My story is one of those you would read about in an inspirational story or something cheesy like that.
I was never in what one would call a 'good' athletic shape as a child growing up. I was definitely overweight, medically obese, and it was pretty hard. I loved playing roller hockey and trying a variety of different sports. I played football for 3 years before I had knee surgery.
That, of course, was the defining moment where I decided to turn my life around and change the way I lived. I began to eat healthy and started running. Over the next year I lost a lot of the weight and gained not only a new sense of energy but confidence as well. I ran Cross Country for my high school senior year and ran in the state finals.
I went through ups and downs in college as I fenced for 2 1/2 years. Finally after I finished school and started working I started getting into running again.
A few very traumatic personal problems made me focus more and more on my running as an outlet and a way for me to get away from all of the problems and pain it brought.
With a month's notice I signed up for my first marathon. I thought I had trained enough, and I had...but I didn't know enough about nutrition or take into account the cold weather and stopped at mile 23 with a moderate case of hypothermia. That was my first race, and the only race I have not finished.
Two weeks later I ran again in the Sarasota marathon and placed third in my age group. On the recommendation of a friend I started looking into some Cross training to help with running 7 days a week. She suggested I look into triathlons. 7 days after the marathon I competed in my first triathlon.
Two months later, I finished my first half-Iron Man. Seven months after I failed to finish my first marathon, I became an Iron Man. I finished the race...with Mononucleosis.
A year after the failed marathon I returned and finished as winner of my age group and placed amongst the top overall finishers.
In March 2008 I ran in my first Ultra marathon, a 50 mile trail run. Five miles in, I fell on buried debris and tore two ligaments in my left foot. I ran the next 45 miles like that and finished the race in the middle of the pack.
On May 23, 2008 I ran in the inaugural Keys 100 Ultra marathon. 27 hours later I finished male runner up and won my division. Amongst 30 Ultra runners, six of us finished.
I'm not trying to gloat or show off in this description of myself. I actually consider myself to be quite amateur compared to some of the phenomenal athletes out there not to mention the people who do remarkable things every day and continue to do so unsung and unappreciated.
My goal in this description is to illustrate my passion for what I have now dedicated my life to, and my determination to continue and push my boundaries beyond limits previously though impossible to achieve the extraordinary.