Jason Shortis: An Australian Ironman Legend

Karen Doane catches up with the men's Soul Ironman Western Australia champion

What makes a legend? Something or someone who is extraordinary in multiple ways and does it consistently year in, year out. Jason Shortis is the consummate professional, gracious champion, devoted family man and all around nice guy. Now he also holds the record for the fastest Ironman time ever in Australia. Yep, Shorto has the stuff that legends are made of.

Coming into this year's Soul Ironman Western Australia, where he was the champion in its debut in 2004, Shortis was focused on reclaiming his title.

“Last year I was unable to compete here and it was tough because I truly love this race,” said Shortis. “This year I geared my training for this event and it really paid off. What I’ve learned is to focus on myself because I am the only person I can control out there.”

Shortis previously had run a 2:45 marathon on this course, but made the bold statement during the pre-race conference he was looking at a 2:42 or 2:43 on the day. There were some gasps, others shaking their heads and some believers simply nodding. In the end, everyone was a believer, including Shortis, as he clocked a 2:43:57 and the fastest Ironman time on Australian soil at 8:03:57.

“As I got off the bike, I knew I had a big gap to make up with Mitch 11 minutes out in front. I just ran really hard for the first two kilometers,” recalls Shortis. “I was feeling really good and when I heard I’d taken 5 minutes off of Mitch’s lead after about 3 km’s I continued to run hard and eventually passed Mitch about halfway through the run.

“The tough part was when I had about 5kms left and someone yelled to me, ‘If you pick it up, mate, you can get in under 8 hours… so start running hard.’ I felt like saying, ‘haven’t you been watching me run so far?’ But then I did the math in my head and thought two things. First, I can do this. Second, this is really gonna hurt!

“For a short time I thought I could still cruise in and win but I also knew it was time to give it a real go, to dig deep and see what I could do. And with 2 km’s left and seven minutes to hit 8 hours I thought, yeah, I can still do this. But then at 1 km my body was not going to do it but I kept running hard. When I finished I can honestly say I didn’t even know what time I did it in but it was an absolutely amazing feeling.”

Shortis ran down the finishline shoot with a large Australian flag proudly overhead. He was greeted by hundreds of adoring fans and his beautiful wife, Nicole and two young children, to which he credits his victory.

“Anyone who does this sport knows it is not an individual sport,” reflects Shortis. “It takes a team behind you to get you to the starting line. My family means everything to me and they put up with my hours of training, eating, sleeping, etc. to help me achieve my goal and my dream. I am extremely lucky to have them support me this way. They are the reason I am up here tonight so thank you.”

When asked if he plans to defend his 2006 Ironman Malaysia title, Shortis was quick to smile and say, “Mate, I’m just going to savour this victory right now and then get back and train in about two weeks. We’ll see how we go then.”

For now, Shortis, his family and friends will simply embrace his victory, his love of family, his love of Ironman and his love of life … yep, we love this legend!

You may contact Karen Doane at kdoane@ironman.com