From zero to 42.2 and beyond
Some people were just meant to run, and Vlad Ixel is no exception.
Originally from the Ukraine, Ixel has called Perth home for almost two decades, and these days follows the global ultramarathon trail, spending his time living in either Western Australia, Hong Kong or parts of Europe.
But what sets Ixel apart from the rest of the crowd is that it was an instantaneous realisation on his 25th birthday which forced him away from a life of poor lifestyle choices, and with just a flick of the switch, he was up and running a marathon in no time.
Yes, a marathon.
When we go back to basics, Ixel was an average athletic teenager, but shortly after high school took an eight-year hiatus and until the age of 25, had nothing to do with cardiovascular activity whatsoever.
He could barely run 100-metres to catch the bus, despite working out at the gym and thinking he was healthy and fit, when he suddenly decided out of nowhere to sign up for the 2012 Perth Marathon.
He completed the distance in 3:18:31 after only a couple weeks of training.
Granted, Ixel admits it wasn’t the best way to go about it, but it filled a hole.
“Obviously, it was very painful, and I struggled but I realised all about setting yourself a goal and achieving that goal, how great it really is,” he said.
“I sat down on the grass after I finished, I couldn’t move for about an hour, and then when I got into my car only a short distance away, it took me another 20 minutes to put the key in the ignition.
“I was in so much pain, but that feeling of achieving such a big goal was the start of something beautiful, I wanted to do it all over again.
“You know previously, I was addicted to alcohol, to nicotine, to caffeine…now, I was addicted to that feeling of finishing a race.
“It took me two or three weeks to recover properly, but then I signed up for another marathon straight away.
“I haven’t looked back since.”
Ixel’s times got progressively better as he trained harder and faster, determined to go further and further, so he researched online about ultra races to find one just right for him.
He came upon a 250kms self-supported race in Chile that seemed to tickle his fancy, and in true ultra running style, signed up for the 2013 event.
This was the point where Ixel did a complete turnaround with his nutrition to prepare for the Atacama Crossing Race, turning towards veganism and finding his body responded well to the lifestyle change.
“It might not seem that long ago, but we’re talking 2013 where trail running wasn’t that big and there weren’t a lot of coaches to learn from,” he said.
“So I had to research and learn on my own, experiment ideas and thoughts on myself to see if they worked or not, with a lot of information coming from triathletes and marathon runners.
“I then combined all their words of wisdom into my own training, and once I figured it all out, I could train more and recover faster, which meant I could do more races after doing Atacama.”
Ixel successfully placed second in the Chilean ultra, and he just got better and better.
From 73rd place in that first Perth Marathon, to second at Atacoma and ultimately first in a number of races following on, including Perth’s Kep Ultra 75kms (which he secured a race record with a finishing time of 5:46:01), TMBT Ultra in Malaysia and the North Face 100kms in Singapore.
Since starting his running journey in 2013, Ixel has run in more than 100 races, finding that with the right training, nutrition, and recovery it is possible to get as many in as possible without over-exerting the body.
Ixel’s advice to get more races successfully run in a single year includes keeping the body moving.
“Lots of people after an ultra they sit down on the couch for the rest of the day,” he said.
“But the best thing you can do is some light exercise – go for a walk, some light yoga maybe, get on the bike.
“This helps so much more in recovery than sitting and waiting around for your muscles to stop hurting, and you will in no time get more and more races under your belt.”
Pictured: Ultra runner Vlad Ixel. Photographs - Lloyd Belcher
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