Aaron Hesseltine poses in front of Upstate Auto Chrysler Dodge Jeep, a family-owned business on July 15 in Saranac Lake. (Staff photo — Parker O’Brien)
SARANAC LAKE — Whether it’s climbing the High Peaks or doing an extreme stamina challenge, Saranac Lake native Aaron Hesseltine enjoys pushing himself.
So when his scheduled boxing match fell through in March, the 25-year-old decided he’d take on one of the most extreme challenges this area has to offer — Ironman Lake Placid, an event that combines a 2.4-mile, a 112-mile bike ride and a full 26.2-mile marathon run. He’ll be one of the 2,500 athletes taking part in the event on Sunday, July 21.
“It’s just something I kind of wanted to do for the past few years,” he said. “I got into doing some Spartan races and then I figured I’d take it to the next level, which would be triathlons.”
After competing in the past two Tupper Lake Tinman events, while also posting solid results, including a 75th place finish in 2023 and placing 33rd this past June, Hesseltine decided to step his game up.
“I figured, why not go for the big boy,” he said.
Aaron Hesseltine competes in the Lake Placid Marathon on June 9. (Staff photo — Parker O’Brien)
Since he decided in March that he was going to take part in Ironman, Hesseltine has spent around two hours a day training for this event.
“It’s a lot of biking, a lot of swimming and a lot running,” he said. “The farthest I’ve biked is 100 miles. I’ve ran a 50K in a day before. I’ve done the Ironman loop. The longest in one day would be the Tinman race, but I’ve done longer individually.”
Although both of his brothers ran cross country and track in high school, Hesseltine didn’t start taking part in running events until he has in college. But even with a slower start into the discipline than most, he’s already got back up to speed. In June, he competed in the Lake Placid Half Marathon and placed 11th overall.
Running that half marathon will also help him with gauging the hills — one of the most strenuous parts of Ironman Lake Placid — during Sunday’s triathlon.
“And those Spartan races, for the most part, have been mountain racing, so there’s a lot of hills with that,” he said. “The hills are definitely a strength of mine.”
Of the other two disciplines in Ironman, Hesseltine said the swimming portion will be his weakest, but that’s not what he’s most worried about.
“The bike is the one I’m most nervous about. It’s the longest event,” he said. “It’s going to take seven hours, where as the swim, I’m the weakest at it, but it’s only about an hour and a half. I’m not too worried about that.”
Hesseltine doesn’t care about his time on Sunday. He said his main goal is just to finish the race.
“When I did Tinman (this year), I was looking at it as more of a race where I was going to go as hard as I could. This, I just want to survive it. So slow and steady is going to be my best route. I’m still going to try hard, I just want to make it to the finish line. I don’t want to put pressure on myself or anything like that.”
He’s most excited about taking part in a race against some of the top Ironman athletes in the world.
“Of course, I know I’m not going to be in the top pack,” he said. “But just to be on the starting line with just some of those incredible athletes is going to be really exciting. Just the whole thing, I’m excited for, just to be part of the event, check-in and what not on Thursday, Friday or Saturday.”
While Hesseltine grew up in Saranac Lake, a short distance away from the race site, he doesn’t have a deep rooted connection to Ironman Lake Placid. In fact, he’s never even attended the event in person.
“I’ve driven through town, but I’ve never volunteered, I’ve never been a part of the festivities and everything. I’m just really excited for everything. It’s going to be a hell of day, but it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
Hesseltine comes from a pretty big family in Saranac Lake, so on race day Sunday, he’ll more than likely have a solid group of people cheering him on.
“It’ll be cool to see them. I’ve got some family members and friends that are also volunteering,” he said. “So, it’ll be cool to see people at the aid stations. Hopefully, I don’t look destroyed.
“(But I know) it’s going to be a rough couple of days after, but it’ll be fine. I know the crash is going to be fairly big, so I think I’m going to be taking a couple of sick days after.”
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