World-ranked IRONMAN, a Woodlands resident, prepares for Kona

THE WOODLANDS, Texas—On any given day, at any time, Woodlands residents can be seen taking advantage of the township’s pools, bike trails and parks. Whether it is swimming, cycling or running, there is no doubt The Woodlands is a physically active community, enthusiastic when it comes to staying in shape and leading a healthy lifestyle. It is this aspect of our community that attracted professional triathlete Balazs Csoke to make The Woodlands his training base and home.

Csoke, a native of Hungary, has always been athletic. He began swimming at a young age and swam competitively throughout elementary and high school. At sixteen he saw a film about triathlons that sparked his interest in the sport. Once in college, he joined the triathlon club, where he trained and competed before graduating and moving to Switzerland.

In Switzerland, Csoke concentrated on his training and went on to complete his first full-distance IRONMAN race. As an individual athlete, Csoke had to do everything himself, including funding his sport. He maintained a part-time job before eventually seeking out sponsorships, which prompted his move to the United States.

Csoke first came to The Woodlands to compete in the 2011 IRONMAN Texas race, and found a community that loved and supported the sport. He continued to travel between Switzerland and The Woodlands before permanently moving here to train and work as the head coach at TriTactics, a specialized company that offers multidimensional coaching for triathletes. In The Woodlands the triathlon sport is huge so there are always fellow athletes to train with throughout the year.

“[At] the end of the day, we are still going to do the same race [and] the training is the same,” said Csoke, referring to both professional and amateur triathletes. The weather in Texas is also better for training than it is in Europe—Csoke can train all year long, as well as compete in the numerous races that are offered in the area from March through November.

Csoke is in his fourth year of professional training, and his tenth year of IRONMAN training. A normal day starts at 7 a.m. and ends around 8 p.m. It includes three workouts per day, totaling to about five to seven hours of training. Csoke also follows a nutrition plan created for him by doctors and sports nutritionists based on unprocessed, organic food to ensure his body is in top shape for race day.

“I can’t just order a pizza…I ask so much of my body, so I need to give back to it,” Csoke said. This nutrition plan also helps train his stomach and digestive system to “behave” on race day and avoid any, ahem, “bathroom issues”. This past year at IRONMAN Texas Csoke consumed about 45 power gels, or roughly one gel every 11 minutes throughout his 8:44:01 race time. A power gel is a quick source of carbohydrates for athletes engaging in extensive races.

All this training and dedication has qualified Csoke for the Kona, Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship in October. This race of all races features the top 40 professionals in the world out of over 800 total athletes. With his last race in July at Lake Placid, he secured his spot as 33rd in the World Ranking. His goal for the Kona IRONMAN is to place in the top 20, which could prove to be quite a challenge due to the difficulty of the course. The swim portion is in the ocean with currents and waves as obstacles. The biking portion of the race has intermittent wind speeds of 40-50 miles per hour, and the run portion of the race is on the lava fields, so heat radiates from the ground in addition to humidity and overhead sun. However, Csoke remains positive and looks forward to competing in the race of other Ironmans' dreams.

“I’m lucky to make a living from this…everything I have is from this sport, [it has] given me everything in my life," Csoke said.

For more information on Balazs Csoke, visit his website at the link below. To go for a run with Balazs along The Woodlands Waterway, join him at Lululemon at Market Street on August 27 at 6:50 p.m.