A sixth-grade teacher in Sacramento is set to tackle the grueling Ironman California competition less than a year after undergoing open-heart surgery. James Marshall Elementary School. They wish him well and good luck on Friday. “I think it’s cool and awesome and now he’s doing an Ironman, too,” said Madison Shelby, 11. Main said it was an emotional day. Emotional because he missed the starting line last year in the grueling triathlon that consisted of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2-mile run, all in one day. “I was diagnosed with severe regurgitation of the mitral valve,” Main said. The mitral valve is one of the four valves in the heart that keeps blood flowing in the right direction. “I can see it on the EKG, ” he said. “It’s just flopping around and the blood goes in the opposite direction than it should.” If he had raced last year, Main might have gone into cardiac arrest, instead, he signed up for open heart surgery. Now 11 months later, Main is ready to push his limits physically and mentally.| MORE | Ironman athletes prepare for race day in Sacramento “I think it’s important for people to see that if you set a goal, it doesn’t matter what your physical obstacles are, you can overcome those goals with enough hard work,” Main said. The teacher takes the lessons he has learned on his journey and passes them on to his students. “Never give up after you’ve done something, keep trying,” Shelby said. The students believe their teacher is a hero and wish him well, knowing his new heart, his big heart, will get him across the finish line. has to stop,” he said. Ironman California starts at 7 a.m. Sunday.
A sixth-grade teacher in Sacramento is set to take on the grueling Ironman California competition less than a year after undergoing open-heart surgery.
“He wouldn’t stop,” said Kyle Tran, 11.
Davin Main, 45, teaches sixth grade at James Marshall Elementary School. They wish them good luck on Friday.
“I think it’s pretty cool and awesome and now he’s doing an Ironman, too,” Madison Shelby, 11, said.
Main said it will be an emotional day.
It was emotional because he missed the starting line last year in the grueling triathlon that consisted of a 2.4-mile swim, and 112-mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2-mile run, all in one day.
“I was diagnosed with severe mitral valve regurgitation,” Main said.
The mitral valve is one of the four heart valves that prevent blood from flowing in the right direction.
“I saw it on the EKG,” he said. “It’s just flopping around and the blood is going in the opposite direction than it should be.”
If he had raced last year, Main would have gone into cardiac arrest, instead, he signed up for open heart surgery.
Now 11 months later, Main is ready to push his limits physically and mentally.
“I think it’s important for people to see that if you set a goal, it doesn’t matter what your physical obstacles are, you can overcome those goals with enough hard work,” Main said.
The teacher took the lessons he learned on his journey and passed them on to his students.
“Never give up after you’ve done something, keep trying,” Shelby said.
The students think their teacher is a hero and wish him well, knowing his new heart, his big heart, will cross the finish line.
“It’s important for students to see that just because we have setbacks, it doesn’t mean we have to stop,” he said.
Ironman California starts at 7 a.m. Sunday.
