Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 112 miles. Run 26.2 miles. When fourth-year medical student Josh Gatz tells people the distance requirements for completing a full Ironman race, he usually gets the same response: "Have you lost your marbles?"
After struggling with obesity from a young age - his "friends" used to say he would grow up to become a sumo wrestler, he said - he discovered his passion for endurance sports when he joined the swim team in seventh grade.
"I instantly fell in love with the constant challenge of pushing one's self. Every day was not just a physical battle, but a mental challenge as well. Nothing but a yearning drive to compete and improve could get a high-schooler out of bed at 5 a.m. for morning practice every day of the week."
He held onto that passion through four years of varsity swimming and one year of collegiate rowing before discovering triathlon competition during his sophomore year of college.
"Even though I originally joined so I could attend the triathlon team's free swim practices, I soon became entranced by their competitive atmosphere and found myself participating in track practices as well," he said. "I bought a cheap, used tri-bike from a friend, and completed my first race the summer before my junior year, a half Ironman in Benton Harbor, Michigan."
Instantly hooked, he wanted more. During his junior and senior years of college, Gatz competed in Collegiate Club National Championships twice, won his first amateur race, and tackled his first full Ironman race in Louisville, Ky., with a 10-hour finish that ranked him 76th out of 2,600 racers, and earned him an All World Athlete Honorable Mention in 2013.
While his training intensity has declined since starting medical school, he has completed two sprint triathlons and two half Ironman races: Benton Harbor in August 2016 and Raleigh, N.C., in June. He and Madison Tustain, a fellow fourth-year Wayne State medical student and former University of Michigan triathlete teammate, helped create the Wayne State Warriors Triathlon Team. The trio competed in the Wolverine Man Sprint Triathlon on Aug. 5 in Ann Arbor.
"Although the race was fun, my favorite part was cheering my fellow teammates through the finish line. While triathlon may seem like an individual sport, what people fail to recognize is the support and camaraderie from the people you train with," he said. "After a bad practice or race, teammates are always there to pull me back to my feet and push me even harder next time. While racing is important, some of my fondest memories of triathlon will always be post-practice milkshakes at Rod's Diner or soaking in the hot tub after swim practice."
His final race before medical residency begins next summer will be the North American Championship full Ironman in April 2018, with aspirations of qualifying for the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.