Forged In The Fires: How Hydration Protects And Preserves

Since 2011, Rob Verhelst has logged 1,022 running miles, 4,144 cycling miles and 90 swimming miles during Ironman events. Certainly, that’s a lot of miles, but what makes it unique is that each of those running miles was completed in full firefighter gear.

For a deeper understanding of this adverse experience, here’s the spec:

• Verhelst is 6 feet tall, 225 pounds with a wingspan of 72 inches and a 36-inch waist.
• His size 11 shoes must support the following gear during ultra-endurance competitions.
• Fire Helmet: 3.5 pounds
• Bunker Coat: 5 pounds
• Bunker Pants: 5 pounds
• Air Pak: 35 pounds

That’s 50 additional pounds. It’s like competing while carrying a 6-8 year old child. The. Entire. Run.

It’s an important distinction, because Verhelst isn’t just any old athlete. He’s also known as “Fireman Rob,” and holds a day job as a firefighter in the state of Wisconsin for the City of Madison. From numerous years in the fire service to surviving on Discovery Channel’s show “Ultimate Ninja Challenge” to performing search and recovery efforts after the September 11 attacks in 2001, his message resonates with everyone and produces consistent results. Life doesn’t get easier, he says, you just get stronger.

As Fireman Rob, he’s also earned numerous awards and accolades, and he’s earned numerous incredible distinctions, including:

• Former Guinness World Record holder for most Ironman 70.3 Triathlons in one year (23) earned in 2015
• World Record for most Ironman Triathlons ever done while wearing fire gear for running segment (21)
• World Record for most Ironman 70.3 Triathlons ever done while wearing fire gear for running segment (28)

As a veteran of the United States Air Force, Verhelst’s personal journey with endurance sports has underscored the transformative power that ultra-demanding, physical activity can produce within an individual’s life. These sports played a significant role in his mental health journey, providing an avenue to manage his struggles in a constructive and empowering way.

“I love ultra-endurance sports because they’re the true test of one’s body,” says Verhelst. “They’re the true test of your soul, the test of your mind. Our bodies are not meant to do this, especially mine. I am not a prototypical endurance athlete or ultra-athlete, but I train myself to push the envelope for a reason. I struggle with mental health, and I struggle with a lot of physical ailments (he was running six weeks after a partial knee replacement), but I’m able to find it in myself to do something for a bigger cause, and that’s for survival and to help others uncover their own potential.”

The intense physical challenges to which Verhelst subjects himself often mirror the mental and emotional we each face, and that includes high school strength coaches and their student-athletes. These challenges provide tactile and unavoidable opportunities to confront and overcome adversity. The sense of reward thus obtained from even attempting to vanquish these real and figurative can be a potent source of resilience and positive self-esteem, which bolsters mental fortitude for life’s other challenges.

“Without endurance sports, without doing them in the fire gear, I don’t think I’d be here,” Verhelst candidly admits. “They were a life-changer for me, a life-saver. Understanding pain during the race helped me to feel alive, helped me to feel like I was doing something for a reason.”

The Role Of Hydration

It’s one thing to describe the importance of competing in these events in the context of the shared personal adversity, but it’s another to actually overcome these challenges in a safe and responsible way.

Verhelst emphasizes the importance of cultivating healthy habits from an early age, a sentiment that carries significant weight, particularly in the realm of sports and fitness. After all, habits developed during one’s formative years – for better or worse – do establish the foundation for one’s lifelong health and wellness.

“As a young man, I played every sport imaginable,” says Verhelst. “And I felt that invincibility factor of I’m never going to have to stretch, I’m never going to have to do anything outside of just going and playing. I wish I would’ve created – as a young man – the habits that I’ve had to create as an adult. Talent and skill can only get you so far. As a high school athlete, you need to take the time to lay out your tools for success and understand how to apply them.”

Verhelst mentions hydration as a key example, noting that this simple, yet often neglected, aspect of general physical health plays a crucial role in maintaining peak athletic performance. His dual roles as both firefighter and ultra-endurance athlete lend him unique insight into the physiological demands of high-stress, physically demanding work and play.

Proper hydration, he says, is regularly ignored in everyday health discussions, though it remains a key factor in sustaining even nominal physical function of the human body, particularly during strenuous activities.

Lack of proper hydration can result in a range of both predictable and unpredictable medical problems, from mild discomfort to serious health risks, especially in physically demanding roles like firefighting and endurance sports where individuals are prone to rapid fluid loss.

“I’m talking to the high school athletes and coaches here,” he says. “With pro athletes, college athletes – even U.S. para-rescue, fire service, special operations, tactical athletes – they all have careers that demand their bodies be capable of peak performance on a moment’s notice, because they never know exactly when they’ll need to perform in maximal ways. One of the reasons these individuals can perform at that level is because of proper hydration. The reality is, this is no different for high school athletes.”

Verhelst is not just an advocate for hydration but is also sales director for The Right Stuff, a sugar-free, high concentration blend of specific electrolytes, specifically developed and qualified by NASA for its astronauts. The Right Stuff comes in single-serve convenient pouches and is available in a variety of flavors and two different sweeteners. The liquid concentrate form goes instantly into solution, when added to water, for the most rapid drink consumption and bodily absorption possible.

Verhelst’s endorsement of The Right Stuff isn’t solely based on his professional affiliation with the product, but also on his many personal experiences using The Right Stuff to stay hydrated in life-and-death situations. As a firefighter and endurance athlete, he understands the crucial role of effective hydration in not only enhancing performance and recovery, but in keeping us alive and well.

“For coaches and athletes who want to try it, they’ll find it’s self-explanatory,” says Verhelst. “I’ve been to many conferences – military, tactical, you name it – and given out many samples. Coaches will say, ‘I’m going out on a 5-mile, a 10-mile run,’ and I give them samples, and the next day they come back saying, ‘Hey, you got any more of that?’ The proof is in the pudding. If you want to see if it works for you, go for it. Try it out. That’s the best I can suggest.”

To learn more about Fireman Rob, check out his podcast, Forged In The Fires. Powerful, impactful, inspiring and entertaining, the Forged In The Fires podcast tells stories from individuals to motivate and inspire you to find your truest potential, while also giving you catalysts to fire up your life.

Find more information about The Right Stuff