Thursday, July 14, 2011

Who Deserves More Respect?







As many of you know, I work for a triathlon series called Rev3 (amazing organization BTW).  This past weekend, we had a race in Portland, OR.  My duties include providing ART as well as recruiting other ART providers to come out to the triathlons and supervise them.  During the weekend, I had a conversation with some of the ART providers about the pro triathletes and all the other athletes.  There was a general sentiment that most triathletes and spectators drool and cheer for the pro triathletes however, there are some triathletes who probably deserve more accolades.  During this Portland race there was an older gentleman (>70 y.o.) who was out alone - last on the course, working harder than pretty much any other triathlete.  Keep in mind he had to swim, bike and run 70.3 miles.  Long after the vendors, ART providers, spectators and other athletes had left, "Robert" was still out on the course, struggling. With 2 miles left he wanted to quit.  Our Rev3 staff told him that as long as he was willing to finish, we would keep the finish line open for him and the music playing (well past the cutoff time). He looked up and said "let's go!" and started down the road again.  So, as the Rev3 crew was taking down the tents, we all left the finish line, finish shoot, music and announcing up for Robert to show him our support.  I took a video with my iPhone (see below - you can watch it in HD).  It was pretty awesome!  So what's my point, and why am I telling you about this?  I guess because I was inspired by a guy who toughed it out maybe more than anyone else on the day, but you'll never read about his effort.  The point here is: it's not always about the fastest, leanest person out there.  Sometimes toughness is not measured by your finishing time.  Congrats to Robert, and also to J.D. who stayed with Robert through every swim stroke, pedal turn and run stride of the race.




Article contributed by Dr. Kevin Maggs.  Dr. Maggs is a provider and owner of Active Spine and Sport.  He attended the University of Waterloo in Canada for Kinesiology and then went on to the National College of Chiropractic in Chicago where he graduated in 1995 and has been in practice for 14 years in Virginia.  As an Active Release Techniques provider, he has reached the highest level of certification possible and has been practicing ART for many years.

12 comments:

  1. Bob, I decided that when you started talking about "crappy" running it was time to start a new thread! :-) Thank goodness you didn't delete that post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I cross the finish line of a 5k race I sometimes go back to cheer on the finishers.

    Last year during the Turkey Trot race in Herndon I was yelling like a madman at a guy who clearly was above 300 lbs. and giving it his all. His seemed quite bewildered, facial expression telegraphing his thoughts "who the hell is this guy and do I know him?!".

    My first 5k in 2009 was the most painful run I've ever done, I can't even compare the effort to what I do today. Why? I was 50 lbs. heavier. Don't even ask me to imagine 100+ or more.

    Speaking of Roberts, check out Robert Gurtler. 76 and still doing over 100 races per year, I was happy to capture him on video a few weekends ago doing the mile.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Holly, I'm glad I got you to laugh at my expense. It was pretty hilarious though...even for me. And yes, I was about to delete it, but decided not to.

    Love this post. I'm a sucker for motivational stories that help me realize that I should never make excuses for not trying. I will definitely go run tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Second Tempo run this week was much better. Still didn't do as well as I had hoped, but much better. Here are my results:

    9:37 Warmup Mile
    7:24 Mile 1
    7:30 Mile 2
    7:50 Mile 3
    7:45 Mile 4
    9:39 Cool down Mile

    Yes, got cramps again. I wonder why I always get them. Must be what I eat?!?!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Out of curiosity, is there any Rogue Racer tomorrow running less than 13 miles? Mai-An wants to come run with someone but is not interested in running 13 miles...maybe just 4-5. Please let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Bob,
    Austin is coming to run with Mai-An! Do they want to meet at 7am or at 8am so we all finish together? I'll let Austin know whatever Mai-An decides.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Peter those hops were hard. They were bone jarring on my right leg and calf cramping on my left. I just kept thinking is it possible to make it all the way? Then I said you have to finish-don't embarrass yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Holly, Mai-An said "I can meet him at 8. He better show up!"

    For the rest of you guys, I'll see you at 7! Argh...soooooooo early.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'll see you guys at the trail bright and early. I'm going to try to get there a little early (6:55ish) so that we can start on time and meet up with Austin and Mai-An at the end. Bob, I know it's early, but you are going to be really happy during mile 12 that we went earlier! Justin, it looks like our pace is around 9:35 (MP+30). So, what I usually do is set my virtual partner up at that pace and just make sure to always stay a few seconds ahead of my virtual partner. We'll see how it goes. I haven't run 13 miles since February, so this could be interesting! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hope that you all had a good run. It's nice to take a day off. I got some serious calf 'craps' at the end of my ten miler yesterday and need a recovery day.

    While eating my omelette and drinking coffee this morning I read that the not-so-great National Marathon has been taken over by the Rock 'n' Roll series. It will be the Rock 'n' Roll USA marathon in March. I will likely sign up for this one depending on how Vegas goes in December.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey Rogue Racers!

    We're going to have a "good luck at Lake Placid" party tomorrow at 10am at Whole Foods in Fair Lakes. Grab your food/coffee and meet in the back restaurant area (the normal spot). Hope to see you there!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kelly- we are watching that strange addiction show and the woman who sleeps with hair dryers in on- guess that's better than the woman who eats toilet paper.

    The one before this one was a guy addicted to running- he ran 100 miles in 26 hrs 26 mins (BAREFOOT) and wasn't happy with the time... so he went and ran 4 marathons in 4 days. Bob, don't turn into that

    ReplyDelete