IRONMAN: Schulte ups sodium intake for smooth finish in women's race

SANDUSKY — Becca Schulte finished third in last year's women's division at the Ironman 70.3 Ohio. She felt that leg cramps cost her a better finish and was determined to move up the podium Sunday. Schulte, who lives in Cleveland, answered her body's call for sodium and went on to record her first Ironman victory in 4 hours, 30 minutes and 13 seconds. "Pretty early on I could feel twinges of cramping, which I've had issues with in the past," she said. "I probably took like almost 3,000 milligrams of sodium on the run. I had a water bottle with sodium, I had salt tabs. I was like, 'I am not gonna cramp.' I did cramp, but somehow I made it in the last 5K." Schulte, 27, was relaxed and all smiles after her win. That wasn't the case at last year's race. "I was on the verge of cramping the whole time (in 2024)," she said. "I actually finished and collapsed and spent an hour in the med tent. I'm still figuring out how much sodium I need, apparently. I think I'm an anomaly, I don't know." Schulte, who works as a statistician at the Cleveland Clinic, ran track at Vanderbilt University. She leaned on that experience to finish with the second-best women's running time on the 13.1-mile course. "I went out pretty hard. Definitely died a bit, but running's my background," she said. "I ran track in college so I had to put faith in my ability. I have struggled a little bit to find that run piece on previous courses so I wanted to let myself settle in." She was in 12th place after the 1.2-mile swim in Sandusky Bay (30:49). "The start of the swim was pretty choppy. It felt like a washing machine that first 500," she said. "Once you got into the break wall it was pretty smooth from there. Felt pretty good when I came out. I was happy with my time considering it was no wet suit. I was like, 'Alright, we're gonna have a good day.' " Her day did get better on the bike. After a rough start on two wheels, she had the second-best bike time on the race's second leg, covering 56 miles in 2:25.43. "Took a little spill getting onto my bike, which is not new for me, but that's OK," she said. "The transition needs some work, then I had a little issue with my electronic shifting. It was only in like two gears so I had to stop for a minute to get that sorted out. Maybe that was a good thing; it brought my heart rate down and I felt great on the bike. "I felt really strong and in control the whole time. I was pushing good." Schulte's confidence grew as she worked her way through the city streets toward the finish line. "I heard from coaches and teammates that I was holding a pretty good lead so I just had to keep it steady, keep pushing, not overdo it and bring it home," she said. Erin Castell was the runner-up in the women's race, finishing in 4:44.55. Kayla Edwards, who finished eighth last year, took third Sunday in 4:47.49. Breanna Stevens was fourth (4:48.05) and Hannah Eastman took fifth (4:49.50). Schulte, who is getting married next month, also works as a coach for Working Triathlete. She was thankful to have a familiar face coaching her Sunday. "Thanks to my mom (Kate) for being here," she said. "She flew in from Colorado to be my sherpa and support team. She's the best. She's also an amazing triathlete. We went to worlds together last year. She's like top 10 in her age group in the world."