Mishu Biswas

DS: How did a policeman get into the journey of being an Ironman?

Mishu Biswas (MB): As you know, in my line of work, I have to deal with a lot of stress. The stress of my job wore me down mentally and started to take a toll on my health. So, to break free from that pressure, I started running. I got in touch with the running community and ran in several marathons. From that, I moved on to swimming which is something that I had to learn late. I crossed the Bangla Channel and then decided to hone my cycling skills before I was confident that I could compete in the Ironman Championship.

DS: How did you find the time to train for competitions?

MB: It is difficult. Most of the time, I have to train alone because of my work schedule. I run at Ramna Park at 11pm and when it comes to swimming, it's difficult to find pools that are designed to train for competitions. Cycling brings its own set of challenges as we don't really have cycling lanes here. We have to train at Hatirjheel at night which is risky. There have been many accidents and I myself have been in at least two. You see, we do this out of enormous self-motivation and enthusiasm. Most of my training regimes and techniques are off the internet and from talking with foreign athletes.

DS: How can we make Ironman Competitions more mainstream in Bangladesh?

MB: It will take a lot of planning but at the very basic, I'd say that we would have to arrange events. The more events we arrange, the greater the participation will be and more athletes will come through. We can, at the local level, organise year-round triathlon events which will not only help us stay in practice throughout the year but will also ensure the growth of the sport.