UC engineering student completes Ironman race

Mateja Rudmann completed the Ironman race in Jacksonville, FL. Photo/provided.

The Ironman is a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile marathon run. Athletes must finish the race in 17 hours.

"It was rewarding, but I'll never do it again," Rudmann said.

When Rudmann came to the University of Cincinnati she was majoring in architecture in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. After spending four days in the program, she realized it wasn't what she wanted to do. Excited about the structural principles involved in architecture but not interested in the studio design portion, she made the switch to the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

She spent her freshman year in architectural engineering, getting to do more of the math and structural work that she liked. However, the program still features a substantial course load in design. Still unsure, Rudmann switched majors once more into the construction management program and found her place.

"I didn't want to do design or spend my time in a studio," she said. "I like the math and structural portions of the program, and with construction management I got to do that and would have similar job opportunities."

Mateja Rudmann is involved in several student organizations on campus. Photo/Provided

Rudmann is heavily involved on campus outside of co-op and the classroom. She is a member of Engineers Without Borders, the Construction Student Association, Phi Sigma Rho, and was a member of the club swim team for a time as well.

She enjoyed the swim team and lifting weights, always looking to beat her personal best, but something was lacking. She yearned to be building up to a bigger goal, used to racing in high school and competing. Around this time, her boyfriend ran a marathon, and it inspired her to train for and complete her first Olympic-distance triathlon. A 0.93-mile swim, a 24.85-mile bike ride, and a 6.2-mile run. After doing her first Olympic triathlon, she was already thinking about what was next. A friend of hers was training for a 70.3, or a half Ironman, and she thought, why not?

"After I did the half, I said I was never doing a full Ironman, crazy people do that," Rudmann said.

However, the more she thought about it, the more her attitude began to change. At the time, she was living in North Carolina working at Garney Construction through UC's cooperative education (co-op) program. This allows students to alternate semesters of coursework with semesters in the field working full-time as an engineer.

Mateja Rudmann trained for the Ironman while working full-time at Garney Construction. Photo/Provided

Rudmann has spent four semesters with Garney Construction, at a wastewater treatment plant, working as a project engineer. She's gained experience in skills like concrete and mechanical drawings in CAD, managing construction site labor audits, wworking on site in the field as well as in office, and getting an overall picture of what a career in construction would look like. She shared that she is returning to Garney Construction full-time after graduation.

Living and working out-of-state, she had more free time than ever before, allowing her to dedicate much of her time to training. Though she underestimated just how much time it would require. Her weekly schedule consisted of waking up around 4:00 in the morning and swimming or biking before clocking into her co-op around 6:30. After work, her day would end the same way it started: with a workout, prepping for the Ironman.

The training was just one hurdle she faced leading up to the race. During preparation, her car broke down and was going to cost thousands of dollars to repair.

"I almost didn't do the race. I had to pay thousands for my car, and the entrance fee for the Ironman is another $1,000, so I didn't think I could do it," she said. "But I was almost done with my training and I knew I'd never be this close again, so I paid for it."