EVANSTON — “Life is character building, you know? God puts challenges in your way for a purpose,” said Ironman triathlete April Lange, 53, of Evanston. 

Lange is one of only 2,000 women worldwide who have recently qualified to compete in the Ironman World Championship in Nice, France, next September. If that’s not impressive enough, she did so after running 24 miles on a broken and displaced ankle. 

“I think I did too much this year,” she said, referring to the months leading up to her Ironman California race on Oct. 22. “I did four marathons, a half-marathon, two full Ironmans, two half-Ironmans, an Ultramarathon in St. George (Utah), another half-marathon here. All of these things led to a stress fracture before California.”

Lange is no stranger to injury, having suffered a broken collarbone and rib, suffered a concussion and displaced her hip twice from two previous biking accidents.

“I had shingles and a muscle tear when I ran the Boston marathon,” she told the Herald.

Her most recent injury, however, was different, requiring surgery, complete with a permanent metal plate and four screws. A lengthy six-week recovery period forced Lange to slow down and rest, but just barely.

“I started biking with a boot, and swimming again right away,” she said. “After surgery, I had to stay out of the water for two weeks, so I biked and lifted weights.”

She said she’s eager to begin running again once she’s medically cleared.

A lifelong runner and athlete, Lange only began running competitively about a decade ago, the same time she began avidly biking.

“I actually learned to swim as an adult,” she said. “I’ve worked so hard; I’m very consistent.

“The challenge of doing an Ironman is so hard,” Lange continued. “I don’t think I can get faster in a marathon (her record is 3 hours and 25 minutes), but I have put together all these pieces,” she said of cross-training. 

A triathlon is really four elements: a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run — with nutrition is the nuanced fourth discipline. Knowing when and what to eat during a competition is just as crucial as the physical exertion. Lange said it’s been a work in progress figuring out her optimal calorie intake in motion, but she thinks she’s finally cracked the code.

“You can feel the intensity in the Ironman village,” Isaiah Lange, April’s 17-year-old son, said. “Triathlons are hardcore, and she doesn’t like to boast. It’s super competitive.”

April Lange said she started chasing competitive highs because “I got so sad about my older kids leaving. I was depressed — they’re leaving me with a hole, but I don’t want to live vicariously through them, either.”

Lange competed in her first marathon in Boston in 2018. She has nine children with her husband of 32 years, Jonathan Lange. Six of their kids have run a race with her.

While Jonathan isn’t a runner, “He’s there to ‘pick up the pieces,’ both literally and figuratively,” April said. “He’s had to pick me up before because I was too injured to finish. He’s a great support system, and a key member of my crew.”

Lange admits that she was worried about a nagging pain in her foot and ankle the week prior to Ironman California. She sought the opinion of two local medical professionals, and neither thought it was anything serious. She spent the week leading up to the meet aqua jogging rather than hitting the pavement in preparation.

Her World Championship-qualifying experience was relatively uneventful before the run. The swim through the Sacramento River via the American River was so cold that she felt pain-free.

“There were seals in it!” she said.

Due to a down current, she finished the 2.4-mile swim portion in a satisfying 48 minutes. Lange was again confronted with pain in her left ankle during the short run from the water to her bike to begin the 112-mile riding segment.

“There was a torrential downpour and wind,” she said, “and so many accidents on the road.”  Lange’s bike ride took her just over six hours. 

The rain had stopped by the time she was finished with the cycling leg of the race.

“I started running, and it felt great,” she said. 

But after two miles on foot, she felt excruciating pain in her left ankle. She said she hollered to her family spectators that she thought she had broken her leg.

“I really thought, or was hoping, I had just tore a tendon,” she told the Herald.

After slowing a few steps to regain her composure, she said to herself, “‘I’m not going to have a bad race!’ I was praying — I’m a big person of prayer. And I put a lot into this — time, money, effort. I really believe he was with me.”

“Would it be easier to recover from an injury, or from a broken spirit? I just kept running,” Lange continued. “It wasn’t fast, but it was fast enough.”

Lange finished Ironman California in 10th place out of 73 women in her age group, with a time of 12 hours, 25 minutes.

Asked where she got her grit, she said, “Through coaches. My parents were also very driven people. I set school records in track while bleeding, broken, whatever.”

Lange, who also suffers from depression, is unable to take antidepressants due to an undisclosed autoimmune disorder. She said training has become her therapy and her outlet. She said she wanted to be open about the topic in the hopes it could help or comfort someone else.

Six weeks prior to next year’s Ironman World Championship meet, Lange is signed up to compete in a Norseman Xtreme-like triathlon in Park City, Utah, called Starvation. It includes swimming in the dark, then a biking trek with three hairpin turns and a 10,000-foot elevation gain through Guardsman Pass.

“I like hard, gritty stuff and pretty scenery,” Lange said.

She excitedly relishes the idea of competing on the challenging course in Nice, France, in September.

“It’s in the Maritime Alps,” she said. “There’s an 8,500-foot elevation gain on the bike that requires highly-technical descents on switchbacks.”

Lange said she’s ready for that challenge and others that may come her way. 

“I can do hard,” she said. “I’d rather it be harder. I’m praying the whole time. There’s never been a race I’ve done on my own.”