At the sound of a blow horn at 6:04am on August 28, senior Henry Holtz’s wave of 52 people in the Chicago Triathlon took off quickly from Monroe Harbor to swim for 0.94 miles, bike for 6.2 miles, and run for 1.5 miles.

It took him 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 48 seconds to complete the course. He came in 33rd place out of 52 participants in the International Premier Division.  

This was Holtz’s second time completing the Chicago Triathlon. 2,800 people participated this year, according to Holtz. He enjoys competing in triathlons because it relates to his fascination with energy and athletics.

“It’s a really cool action-packed race,” Holtz said. “So few people of my age do the triathlon, so it feels good to do.”

The Chicago Triathlon considers people ages 7 to 10 as Junior Kids. Senior Kids range 11 to 14 years old. Even though Holtz is older than both of these age groups, he is still in high school.

Holtz’s dad Stan asked Holtz to join the triathlon with him in 2015. Throughout his childhood, Holtz had been attending the Chicago triathlon to watch his dad, and in 2015, he decided to aspire to what his dad had been doing for 13 years.

“I was motivated to race against my 50 year old dad,” Holtz said. “I’ve tried to beat him both years, but he’s beaten me by ten minutes both times.”

According to Holtz, there were around 9,000 competitors. Holtz said the run was the hardest part of the triathlon because it was the most painful. His “love-hate relationship” with running stems from his asthma. “Running is the best way to give myself an asthma attack through exercise,” Holtz said. “So it’s always been annoying to run because it bothers my lungs.”

Before Holtz learned to appreciate running, he was on the Wolfpack swim team for 8 years and joined the track and cross country teams his junior year. Once he committed to doing the triathlon, he added cycling to his exercise.

Holtz started formally training for the triathlon a month and half before the race. On average, he would train for 1 and half hours, 6 days a week. His longest workouts were 3 hours, while his shortest ones were 20 minutes. Holtz also included yoga, stretching, and icing into his workout to prevent injuries from his exercise.

“Exercising helps your sleep and body, and repairs your muscles,” Holtz said. “Exercise has so many benefits. You’ll be racing your own grandchildren.”

Holtz also loves to see how much his body can handle. He said, “I love being my own guinea pig and seeing what exercise does to me specifically.”

Aside from helping him prepare for the race, exercising also developed Holtz’s interest in the human body and specifically metabolism.

He tested his capacity to handle large amounts of food by taking on the Big Daddy Challenge last year at Johnny’s Beef & Gyros in Lincoln Park. The Big Daddy Challenge requires a participant to eat the restaurant’s Double Sized Big Daddy Burger with a fresh pickle and barbeque sauce, a full serving of chilli cheese fries, and a cup of italian ice. After completing this challenge successfully and setting a record speed, owner of Johnny’s Beef Johnny Anastopoulos was willing to sponsor him in the triathlon.

“We’ve had 130 people do the Big Daddy Challenge, and only 12 or 13 have actually completed it,” Anastopoulos said. “Henry has the record, and it has been standing for around a year. That was just kind of the cherry on top as far as the sponsorship. Anything to promote the business and help him out. He did it and crushed it, and he has a bright future. He can also eat a lot.”

Holtz’s brother freshman William Holtz is not planning to participate in the triathlon in the future, but is impressed by his brother’s stamina.

“Honestly for years he’s been a lot better than me, and I haven’t liked swimming and biking, so I’m not super-encouraged to keep going, but he really has pushed me,” William said. “Sometimes, I’ll join him for his workouts, and it’s really remarkable what he can do.”

William observed that most of his brother’s growth happened before the triathlon. Henry is able to swim miles more than what he had been able to swim before.

“I want to get faster, stay in shape,” Holtz said, “it’s hella fun, and I want to do track.”

Holtz plans to participate in the Chicago Half Ironman triathlon in 2017, which involves a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run, according to totaltriathlon.com. Maybe next year, Holtz will be able to cross the finish line before his dad.