Mishu Biswas’ miraculous journey to becoming an ironman

Imagine you don't know how to swim and you have no previous experience in professional running or cycling. And within two years, you compete in a triathlon Ironman event, eventually completing it in due time. Seems unreal, no? That is the exact feat Mishu Biswas - Additional Deputy Police Commissioner of the Detective Branch, DMP - has achieved. And it wasn't any supernatural powers that made it happen, it was all Mishu's sheer determination, sacrifice, and hard work.

Mishu has already competed in two Ironman events, making him the country's first civil services member to become an Ironman. His first time was in Turkey in October 2021, and the latest was in Malaysia in November last year. He has participated in a number of half marathons at home and abroad. 

It all started back in August 2019. Mishu - with no previous experience in running, swimming, or cycling - started running at Ramna Park to keep himself stress-free. He started running in one or two rounds regularly and it made him feel fresh and confident. 

Within a few months, he participated in a few local half-marathons in Gazipur and Moulvibazar. His timing was good in those events taking less than two hours two complete. 

"I heard of a half marathon in Singapore in November 2019. It was merely three months since I started running. I flew to Singapore in late November and soon after that I participated in another half marathon in Thailand. I finished both half marathons in less than two hours," Mishu told The Business Standard (TBS). 

The world came to a standstill in 2020 due to Covid-19. Mishu took the opportunity to learn a new sport.

"I wanted to learn how to swim. It was in March-April of 2020. Before that, I would've drowned even in a pond."

He began to swim in August 2020 at Rajarbagh Police Line pond, and within a month he thought of crossing the Bangla Channel. 

"Everyone was shocked to know. But I was determined. I started training hard. I even crossed the Rajarbagh pond 70 times nonstop as preparation. And I was successful in crossing the Bangla Channel," he said. 

It created a buzz among the swimming community because his swimming career was only three months old by then. 

Mishu had a fascination with the name Ironman. The challenges really fascinated him. Now that he learned how to swim and crossed the Bangla Channel, he was only one activity away - cycling. He learned that within a few months as well. 

According to Mishu, he was never at athlete even in his school days. What he had in him is endurance. He survived the initial competitions despite not having the best technique and speed. An ironman needs to have endurance more than anything.

"The endurance - yes, it was probably built inside me which I was never aware of before trying triathlon," said Mishu.

Being a Bangladeshi Ironman is hard enough. Add to that the hectic professional chores of being an ADC, DB. Mishu has been finding it difficult to maintain both. 

"I had the start I needed in the triathlon, but it is getting harder for me each day. Apart from being an ADC, DB and Ironman, I have my family as well. No one can imagine what I have to go through to maintain all of these," Mishu said. 

In his profession, there are no day offs or any scheduled work hours. Mishu finds it the most difficult to continue his training. 

"Others may have 9 am to 5 pm office hours and then train after that. They have their weekends too. There are some students as well who are up and coming. They can set their time and mind according to their schedule. But, I can't do that. I have no day offs or any scheduled hours," he added.

Despite all the obstacles Mishu continues to train for 18-20 hours a week under a coach. He trains two to three hours per day combining cycling, swimming, running, and gym session.

Only training won't help Mishu get better. He also needs to play more matches for world-ranking points. While others are playing three to four matches a year, Mishu labelled it as 'unimaginable' due to his profession. 

"You need to play at least three international matches to gain world ranking points. I just played one (Malaysia Ironman) last year. How would I play two more? I need to manage my leave which is really difficult, and it's really expensive as well. I'm not making any money out of it, rather I have to spend on my own in some cases."

Triathlon is pretty expensive. A quality cycle costs Tk5-6 lakhs minimum, it can go up to Tk15 lakhs. A cycling trainer costs more than 1 lakh per month. A cycling shoe costs Tk20-30 thousand, and running shoes around 20-30 thousand.

"It may cost nearly Tk10-12 lakhs minimum if I want to play an international match. You have to fly to another country, and stay there for a few weeks," Mishu pointed out. 

"A coach costs 300-500 US dollars per month for an international match," he added. 

Mishu got sponsors for his international matches, but he still had to spend some of his own.

Mishu has received immense support from his workplace and his family members, especially his wife ever since he got into the triathlon. Whenever he needed time off for competitions, his colleagues helped him manage the leave. 

"My wife sacrifices her personal life for me and even looks after my nutrition and diet plan besides doing all the household chores so that I can make my dream come true."

What's Mishu's Ironman dream that keeps him going?

"To keep playing, improving, and eventually participate in the World Championship," he concluded.