specific sessions. Then pace yourself; the start of the bike and the run should feel relatively easy for at least the first half of each. The low points will come through, everyone goes through them, and it’s how you deal with those that can make or break your race.
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