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Faculty member competes in Florida Ironman
DEC. 6, 2004--One of UTMB's faculty recently participated in a different kind of "all sports day.” Dr. Bob Bulik, associate director of the Office of Education Development, associate professor of family medicine, and senior researcher for the Telehealth Center, was one of the 2,122 athletes that started the 2004 Ironman Florida Triathlon in Panama City Beach, Fla. Bulik also is the co-principle investigator with Dr. Vic Sierpina on the NIH R25 Complementary and Alternative Medicine grant. Bulik attributes his success in recovering from cancer surgery almost three years ago, completing marathons in 2002 and 2003, and simply finishing this year's Ironman Florida event to a strong mind-body connection -- one area of focus for the grant.
Three Olympic triathlon participants in Athens and approximately 500 international athletes were among the field that came to Panama City Beach to compete.
An Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a complete marathon (26.2 miles) all run in succession. Athletes have 17 hours to complete the event -- a total of 140.6 miles. Bulik finished the event in just more than 14 hours, placing 40th overall in his age group.
The Florida Triathlon is one of only five full Ironman events in the country that serve as qualifying events for the original Ironman Hawaii. All attract top athletes from around the country.