Testing His Mettle

NEWPORT BEACH — That James Clayton: what a slouch, a loafer, a regular couch potato.

Clayton apologizes and confesses embarrassment when he admits he only swims 12,000 yards, bikes 200 miles, runs 25 miles and puts in three weight training sessions each week.

“I’m old, I’m pretty slow, I don’t train that much,” said the 63-year-old Newport Beach real estate investor. “Ask the younger guys what they do. Now that’s really something.”

Still, Clayton will join 10 other Orange County triathletes in Hawaii on Saturday for the 20th Ironman Triathlon World Championship, the most prestigious triathlon and the one that all tri-geeks (as they love to be called) dream of doing.

Each year, more than 20,000 people around the world try to qualify. But only the toughest need apply. It’s a grueling 140.6-mile race that starts with a 2.4-mile ocean swim in Kailua Bay, followed by a 112-mile bicycle race along the Kona Coast, topped off by a 26.2-mile run.

The route itself, even with its steep 11-mile hill, is not the worst part. It’s the wildly unpredictable weather, said Ironman race director Sharron Ackles. Merciless crosswinds can blow bicyclists over. Driving rains come and go. A desolate stretch through famed lava fields routinely reaches 120 degrees.

So why would anyone want to do it?

Clayton says it’s hard to express. But his life changed for the better 10 years ago when he decided to do something about his expanding gut and heard about “some race” in Mission Viejo.

“I was always athletic growing up, but I realized I was out of shape. So I thought it was time to do something about it,” said Clayton, a quiet man with graying hair who is uncomfortable talking about himself and his accomplishments.

It turned out that “some race” was the Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon, a 1.5-kilometer swim, followed by a 40K bike race and a 10K run. On the day of the race, Clayton finished well behind everyone else.

“I came in dead last,” recalls Clayton, whose chest is like a barrel, not the triathlete stereotype. “I said to myself, ‘Well, I gotta do better than that next time.’ ”

That was 90 triathlons ago, including three Ironman races in Hawaii.

Some people thinks he’s crazy when he tells them about his hobby. His son trained with him for a few races and then decided to give it up. But Clayton says the feeling of accomplishment--not to mention the body toning--makes it worth it.

He spends 16 to 18 hours a week training, usually going to bed by 10 p.m. and waking by 7 a.m. for the first of two daily workouts. He sandwiches his investment work between.

He’s a familiar sight running along Newport’s Back Bay. He takes the long route from his home off Pacific Coast Highway to Cook’s Corner in Santiago Canyon to get in a good 60 miles on his bicycle.

“It’s been more of a lifestyle than a sport, and I’m hooked on the lifestyle,” Clayton said. “Live healthy, eat healthy, work and train.”

When he gets to Hawaii, he will rub elbows with hard-core triathletes who hope to win by finishing in less than 8 1/2 hours. Then there are the veteran triathletes, such as 79-year-old Jim Ward of Florida who has finished the Ironman several times, who are just hoping to hang on to the end and beat the 17-hour cutoff time.

“It’s such a kick being around these people,” said Clayton, who hopes to finish in about 14 hours.

The race surely will go to the young. But Ackles, the Ironman director, says Clayton reflects the majority of the nearly 1,500 people who enter the televised race. They are mostly people in their 30s, 40s and 50s and older whose age and experience give them the mental edge and patience needed to grind through the race.

“This race is really mental. You can be in great shape and still not finish,” she said. “Something happens emotionally, mentally and spiritually out there. They’re making a statement to themselves and others that, ‘If I can do this, I can do anything.’ ”

Clayton thinks about this for a moment and then laughs out loud.

“Naw. Being young and in shape is the real edge,” he says. “I’ll trade any day.”