Mark KennedyMagdalena Novak, "Maggie" to her friends, is tanned and toned. She's 35 years old but looks much younger.
The Chattanooga firefighter and former fitness instructor is one of hundreds of athletes preparing for the Ironman 70.3 triathlon here on May 17, a half-distance prelude to the full Chattanooga Ironman race later this year.
Unlike many triathletes in the Ironman races, though, Novak is a novice. Most newbies in her shoes would be intimidated by the thought of 70-plus miles of swimming, biking and running. Novak, a former world-class rower, has a healthy respect for Ironman events.
But intimidated? Not so much.
Originally from Poland, Novak was on her nation's national rowing team in the early 2000s, and just missed a spot in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. For a person who grew up in the eastern European sports culture, it was a crushing disappointment.
"Rowing was my life. It was my job," she said. "Besides school and rowing, there was nothing."
Determined to get a fresh start, Novak decided to study abroad and eventually landed here taking classes at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
For a time she tried becoming a sports trainer, but her intensity was over the top.
"My eastern European training methods were not for some people," she says, in a thick accent that makes her sound like a female Arnold Schwarzenegger. She says encouraging her students with exhortations such as, "C'mon, your grandmother could do that," didn't sit well.
Imagine that.
To support herself, Novak settled in as a member of the wait staff at the Boathouse restaurant on Riverside Drive, but she decided a few years ago that she needed to look for a different career.
"I had just turned 30, and I needed to do something with my life," she said.
One day, she saw a big red fire truck on Amnicola Highway and immediately felt called to become a firefighter. She attended Chattanooga State Community College to get certificated as an EMT, and later worked for Hamilton County as an emergency technician. To become a firefighter for the city of Chattanooga would require a big step, becoming an American citizen.
For Novak, going through the naturalization process was an easy decision.
"I think it's the best decision I ever made," she said. "People here take for granted what they have. I came here [to the United States] with one little suitcase. With the help of others, you can find work and get what you want."
Today, she's a U.S. citizen and works as a city of Chattanooga firefighter at the fire station on Bonny Oaks Drive, while still working shifts as a waitress part time to help make ends meet.
Last September, she was a spectator at the Ironman race here and it immediately piqued her interest. Once you've participated in sports at a world-class level, she said, you never really lose the urge to compete. But participating in an Ironman race costs money. There are entry fees to pay and training gear to buy, not to mention the need for an expensive light-weight bike to ride. Novak says two old friends, local car dealer Joe Kirby and his wife, Becky, stepped up to sponsor her for the race. Joe later convinced a friend, the owner of the Lynskey performance bike company, to loan her a high-tech bike for the competition.
With the financial hurdles removed, Novak can now concentrate on racing. Sometimes she even allows herself to imagine a life as a professional triathlete.
"If you ever touched a high level of competitiveness, it's always in you," she says. "Your whole life is training, sleeping and working."
Asked if she's sure she'll complete the 70.3-mile race, she frowns.
"I will crawl on the ground if I have to, to finish," she said. "There is no quitting."
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645. Follow him on Twitter @TFPCOLUMNIST. Subscribe to his Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/mkennedycolumnist.