New Delhi, Jul 8 Triathlete Anu Vaidyanathan, the first Indian to compete in the Ironman and the first Asian to complete Ultraman Canada triathlon says as a woman training in India poses its own unique challenges. The 34-year-old says she used to not get up later than 4 am to train lest she fell prey to eveteasing and often had to dress up in a ‘sack’ to avoid attention after a workout. “I would get up very early and be on the road. People would comment and I had to dress up in a sack, covering my self fully to become invisible,” she says. Triathlon is an arduous sport involving swimming, cycling and running and Vaidyanathan became the first Asian to compete in the Ultraman Canada, a race comprising a 10 kilometre swim, a 420 kilometre bike ride and an 84.4 kilometre run. She backed this up with the Ironman Canada, three weeks later, becoming the only athlete to do so in the history of the race. Fondly known as Anu, the sportsperson has compiled anecdotes from her eventful life in the form of a memoir that was recently launched here. Peppered with self-deprecatory humour, the book titled ‘Anywhere But Home: Adventures in Endurance’ (Harper Collins)
