Panaji: Mayura Shivalkar felt the heat, quite literally, at the end of the cycle leg at Ironman 70.3 Goa.After a 1.9km triangular swim course in the waters of Miramar beach, Shivalkar somehow cycled for 90kms to complete the second part of the Ironman challenge. After five hours of swimming and cycling, she was drained, completely exhausted. The excessive heat didn’t help.Yet, giving up was not an option for the 52-year-old. Shivalkar had to run 21.1km to complete the course.“After the cycle leg, I wanted to give up, but my mind kept telling me, I cannot quit,” Shivalkar told TOI. “There will be challenges, but we must move ahead. I told myself, I’ll run, jog, walk, crawl if needed, but somehow, I’ll get to the finish line.”When she eventually crossed the finish line, she looked at her watch. It timed her race at 8:12:57, well beyond her expectation of completing the course in seven and half hours. Nevertheless, for someone who is a cancer survivor, and returning to Ironman 70.3 after a four-year hiatus, this was another fabulous achievement.“I want to show everyone that anything is possible. Sports teaches you to have patience, discipline, and remain emotionally strong. Cancer is not the end of the road. Since I do a lot of counselling, I can see that women take a lot of stress, and this stress leads to complications. A lot of women are sometimes ashamed to speak of breast cancer,” said the Karwar-born Shivalkar.An acclaimed triathlete with multiple years of corporate experience under her belt, Shivalkar was 39 when she first started running. She was so fit that she completed 35 half marathons and seven full marathons. Her dream, naturally, was to become an Ironman.At 44, she had trained hard enough to give Ironman 70.3 Colombo a try, but just a week prior to her race, her breast biopsy tested positive. Undaunted, she continued with her assignment in Colombo and realised her dream.Shivalkar was later diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.Multiple doctor visits followed; there were eight chemotherapy sessions and 28 excruciating rounds of radiation. She went through it all and is now free of cancer.She’s healthy, provides counsel to those suffering from breast cancer and boasts of an extraordinary journey that includes completing a full Ironman in Kazakhstan – swim: 3.8km, cycle 180km, run 42.2km – along with her son, the first such mother-son duo. Both were among the top competitors in their groups and qualified for the World Championship in Kona.In 2022, she completed Ironman 70.3 in Goa for the first time. It was never going to be easy. Her body took a beating and needed rest. Four years later, she returned, and even though her timing was not to her liking, she had done what very few would dare to do.“I’ll come back again next year and finish within seven and half hours,” said Shivalkar, who raised funds for two young children aged four and 12, both battling cancer, with the support of Ironman 70.3 Goa, Dr Gauravi Shivalkar Narwekar and the Belagavi running community.“When I wake up, I see goals, and these goals keep me motivated,” said Shivalkar. “I want to inspire all women who are suffering, who are undergoing treatment, maybe in trauma. I want them to see my journey and think to themselves. ‘If she can do it, even we can do something like that’.”Shivalkar’s journey is not merely a story of sporting excellence; it is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit. For her, the real victory lies not just in completing an arduous race but also in making a difference to someone else’s life.
