AAMC Reporter: September 2006

A Will to Achieve

Being an Ironman takes an iron discipline. And as a triathlete and a physician, Martin K. Childers, D.O., Ph.D., says his discipline is tested to the extreme.

"I think that it takes a special mindset to regularly exercise for six or more hours at a time, doing something repetitive and sometimes downright painful," says Childers, an associate professor in Wake Forest University School of Medicine's department of neurology.

"The stresses that physicians undergo during residency training in many ways are similar. So the discipline it takes to be successful in medicine seems to carry over to the sport of triathlon," he says.

And Childers should know. Since a physician friend introduced him to the sport in 1993, he has participated in more than 50 triathlons, including two events in the famed Ironman Series, in which entrants swim 2.4 miles and bike approximately 100 miles before running a full 26.2-mile marathon. He keeps a grueling training schedule and nutrition regimen (which he calls "the fourth discipline" of a triathlon). He is also a member of the Ironman medical team, which carries its own set of ups and downs.

"Most challenging is to know when to pull an athlete from an event when they don't want to stop," Childers says. "But of course, the most rewarding is being able to properly diagnose and treat a serious condition."

In addition to the usual cuts, bruises, sprains, and fractures, Childers says incidents of hyponatremia, a fatal condition also known as "water intoxication," are not uncommon. He also once treated a friend who suffered tension pneuomothorax after a crash.

Childers says the triathlon events, and being around fellow triathletes, are reward enough in and of themselves.

"Getting older and knowing that your max is slowly declining and trying to keep up with the young guys is very challenging. Most rewarding is to see so many overcome great obstacles to do triathlons. For example, this year we saw the first above-the-knee female amputee complete an Ironman. It is so rewarding to be around young people doing great things."

— S.H.

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