HIGH ACHIEVERS: Medical issues have Rick Hellard taking different approach to Ironman Canada Ottawa

By Martin Cleary

For the first time in 12 years, Ottawa’s Rick Hellard will come face-to-face with the gruelling swim-cycle-run Ironman competition.

But this will not be the Hellard of the past, where his competitive juices and all-around talent would be seeking a personal-best time, a high age-group placing and the thrill of defeating the brutal beast that is a 3.8-kilometre swim, a 180 km cycle and a 42.195 km marathon run.

The Hellard of today is medically supported by a cardiac pacemaker, is far less ruthless and hopeful rather than determined because of interrupted training. He’s confident about his swim and cycle, but knows the run will be a major question mark.

When Ottawa was awarded the rights to stage the Ironman Canada competition last year, the news was immediately seized by the multi-sport community, including Hellard.

Ironman Canada Ottawa sold out quickly with a field of 3,000 novice to elite amateur triathletes willing to attack the ultimate distances. The Ironman starts with the swim portion Sunday at 6 a.m. at Britannia Beach and the cycling and running will follow on courses through the streets of Ottawa. The finish line is on Murray Street next to the National Gallery of Canada and Major’s Hill Park.

“When they put it in your backyard, it’s tough to say no,” Hellard said in a phone interview this week.

At the time he registered for Ironman Canada Ottawa last year, Hellard, 59, felt he could put his pacemaker through the ultimate test. He has pushed the envelope in a variety of endurance events over the past several years – a half Ironman, a marathon, half marathon, cross-country races, open water swims, triathlons and more.

As Hellard completed the 2013 Ironman Mont Tremblant and the 2013 Ironman world championships in Kona, Hawaii, he experienced heart issues. In 2014, he discovered he had an AV block (atrioventricular block). His heart needed a technical adjustment as the electrical signal travelling from his atria to the ventricles was impaired.

Hellard received a pacemaker, which lasted 10 years. He had his second pacemaker implanted in May, 2023.

“I don’t want to be as competitive as I once was. I only train in nice weather. The nicer the day the longer I’m out there. It’s lots more enjoyable,” he said.

While he was feeling comfortable about revisiting the Ironman for the first time with a pacemaker, the first half of this year hasn’t been kind to Hellard.

In February, he noticed a significant amount of blood when he was voiding. After three weeks of thinking it will go away on its own, he was checked by a doctor and discovered he had a tumor and bladder cancer. He finished the injection treatment for his bladder cancer on Wednesday.

On April 1, he learned he had damage to the iliac artery in each leg. The artery carries blood to the lower extremities, including the legs. The bloodflow to his legs is only 70 per cent instead of the preferred 100 per cent.

Despite the pacemaker, the bladder cancer and the iliac artery issue, Hellard is ready to swim, cycle and run in his first hometown Ironman. He estimates he has competed in 30 career Ironman races and his personal-best time is eight hours and 41 minutes.

Hellard hasn’t done any “super long swims,” but he expects to have his basic speed from years of swimming – “not slow and not fast.”

As for cycling, his long rides have gone well. He has travelled 160 kilometers on three to four occasions with his Wednesday night group, 180 kilometres three to four times and 200 kilometres twice.

“But I’ve had no opportunity for long runs,” Hellard said. “That will be the litmus test. Fifteen kilometres is my longest run.”

If all goes well, Hellard estimates he could finish the Ironman “close to 11 hours.”

“It could be over 11 hours – 1:10 for the swim, 5:30 for the bike and no idea for the run. It could be four hours or 3:45,” he added cautiously.

“I’ll have to shut off my ego or I’ll get carried away chasing people.”

After Hellard had surgery to remove the bladder tumor, he started rounds of injectable medication to continue his cancer treatment. But after each treatment, he couldn’t exercise for four weeks.

“I lost 14 to 15 weeks of training,” Hellard added. “I’m a little behind schedule. I’ll get it done. How fast? I hope to get it done.

“I can’t go as hard as I want, even if I wanted to. I chug along.”

In his prime, Hellard once completed the Montreal Esprit race in eight hours, 41 minutes. It wasn’t a sanctioned Ironman race, but the Esprit had the identical Ironman distances for swim, cycle and run. His time was considered the third- or fourth-best in the world and a course record in the men’s 40-44 age class of the now retired race.

“I had a good swim, a killer bike and a good run,” Hellard recalled. “It’s what you dream of. It was a gift from the gods.”

Hellard was a track and cross-country runner at Sir John A. MacDonald High School, competing in Ottawa against future Olympians John Halvorsen and Bruce Deacon. At the same time, he discovered the triathlon and found success in those swim-cycle-run competitions.

From 1989-91, he raced for a professional triathlon team in France and chased that dream in Canada in 1992 and 1993. But prize money was limited and he couldn’t pay his bills with his race rewards of shoes and watches.

He worked six years at the Running Room as an area manager before deciding to coach triathletes, which he has done for the past 26 years. He has retired his Zone 3 Sports business and is exclusively focused on ROC Swimming as its owner and one of two head coaches.

Hellard has been connected to the triathlon and Ironman scene for 45 years as a competitor and a coach.

“It’s mostly because I’m good at it,” he said, when asked about why he directed his athletic skills in that manner. “When you’re good at something, you like to do that.

“They do tend to organize events in exotic locations and it’s nice to travel. I like to train a lot and it’s a natural extension of what I do.”

What Hellard will do on Sunday is revisit the Ironman with a new approach and to help understand the event even more so he can communicate that to the athletes he coaches.

He’ll see a lot of familiar faces during his long day of competition, including people from his medical team and about 20-25 friends from Ottawa.

“My urologist and anesthetist will be racing and they’re supportive. My family is positive about the whole thing. That helps. All the more reason I have to get to the start line,” Hellard offered.