From The Editor - Fairhaven Neighborhood News

By Beth DavidEditorSteve Gotham is living his dream.And even he is a bit surprised. The 46-year-old Acushnet man decided a fewyears ago to start training for anIronman triathlon contest. This year,all the training and getting up at 3:00a.m. paid off. He qualified forprofessional status after finishing 4thof 85 amateurs in Providence in July,98 overall, in a field of 1098.Being pro means all his travel ispaid for to the seven ironmancontests required each year for himto keep his pro status. And he getssponsors, too.“It’s something I always wanted todo,” said Mr. Gotham. “Hawaii was abucket list thing.”Oh, right, he got to go to Hawaii tocompete in the world championship,which was a full Ironman Triathlon.Mr. Gotham competes mostly inthe “70 series,” which is half of the140.6: a 1.5 mile swim; 56-mile bike,and 13.1 mile (half-marathon) run.He also ran in the PoconosIronman in Pennsylvania onSeptember 30 and came in firstamateur in his division, 23 overall in afield of 2200.An engineer by trade, Mr. Gothamhas been working on the Fairhaven-New Bedford bridge. He said he has“always run marathons,” but did hisLocal man goes pro on Ironman circuitTOP: Stephen Gotham (left) of Acushnet, eyes the camera as henears the finish line on the last leg of the Ironman Triathlon inProvidence on July 8. ABOVE: Steve gets ready to give a high fiveto John Willams of Fairhaven, while Steve’s son and parents cheerhim on and hold a “Go Steve” sign. ABOVE RIGHT: Steve’s time isup on the board as he finishes up the bicycle portion of thecompetition. BOTTOM: Steve enters the changing area, where hewill switch to his running clothes for the last leg of the competition,a half-marathon. Submitted photos. See them in color atwww.NeighbNews.comfirst ironman twoyears ago inProvidence. Hefinished in 7hours and gotaddicted.This year’sProvidence timewas 5 hours, 3minutes and 9seconds.He gets upevery morning at3 a.m. and worksout for 3–4 hourseach day, includ -ing long runs inFairhaven andNew Bedford.“I can tell youevery crack in thesidewalk,” he said.Mr. Gotham has three spon sors. Hesaid Reebok approached him afterProvidence because they are comingout with a new line of shoes formiddle age runners.“I guess I was a perfect fit forthem,” he said.He agreed to use their sneakers,and they will use his image to sell theproduct.Swiss Sports and Hooters alsoapproached him and gave him a littlemoney. He said he won’t get rich on it,not being a big name or anything, butit definitelysweetens the pot.“It’s pretty coolto be able to dosomething youlove, and to getpaid for it ispretty sweet.”Mr. Gothamsaid his parents,who are fromFairhaven, and afew friends wereable to cheer himon in person atthe Providencecompetition.Mostly, though,he’s on his own ashe travels.Mr. Gothamwill be in his firstrace as a pro inMiami in Decem -ber, and plans tocompete as a profor at least oneyear. He needs to do seven annualltyto keep his pro card, including five inthe US, one in Canada and oneabroad.“I will do all that,” he said. •••Fairhaven Neighborhood News Thursday, November 15, 2012 Page 17