Cuenca expat triathlete earns a spot at Ironman 70.3 World Championships

By Chase Squires

After years of training, miles of road work and pool laps, Cuenca expat Paul Amos did something he’s never managed before, punching his ticket to the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Spain.

Paul Amos crosses the finish line.

Racing against nearly 800 athletes from around the world, Amos plunged into the Pacific from Manta’s Murciėlago beach at 6:45 a.m. July 7 to encounter his old nemesis, jellyfish, and a new foe, a strong current that battered swimmers as they navigated 1900 meters (about 1.2 miles) of surf.

“I’d be swimming, concentrating, and I’d look up and see the (marker) buoy,” Amos said, back at his home base and sponsor, the Inca Lounge in Cuenca. “I’d go back to swimming then look up to check my location, and the buoy is way over there. And that was everyone. The current was pushing us all over.”

That’s a draining way to start a race, because getting back to the beach is just the start. From there, he hobbled up the beach hampered by a badly cramping hamstring and headed for his waiting bike. Ahead of him, a 90 km (56 mile) hilly, looping course with two steep climbs.

Maybe as a longtime resident of Cuenca, his hill training prepared him for the climbs. But there’s no way to prepare here for Manta’s notoriously hot climate, with temperatures over 28 Celsius (over 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and sparse tree cover in the arid landscape.

And Amos’ trophy and certificate of entry in the World Championship.

Avoiding collisions, road debris, and tire blowouts, Amos made up for time lost in the ocean during the ride, got off the bike and hit the road for the 21 km (13.1 mile) run. That’s a half marathon, after swimming and biking, on a knee surgically rebuilt two years ago (not to mention he was struck by a car while training on his bike earlier this year, luckily, he suffered only bruises and scrapes).

“It was a little slower than I wanted, but with the heat and the knee, I was happy to keep a comfortable pace, never having to walk or stop, and just keep focusing on the finish,” he said. “The hard part is that with two loops, when you finish the first loop, mentally you have to deal with the fact that you know you have to go out and do it again.”

Amos, who took first in his age group at the Salinas 5150 Olympic distance triathlon in May (a shorter course than the Manta 70.3-mile course) forced himself to rest after that event to avoid burnout, then worked his way up to his performance in Manta. During training, he never pushed the 13.1 mile run distance, so applying a full effort through to the finish line was a true mental challenge.

Greeted at the finish line by his parents who traveled from Florida for the event, Amos took second place after 5 hours and 27 minutes in the 55-59 year old men’s division and earned a spot to compete at the Ironman 70.3 world championships in November, 2025. He paid his entry fee on the spot. The event will be held in Marbella, Spain, on the country’s southern Costa del Sol.

Paul Amos with parents, Robert Amos and Carol Morrow.

Until then, you’ll find him swimming laps at a Cuenca pool or riding his bike on the autopista around the city.

“I’m already in, there’s no turning back,” he said. “I’ll take a little break, give my body a rest, and then it’s back to training.”

For anyone interested in the sport, Amos said there’s no age limit and no pressure. “It’s supposed to be fun,” he said.

Amos said for anyone interested in the sport, Cuenca has plenty of bike shops that can help with the equipment, and there are several pools to train for the swim (he trains at the Coliseo Jefferson Perez Quezada at 12 de Abril and Unidad Nacional, a pool open to the public for a small daily fee).

Amos, backed by Cuenca’s Inca Lounge and Bistro and Morlaco’s Tacos, offers replicas of his Team Inca racing by email.

Amos got involved in triathlons by accident. A longtime runner, he had suffered a previous knee injury and couldn’t run for four months after the surgery, so he kept up his training on a bike. Friends suggested he add swimming to his routine, and just like that, he was a triathlete. Get out there! Sí se puede.