There is no end in sight; Molly Hayes is already looking ahead.
The 77-year-old Bozeman resident completed her 200th Olympic distance triathlon last Sunday in Bozeman. It's a number she won't be stuck on for long: there's another one next weekend in Helena. And in September alone, Hayes plans to compete in an international event in Budapest, a national race in Alabama - with a ‘tri' off the coast of Maine in between.
Then the goal is to complete eight to 10 each year, culminating with the World Triathlon Championships in England in 2012. Her body aches, but she begins most days with a three-mile run at 6 a.m. Plus, she works full-time as a nurse.
"I'm going to keep doing it until my body shuts down," Hayes says.
Hayes has competed in Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Australia, Germany, Canada and Ireland. She's worked as a nurse in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. She doesn't play cards or Bingo and she doesn't own a cell phone. What keeps her going is her competitiveness.
Hayes completed her first triathlon 25 years ago, shortly before she met her future husband, Tom. The couple recently celebrated 23 years of marriage - at a tri in Nashville, Tenn.
"He's a good sport," Molly said, referring to Tom. "Our dinners are always late."
That's because when Molly returns home from one of her four nine-hour shifts per week at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, she's quickly out the door for another hour run.
Tom says he doesn't enjoy watching Molly's triathlons as much as he "endures" them. Yet he's quite impressed with his wife.
"I swim like a rock, so I marvel at what she can do," he says. "Her feet are pretty well screwed up, her back is starting to bother her and her shoulder and everything else, but she's still out there at 6 o'clock in the morning and 6 o'clock at night. She is an addict, there's no doubt about it."
Molly Hayes grew up in Camino Island, Wash., 70 miles north of Seattle and graduated from nearby Mount Vernon High School. She attended what was known at the time as Washington State College in Pullman, Wash., where she competed on the swim and ski teams.
She gave birth to four children, though a son, Walter, died at age 6 due to a blood disease.
"He's my guardian angel," Hayes says to this day.
Her first running race, in 1974, covered 10 kilometers, only now she precedes a 10K with a 1.5K swim and a 40K bike ride, the distances for an Olympic triathlon. She has few peers, but even while serving as an inspiration herself, Hayes continues to follow the model of Sister Madonna Buder, a nun from Spokane, Wash., who has finished more than 300 triathlons, including 36 at the Ironman distance (2.4-mile swim, 110-mile bike, 26.2-mile run). She turns 80 on July 24.
The two have been friends since Hayes completed her first tri near Ellensburg, Wash., when all Hayes owned was a three-speed bike. (She's now sponsored by Hammer).
A year ago, Hayes won gold and silver medals at the World Triathlon Championships in Australia, but not every race in which she competes results in an award - or a finish.
Last fall, she never got the chance to jump on her bike at the U.S. Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Eleven inches of rain had fallen in the days leading up to the race, and during her swim (the first leg of a triathlon), two flood gates were opened upriver an hour apart, causing the current to increase dramatically.
After being in the water for more than two hours - she usually completes the swim portion in under an hour - Hayes wasn't able to continue and was picked up by a boat and dropped off on the shore while the race continued.
"I was crushed," she said.
On Sept. 25, she'll be back for another crack before finally winding down her busy season of swimming, biking and running. Well, not entirely. She'll spend the winter months rising early to run before skiing the day away at Bridger Bowl.
Yes, Molly Hayes is an addict. Take it all away and the withdrawal may be more difficult to bear than a bunch of sore muscles.
"If I had to have a lot of downtime," Hayes says, "I'd fight back so quick and fast and be as active as I could - if I had to drag myself."
Tim Dumas can be reached at tdumas@dailychronicle.com and 582-2651.
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