Paramus Brothers Take On Epic Ironman Challenge

Training and racing in triathlons has become something of a family tradition for brothers Kris, 29, Asa, 32, and 25-year old Edel Mendoza, three Paramus natives who are die-hard triathletes. 

But on Saturday they will take on their greatest challenge, the Ironman U.S. Championship, one of the most arduous endurance competitions on the globe.

The event marks the first time the international Ironman brand makes its debut in the Bergen County, Rockland County, and New York City (NYC) metropolitan area, with all three phases of the race passing through Fort Lee, New Jersey.

After swimming 2.4 miles in the Hudson River, and cycling 112 miles on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, 2,500 triathletes will have to complete a 26.2 mile marathon, most of which take place in Palisades Interstate Park, and then traverses the George Washington Bridge and ends in NYC, all within the 15-hour cutoff.

"We all signed up for all the races together," said Kris Mendoza. "New York [Ironman] was one of those things where it was the first Ironman for a lot of us." 

The Mendoza brothers, who attended Stony Lane Elementary, West Brook Middle School, and Paramus Catholic High School, have been training vigorously for the last six months.

By competing in sprint, Olympic, and half Ironman distance races including Eagleman 70.3, Syracuse 70.3, and Revolution 3 Quassy 70.3 triathlons, the brothers have built up their endurance.

After a friend, Roderick Alfonso, who has competed in Ironman Lake Placid, invited Mendoza to join "Team in Training" as an effort to memorialize Alfonso's mother who passed from lung cancer, Mendoza completed his first triathlon, the Wyckoff Sprint in 2007.

"I Kind of fell in love with it [triathlons] and every year we kept ‘upping the ante’ and doing longer races," Mendoza said. "He [Alfonso] since started a charity called 'F' Cancer. Our t-shirts get a lot of smiles."

In addition to Paramus, members of the team hail from Saddle Brook, Teaneck and Ramsey. 

When he is not training or racing, Mendoza gains a unique perspective on the sport as a professional triathlon photographer who has shot for several trade magazines including LAVA, a magazine published by Ironman, Competitor magazine, and Triathlete magazine.

"When I can do triathlons and photography together it makes it that much more fun," Mendoza said.    

But working and participating in triathlons has not come without its challenges. A year and a half after he started, Mendoza tore his ACL and gained 50 lbs. He tried several diets and chose the Paleolithic diet, also known as the "Caveman Diet".

The diet consists mainly of fish, meats, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

"This was the first time I felt like I wasn't counting calories," Mendoza said. “I shed almost 20lbs since January. This has been best racing year yet so far. I keep joking around that this is going to be my Ironman PR (personal record)."  

Ironman U.S. Championship organizers, Korff Enterprises, had their share of challenges days before the race after in Tarrytown, New York while a sewer pipe was repaired.

The move threatened to cancel the swim portion of the Ironman race.

Participants, who traveled from around the globe to compete, would have raced in a biathlon with only the cycling and running portions of the race.  

But by approximately 3:30pm Friday, after the water was tested, Westchester County Department of Health , and Korff Enterprises was able to inform participants that the water would be safe to swim in on Saturday. 

Mendoza and his brothers would have been deeply disappointed, if after six months of training six days a week, the swim portion had been canceled, especially for their first 140.6-mile Ironman.

"Sounds gross,” Mendoza said. “But at this point, I'd rather swim in poop than have an asterisk next to my 138.2 mile finish.”