Berna Angulo is an amateur athlete. Like many others, he got hooked on triathlon a few years ago and in 2014 he managed to finish one of the hardest and most sacrificed tests that exist. An IRONMAN distance triathlon. Or what amounts to the same 3.6 km swim, 180 km bike and 42 km run. This story would have no more valor than that of one of those anonymous athletes who manage to finish a challenge for which they train sacrificing time of friends, family... However, Berna's case is special. He finished his "IRONMAN" with 2 amputated fibulae and having overcome during his life 2 tumors in his mouth.
X-ray of Berna Angulo's right leg.
He has undergone a marathon of surgical interventions. He only has tibiae in the lower part of his legs. The other two bones were used by Cruces surgeons to reconstruct his jaw, fractured in a work accident in 2008. Angulo's is an example of overcoming: two years of operations without even professional psychological help. Or did he. His family, friends and sport. It all ended when he was "lucky" enough to meet Dr. Pedro Cavadas, who put an end to his long medical ordeal.
So little bone base in the legs is a tremendous problem for an athlete. His training must be very delicate. "You can't run on asphalt," he explains. From the effort, his legs ache every night. He applies ice to them. But the cold does nothing against fear. And Berna knows a lot about fear.
He's afraid of breaking his tibiae, "because my ankles dance; that's why I don't overtrain when I'm running. He takes advantage of his time off work to invest in sports. He has always enjoyed it and even participated in swim crossings, until he got hooked on triathlon.
His IRONMAN challenge came from the hand of his coach Antonio Bores. It has not only meant a total change in his weekly planning, but also in the psychological one.
The video you are about to see touches the heartstrings. It is the first time he talks about his particular marathon to an audience that is not his family or friends.
He does so at a conference on "values and sport", organized by the prestigious training center Rend&Prev. A story that makes you shudder but at the same time makes you dream. As Berna himself says, "do not underestimate the power of dreams".
He has them, he has fought for them and he has achieved them. Although he promises to continue pursuing them, "I will do an IRONMAN at 50 and another at 60". At the moment, he has already achieved the one at 40.
Photo: Nuria DC
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