HE’S A CONTENDER: Local endocrinologist Dr. Jason Hollander is shown competing in the biking portion of the Ironman event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho this past June — in 102-degree heat.

By Anne Levin

Dr. Jason Hollander was turning 40 when he decided he needed more of a challenge than the five or six miles he was running a few times a week. He tried a half-triathlon in Syracuse, N.Y., and he finished. It was a turning point in his life.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘I really love this,’” said Hollander, an endocrinologist with offices in Princeton, Lawrenceville, and East Brunswick. “I had suffered for a lot of hours, but there was something there that clicked. It was like a light switch going off. I was addicted.”

Since that day nine years ago, Hollander has trained rigorously and competed in numerous triathlons. For the second time, he has qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, the birthplace of the fabled event where competitors in different age groups tackle 140.6 exhausting miles of swimming, running, and biking. The race is October 9.

“For real enthusiasts, there is this mythical place called Kona, Hawaii, where Ironman was born,” Hollander said. “A bunch of crazy guys back in the seventies put it together. It started off as kind of a dare. It has turned into this cult following of athletes, and it got legitimacy when it was put into the Olympics.”

Hollander qualified for Kona after competing in the Ironman event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho last month. The competition was especially grueling, as he had only been running for three months following an eight-month break, after a procedure to donate bone marrow went seriously wrong.

“After receiving two epidural injections in my back, I started to run again in late March, which left me 12 weeks to prepare for the marathon leg of the race,” he said. “Making it to the start line was a gift, because in those eight months there were many moments when I didn’t think I would race again. I run with a numb left foot to this day. But thankfully, I can run.”

There are several Ironman events throughout the world, and each has qualifying spots for the World Championship. “Everyone racing strives to qualify for them,” said Hollander, who came in fifth in his age group when he competed in Kona two years ago. “I wanted to have another shot. I had to learn to handle the wind, the heat, and the competition.”

Hollander grew up in Montgomery Township. He had always dabbled in endurance sports — running as a high school student at Princeton Day School, and rowing for two years as an undergraduate at Princeton University.

Hollander earned his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. As an endocrinologist treating patients with diabetes, he hopes his training and competing serve as inspiration for his patients.

“Most Americans are sedentary. They are at high risk for diabetes, among other things, and they don’t realize how bad they feel till we get them moving,” he said. “I know that over the years, many of my patients have become more active because of what I do. I’d rather treat them with that than medication.”

In preparing for the upcoming World Championship, Hollander follows a rigorous schedule in which he trains in swimming, biking, and running, with each event complementing the next. “You have to build endurance across all three,” he said. “You’re typically doing at least two sports in a day, seven days a week. I almost never take a day off.”

Monday might mean swimming for 90 minutes before work. After work, Hollander rides for 90 minutes. “Then I take a 30-minute run off the bike,” he said. “So you get used to what it’s like. It’s called a brick workout, where you’re laying one workout over the other.”

Tuesdays are heavy workdays, so an evening run on the track has to suffice. Wednesdays, its back to the brick workout. “I might get some weights or core exercise in at the end of the day,” Hollander said. “Thursdays are half-marathon days so I wake up and run 13 miles. Then in the evening, I lift. Fridays I swim and run, Saturdays I probably do a brick workout, and Sundays are a mix — definitely a long run, and I finish off in the pool, because my body hurts so bad. Or I might hop on the bike and then pedal easy. The point is that all along, you’re doing at least two sports a day.”

To fuel all of this exertion, Hollander eats a relatively low-carb diet with lots of full fat Greek yogurt, cheese, protein, and hummus. Keeping the calorie count up during Ironman is a whole other matter. Water, gels, Gatorade, and endurance blocks are all part of the mix, as well as flat Coca-Cola during one segment.

The training doesn’t stop, even during vacation in Nantucket, which Hollander visits with his wife, Dr. Sarah Werbel, and two daughters. “To me, every vacation is an opportunity for more training,” he said. “I look at it as a kind of training camp. My wife gets mad at me, but it’s just so nice to get up and run, and then put your feet up on a beach to recover for a few hours. I love vacations because I can train as much as I want and still have time for family and rest.”

Once the Ironman is over, Hollander might slow down — a little. “A lot depends on what happens,” he said. “I really think I can retire from long course racing if I hit my goal. I certainly will take a break.”

Hollander plans to run the Princeton Half-Marathon in November. He will continue to swim, “but not really train,” he said. “I never stop training altogether, but it is definitely less structured. I’ll do a lot less biking and swimming, but more running, because I love to run in the fall. My body definitely needs to be in motion.”

All of his training and competing will hopefully inspire his daughters, Hollander hopes. “I think it’s important. I can’t stress enough that they need to put in the effort to be great at something, and not make excuses and miss workouts. And I pass it along to my patients. I’m just saying, if I can do what I’m doing at 49, you’ve got to be able to do more.”