A local triathlete has earned a trip back to his native Ohio. On May 4, Bob McArtor, 80, a retired Boothbay Harbor physician, won the 80 and over Polar Bear Olympic Triathalon in Brunswick. His victory earned him a berth in the USA Triathalon championship Aug. 10 in Cleveland. McArtor was one of three Polar Bear Triathalon Challenge racers in the 80 and over division.

In the Polar Bear Sprint Triathalon, he completed the event in one hour and 54 minutes which included swimming 600 yards, biking 1,200 yards and running a 5K. As the top finisher in his division, McArtor qualified for the USA Triathalon championship in either the Sprint or Olympic divisions. In Brunswick, he competed in the Sprint competition, but in Cleveland, McArtor will compete in the Olympic event. McArtor prefers the Olympic event which is a longer race than Sprint, but shorter than the Ironman triathalon. Olympic has a 1,500 meter swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run. But the longest triathalon is the Ironman which has a 2.4-mile swim. 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run.

“In Cleveland, I want to push the distance.” McArtor said. “Sprint is just that, it’s going all out. Ironman is pure endurance, but Olympic requires strategy so you have to pace yourself, and that’s why I like it.”

McArtor became a triathlete in 2007 after taking a Boothbay Region YMCA class. Prior to triathalon, McArtor was a marathon runner. In 1992, at age 53, McArtor wanted to “run a marathon before (he) died.” He ran track in high school, but had never run more than a quarter mile until 1983. He began training with his son, Bill McArtor of Columbia, South Carolina, who wanted to run for his high school cross country team. McArtor’s participation in distance running expanded to his goal of running 26.2 miles. “I’ve been an athlete all my life, and the challenge of running a long distance really attracted me,” he said. “I ran up to 22 miles in preparation for the New York City Marathon.”

While running may seem like an individual sport, McArtor had a “teammate” assisting him in his initial marathon. “I ran it with a friend from Ohio who could run a marathon in two hours and 40 minutes. He talked me through the marathon by telling how my body would feel at mile 22. He told me we could walk a few steps if I needed to, and helped me through ‘hitting the wall.’ His encouragement helped me, and I finished with a time with which I was proud,” he said. McArtor finished his first marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes. 

He has run 17 marathons. He has twice run the Boston Marathon. In 1998, he ran his first one, but it took him 15 more years before running another. In 2013, the Boston Marathon began with a 26-second moment of silence for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. At 2:50 p.m., almost two hours after the winners had finished, two explosions occurred near the finish line. Three spectators were killed and 264 were injured. This tragedy motivated McArtor to run in the 2014 marathon. 

“I wanted to honor the victims. It was the most emotional race I’ve ever run. I saw two people with T-shirts which read ‘We’re Survivors.’ I had tears in my eyes and looked down and saw they were both running on a prosthesis. And I told them, ‘You are why I’m here’ and hugged them,” he said.

As a distance runner, McArtor trains five days a week. He loves the competition, but he enjoys  training just as much. His regimen includes running two to three times a week, weightlifting, 1,200-yard swims and 20K bike rides. “They both give me great satisfaction of achievement whether it’s competing or training. Once I finish a race it motivates me to enter the next one, and keep training,” McArtor said. 

Triathalon training has also built a bond between McArtor and his competitors. In 2007, McArtor took the Y class with two other men and three women. Training with triathletes often results in developing a special bond with one another, hr said.  “We all share a common interest which develops camaraderie and makes the sport as much social as competitive,” he said.

Triathalon created a closer bond between McArtor and his two daughters and granddaughters. In 2008, the McArtor family did a three-generation triathalon at the Polar Bear event in Brunswick. McArtor had trained for triathalons for a year when he invited his daughters Ann McKean of Groveland, Massachuetts and Mary Reynolds of Juniper, Florida and their daughters to compete with him.“Not only was it a special event, it was also a memorable one,” he said.

McArtor has also competed in the Half-Ironman and trained for the Ironman competitions. In 2012, he won the Old Orchard Beach Half-Ironman for the age 70-74 division. And one year, he trained and entered an Ironman competition, but it wasn’t held due to not enough competitors. 

In his four decades of distance running, McArtor summed why he continues to participate in such a physically demanding sport. “Keep moving; challenge yourself with stretch goals; learn something from every race; embrace your achievements; and most important, have fun,” he said.

McArtor’s next competition is June 9 as he competes in a sprint triathalon in New Hampshire.