Most people celebrate with cake on their birthday. History teacher Michael Doubleday celebrated his 50th birthday by completing an Ironman challenge, one of the most physically grueling races a person can take on.

An Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run.

Doubleday trained for 10 months and completed the triathlon this August in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. His time was 12 hours, 37 minutes.

“I actually felt really good during the race,” said Doubleday. He was excited to have his wife and two sons with him. Besides some cramping during the swim, he was happy the entire time. “There wasn’t any time in the race that I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to finish,” he said.

This event wasn’t Doubleday’s first. He has been competing in triathlons for many years since college and did an Ironman 14 years ago. However, he wasn’t satisfied with his performance and experience, and wanted to do another, but never really got around to it. His 50th birthday seemed like a good time to do it again, he said.

His biggest challenge was balancing the training with other parts of his life. He has two sons that are under 10 years old, and he teaches four history classes while coaching JV football and JV swimming. “Balancing family, work, and training for an event like that can be challenging and you have to have your priorities straight,” he said. “For me my family came before training. My job came before training.”

This time, Doubleday said he was smart about his training. He listened to his body and didn’t let training consume him, something that he thinks he didn’t do as well 14 years ago. He did extensive research about diets and being healthy for the triathlon. “The whole experience was a lot more rewarding and enjoyable,” he said.

He loved having his family with him, and described them as “very supportive and encouraging” throughout the training process and competition.

Doubleday’s advice is to get out of your comfort zone. He wants “to encourage students to set goals for themselves that are challenging, are going to require a lot of hard work and effort to achieve, and have a high risk of failure. Those are the achievements that are really rewarding and will be life changing experiences.”

He also recommends that you don’t limit yourself based on what you think you can do. Sports have always been a part of Doubleday’s life, but in high school his sports focused on sprinting and an endurance event never appealed to him. “Don’t put yourself in a box that determines what you cannot do based on preconceived ideas of who we are,” he said.

Erin Davey, Williston’s director of inclusion, diversity, and activities will complete a Half Ironman this summer. She praised Doubleday and said he has been a mentor for her, giving her advice and holding her accountable. “He is a huge inspiration for me in terms of his work ethic and diligence through his training and his diet,” she said.

She admires his attitude. “He is in tune with himself. He doesn’t focus on his speed or the number of calories in his diet. It is about how he feels.”

Davey knows how hard the Half Ironman will be for her, and she can’t imagine how hard it must be for Doubleday, especially balancing other facets of life. “He is just so cool,” she said. “He is a father, he is an outstanding teacher, always super helpful on my weekend duty team and he can still find time to train and do an Ironman.”

Doubleday plans to do another competition this summer. He is interested in a Half Ironman or even a 100-mile run. He is also interested in adventure triathlons, like Spartan Races or obstacle courses. “Sport is a part of my life, it’s part of who I am,” he said. “I hope that these types of things are always a part of what I do.”