When I crashed (my bicycle) I had a lot of injuries. I broke my elbow and had to have a plate, I broke my shoulder blade, my pelvis, my sacrum. I’m blessed that I heal well, but I did do a lot of work to help myself get better. I had a good team too.” After a considered pause to say she didn’t want to come across as cocky, Joanne McKinley-Molodynia continued, “I just…just… wouldn’t accept that I wouldn’t be back to full whatever. That anything I want to do, I can do.”
McKinley-Molodynia missed just 11 weeks of work, and ran a 10K race 13 weeks after her crash.
An Ironman competition is raced over a 3.8K swim, a 180K bike ride, and a marathon-distance 42.2K run—all completed one segment after the other without a break. Ironman Chattanooga, Tennessee, in which McKinley-Molodynia will swim-ride-run on September 29, will have a cut-off time of 16.5 hours, after which you are considered a non-finisher and will not receive a result or finisher’s medal. Fourteen months after her training-ride crash, she hopes to finish the event, her first-ever Ironman, in 14 non-stop hours.
A couple weeks ago I called my friend Mike to inquire how his Saturday morning ride from Fonthill’s MCC had gone. He replied that it had been good, but a bit long. He and his buddies had ridden to Caledonia and back, more than 160 kms. He then explained that they were joined by a woman new to the group, who did the ride with them, after riding to the MCC start from her home in Chippawa. Her name was Joanne, and the total distance she had ridden that day by the time she rode home was 204 kms.
“Can you get me her contact info,” I asked Mike. “I’d love to know her backstory.”
He did, and McKinley-Molodynia’s athletic story is one of extreme dedication, passion, and resolve. Her father was a runner back before the ‘70s boom, and she started running at 14 years old in high school. She did the 1500 and 3000 with success at the local level, sometimes lapping other runners. She laughs that at SOSSA (the provincial level) she got crushed, but persisted anyway.
She ran recreationally through university, and did some weights and played soccer for fitness and stress relief.
In her late 20s, McKinley-Molodynia began her chiropractic practice in Niagara. She joined Track Niagara, a local running club, where she was encouraged to accompany them in running the Buffalo Marathon, a first for her. To her surprise, in Buffalo she qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon.
The next few years included pushing a baby stroller on training runs, competing in many marathons and shorter races, and soccer. She highly recommends baby stroller training, and credits the extra workload it provides for a best marathon time of 3:17.
At age 52, with osteoarthritis in her right knee making soccer playing painful, and her kids older, McKinley-Molodynia began competing in sprint triathlons – 750 metre swim, 20K bike and 5K run.
She qualified for the 2016 World Triathlon Sprint Championships in Cozumel, but broke her wrist in a bike crash just before the event. She went anyhow to support her friends, shed a tear at the start line, and vowed to continue. The next year, in 2017, she placed 18th at the Rotterdam Triathlon Sprint World Championships.
In 2023, McKinley-Molodynia was scheduled to compete in her first Ironman 70.3 (1900 metre swim, 90K bike and 26.1K run) at Mount Tremblant, when the serious crash described at the beginning of this column happened during a pre-event training ride. When I ask her later in our interview which she considers the highlights of her triathlon career, she acknowledges making the Worlds and placing well as one, then draws from her heart when she acknowledges, “Continuing to participate, and deciding to, despite my crash, get over the fear and train for a full (Ironman) again,” to be a significant highlight.
I ask what drives her. Why she continues, at age 63, to train so hard to compete at the Ironman level. Is it for the accolades that come with success?
She dismisses that idea.
“What am I going to get? It would be nice to come top-five in my age category, but maybe I’m going to fall apart.”
It would be nice to come top-five in my age category, but maybe I’m going to fall apart
McKinley-Molodynia says it’s about proving herself to herself, and encouraging others.
“I never in a million years thought I would do this. When I first started in triathlon, I thought, ‘Why would you ever want to do all that training, it’s ridiculous’. Well, now I just want to have that accomplishment, of doing a physical activity, a feat, that’s going to take that long to do. Just to prove to myself, I guess, that I can do it.”
A specific training plan is difficult to develop at the Ironman level. McKinley-Molodynia takes group coaching, twice swimming and once running each week, from Jeff Scull at Edge Sport in St. Catharines, talks with others in her circle for ideas, and relies on her years of training experience.
Her run training is never more than 20 kms, in part because of her knee, and she’s not worried about swimming because it’s “in a river.” I didn’t ask if this was because there wouldn’t be large waves in a river, or she would be swimming with the current. She is satisfied with two or three full-distance (180 km) bike rides supplementing many shorter training rides.
To experience the demands a full Ironman might put on her body prior to the actual event, this week she’ll do a 170 km bike ride (6 hours) immediately followed by a walk from her home in Chippawa to the Niagara Glen, a hike down to the water, and return (another 4 hours).
Mental preparation is more difficult, she says.
“Friends are extremely supportive, saying everyone has to walk at the end, you’re strong, don’t worry — but I lose sleep over it. The closer it gets, the less sleep I’m losing because I’m like, you’re doing the work.”
McKinley – Molodynia is a person of faith, and she will pray a lot for the mental fortitude she’ll need at the end.
When I ask what she’ll be thinking about during the race, wondering whether filling her thoughts for so long might be difficult, she says the question doesn’t apply. She’ll chat with other competitors, stay hyper-aware of her personal environment because of the crash potential, solve problems, pray for the safety of herself and the others. There won’t be a moment wasted.
Claiming,“We’re not just small men,” McKinley-Molodynia follows a woman-specific diet composed of healthy real food, natural carbs, and protein to prevent muscle loss at each meal. During a race, her secret weapon is to slather minimum-fibre potato bread made for her by an 80-year-old friend with peanut butter and jam, then scrunch it into easy-to-carry balls. She’s a salty sweater, so has to take in 1000 mg of sodium per hour during competitions. She mixes her own hydration fluid by combining a commercial energy drink with extra salt and green-tea caffeine.
She is a strong lifestyle advocate who understands that disease and ill-health can strike anyone at any time, but also believes we can control many of our health outcomes.
“Treat your body right, with respect. Don’t pollute it with bad food or too much booze. It’s poison.”
During our conversation I cannot help but think of how many times McKinley-Molodynia has faced a significant hurdle and pushed herself through it. I ask if she has any comment or advice for the rest of us.
She responds almost philosophically. “I just never want my physical self to limit me. If I want to do something, I want my physical self to be able to do it. It’s hard for me to not want that for other people too. I want for other people to just feel what I get to feel, not being limited by my physical self yet.”
As we all age, having the ability to share that feeling would truly be wonderful.
