ROANOKE RAPIDS — Few people can refer to themselves as an Ironman. Sure Robert Downey Jr. played one in the big screen adaptation of the Marvel Comics super hero, but that was fictional. So, what human can honestly call himself an Ironman?

Contributed photo | The Daily Herald Roanoke Rapids resident Gordan Pearson took a break from biking action. Pearson recently competed in his first full distance triathlon in Wilmington. Advertisement

The answer: Gordan Pearson. He is  Roanoke Rapids resident who recently completed his first full distance triathlon event in Wilmington.

The triathlon event consisted of swimming, cycling and running. The grueling course last month was 140.6 miles, with the majority of the trek  on bike for 112 miles. It took Pearson 13 hours and 29 minutes to complete the competition which started at 7 a.m. It’s one heck of a way for a man to spend his 49th birthday.

“When I started it was dark, when I finished it was dark,” Pearson said.

Pearson said he finished in the middle of his age group, which was not bad considering some of the runners in his group have been doing this for 20 years. Pearson, a firefighter, trained for the trek by running, swimming, cycling and lifting weights. All of those activities prepared the body for the physical toll, but the mental part of competing in such a demanding gig is something you can’t possibly train for.

“Mentally you have to be prepared to go beyond exhaustion,” Pearson said. “The thing which makes it such a challenge is not only doing all three events, but also you know so much can go wrong. You have to keep your nutrition up and you have to balance eating and nutrition with pacing yourself. You might do good on the first two events, then you might not be able to finish because you over extended yourself.”

With no time to sit down and refuel, Pearson gets most of his nourishment on the go. He hops from the water to the bike, briefly changing into dry clothes and moves onto the next stage. While riding or running he would nibble on something convenient like a rice crispy treat or drink his “cocktail,” a mixture of protein power, cranberry juice and water in his water bottle. The meal eaten the night before requires a lot of carbohydrates and protein on the menu.

A lot of people don’t complete events like this and once he could see the lights at the finish line, Pearson said he was overcome with emotions and a sense of accomplishment. “It was a blessing to be able to accomplish it. A very small percentage of people in the world accomplish one.”

Calling the feat a blessing is an appropriate term. Forty years ago Pearson was hit by a car and lost about 50 percent of the muscle in his right leg.

“It’s by the grace of God that I am still able to walk,” he said. “I feel like it was by the grace of God and through his power that I was able to finish.”

Pearson is already making plans to participate in another event, the White Lake Half Ironman in May, then in the Wilmington competition again next year to try attempt to improve his time. So there might be a sequel to a local Ironman sooner than we think.