The Ironman triathlon is one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. While many Indians have owned their space in these marathon races (read Anu Vaidyanathan and Milind Soman), another name finds its way to the list. Meet Saloni Pathania, the spirited 30-year-old from Pune, who recently lived up to her own expectation of finishing a full Ironman triathlon in Sweden. The triathlete swam 4 km, cycled 180 km, and ran 42 km to finish a 17-hour race in 13 hours and 56 minutes!

A feat she managed without taking even a single break!

Pathania had successfully completed a Half Ironman race last year in May in a record time of under eight hours.

A full-time working professional, Salonie is extremely dedicated to sports. She trained under Kaustubh Radkar, who is a well-known triathlete with 13 Ironman finishes to his credit.

"Being fairly active in sports through school, a vehicular accident during graduation followed by a knee surgery made physical activity difficult. By mid-2013, I realised I was out of shape and started accompanying my father, a fitness enthusiast, on his early morning walks. Soon , I started running and did my first non-stop 10 km run in October 2013. A few months later, I found myself training for Enduro3 2014 in Pune," she said, reports The Indian Express.

What keeps her going?

Spending nine hours at work (she works at Bridge2Tech Consultancy) doesn't affect her training one bit. Since preparing for Ironman races require absolute resolve and hard work, Saloni dedicates two to three hours every day before she leaves for work. On weekends, she trains for not less than five hours.