Winter Park triathlete Chris Sadowski supports Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Imagine doing a 48-mile run. Now imagine doing an IRONMAN event — a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile run — the very next day.

Winter Park resident Chris Sadowski doesn’t have to imagine it. He lived it this summer.

Sadowski, 44, put his endurance skills to the test in July when he completed the Swissalpine Marathon and the IRONMAN Switzerland events on back-to-back days.

It was more than just an extreme test of physical endurance and mental fortitude. Sadowski was doing it for a cause.

He chose to do it for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, representing a local nonprofit and asking neighbors and friends to pledge donations through a GoFundMe page.

The ongoing fundraising effort already has raised $5,600 as of Wednesday morning.

Sadowski called the staggering endurance endeavor Combo2Feed, named after the combo of two grueling events he’d be doing back-to-back.

Between the two events on July 29-30, Sadowski only got two-and-a-half hours of sleep — a result of the logistical nightmare of completing the Swissapline in Davos, Switzerland, taking a train to Zurich and then checking in for the IRONMAN the next morning.

But the seasoned veteran of long-distance running and biking woke up relieved that second day in Switzerland. The ultra-marathon of 48 miles was behind him — he knew the rest was doable, he said.

“This is the only time I’ve ever thought, ‘I only have to do an IRONMAN,’ because I was so worried about doing the Swissalpine and injuring myself,” Sadowski said. “My body was tricked into thinking, ‘It’s two days, and it’s one long race.’ When you look at extreme events, if you just keep going and going and going and don’t stop, that may be the only way you can do stuff like this.”

‘You’re Insane’

Sadowski has been familiar with Second Harvest for some time, but it wasn’t until January that he saw the organization’s inner workings and warehouse during a Corporate 5K team captain event. The Winter Parker said he was impressed with Second Harvest’s efficiency and how far its reach supported other food banks.

“The process that they have for taking donations and then being a working business is impressive,” Sadowski said. “Their underlying philosophy is to help the community, to stop starvation.”

Meanwhile, a rare phenomenon was about to take place on the other side of the globe. The Swissalpine Marathon and IRONMAN Switzerland would be taking place on back-to-back days, which rarely ever happens, Sadowski said.

The lightbulb went on for Sadowski, who wanted to challenge himself with both events while also supporting a good cause.

Second Harvest’s mission to fight hunger melded beautifully with the grueling challenge, Sadowski said.

“When you’re doing an IRONMAN or any distance, when you’re racing, you’re always hungry,” he said. “If you’re actually happy and satisfied with your body and you’re full, in a couple miles your race is going to go to hell.”

The training began at least five months out from the two events. Sadowski began to ease his way into a rigorous training schedule with the help of coach Sean Hendryx. He’d run, bike and swim for several hours over the course of four days each week before taking three days of rest.

The triathlete also chose to add another difficult factor to the IRONMAN Switzerland event by using an unusual bike: a Cannondale Hooligan, a smaller bicycle used by couriers looking to move quickly through urban environments. It was the perfect bike for someone moving through Second Harvest Food Bank’s 100,000-square-foot warehouse.

To tie his Combo2Feed endeavor even further to the nonprofit, Sadowski chose to ride his own Hooligan for the 112-mile biking segment of IRONMAN Switzerland, though that took away some speed and made the bike more difficult to control along the race.

“It all kind of clicked, and when I told my wife she just goes ‘You’re insane,’” Sadowski said. “That insanity just kept developing over the five months.”

Watching Sadowski take on the Combo2Feed was Sadowki’s wife, Kim, who also has competed in several marathons and triathlons. She was proud to see her husband support such a worthy cause.

“What Second Harvest does for the area is fabulous,” Kim said. “I 100% supported him to raise money for them.”

The Road Ahead

But the fundraising effort isn’t over yet. The triathlete is still raising money on the GoFundMe page and hopes to spread awareness about Second Harvest through his own event on Sunday, Sept. 24 — the Small Wheels Race at the Second Harvest warehouse.

The race will be made up of numerous laps on bike and on foot in and out of the warehouse facility, with a children’s race taking place as well.

“It’s an awareness thing,” Sadowski said. “When I did my races, I was starving the whole time, which plays in sync to how (Second Harvest is) against starvation.”

The combo of the Swissalpine Marathon and the IRONMAN Switzerland was exhausting, but Sadowski found a way. After a 2.4-mile swim, he ran and rode his bike through forests, cow pastures, goat trails, small towns, quarries, and over mountains and bridges. 

Sadowski’s training and preparation paid off, but the fact that he was running for a cause helped make the journey much easier.

“You can’t just say, ‘I’m sick or I’m hurt,’” Sadowski said. “You have people counting on you.”

Today, Second Harvest Food Bank also has its own Hooligan bike, donated as part of Sadowski’s Combo2Feed fundraising effort.