The super swift German delivered yet another remarkable performance at the Ironman World Championship in Nice, but even a 2:32:41 marathon wasn’t enough to hunt down an imperious Sam Laidlow <\/p>
It wasn\u2019t quite enough to earn Patrick Lange<\/a> a third Ironman world title, but adopting the positive mindset he talked to 220 about pre-race<\/a> served as a great fillip to help him run the fastest-ever marathon in an Ironman World Championship.<\/strong><\/p>\n Lange was more than 12min behind eventual winner Sam Laidlow<\/a> <\/strong>as he completed the 112-mile bike leg in Nice, which could have been demotivating. Instead \u2013 as an athlete who is renowned for running through the field \u2013 <\/span>he turned the situation to his advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe thought I had in my mind was that: \u2018Hey man, you\u2019re seventh off the bike in an Ironman World Championship!\u2019 I\u2019ve never had that. Normally I\u2019m like 20th.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt kept me in the game. I told myself: \u2018Ok, it\u2019s the best position I have ever been in [at this stage], don\u2019t worry about the distance [to go], and maybe they just overcooked it.\u2019 They kind of did. Except for one!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That one was Laidlow, who was a class apart to become the youngest-ever men\u2019s Ironman champion, and the first Frenchman to win the title. It was also, remarkably, his first Ironman title over either 70.3 or the full distance.<\/span><\/p>\n Lange continued: \u201cI knew they\u2019d start out quickly and yesterday evening in the pre-race chat with my coach [Bjorn Geesman] I said I didn\u2019t feel I have the 2:30 in me because of the bike course.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI planned to run at 3:40min\/km but the first 5km were 3:30min\/km pace and it felt slow, so I was like: \u2018Ok, the legs are not so bad. Catching up is really motivating and it\u2019s cool to see the gaps melting away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI tried to focus on technique that we learned in running classes \u2013 keep the contact on the ground minimal and have a nice forward lean. I kept the cadence high and tried to run from my hips and \u2013 it sounds a little silly on such a flat course \u2013 but I focused on running the downhills well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Lange says that once he caught Ditlev to move into second place at 21 miles, he told his team he didn\u2019t want to know the gap to the front as he wasn\u2019t going to close it. <\/span><\/p>\n In the end the 2:32:41 marathon took 4min off Gustav Iden\u2019s split from Hawaii last year, yet it still left him 4min back from Laidlow at the finish.<\/span><\/p>\n The second place sits alongside Lange\u2019s third in 2016 and wins in Hawaii in 2017 and 2018 as he continues to fly the flag for arguably the strongest nation in long course triathlon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have the full medal set,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think I have proven with this performance that I have shown that I am not old yet and still have much to give.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Alongside Laidlow, 24, and Ditlev, 25, on the podium,\u00a0 the 37-year-old is not ruling out another dart at the title when the men\u2019s race returns to Hawaii next autumn.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI can still keep improving, developing and should be able to keep up with the young generation which makes me proud because my generation is more and more retiring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n