Think Running A Half Ironman For 21 Days Is Easy ?
Jeff
Fairbanks
Puts the " TRY " in Triathlete By Conquering the Eastern Seaboard for The Triumph Project
by Rhonda Price
Jeff Fairbanks isn ’ t one of the legions of triathletes who swear they fell in love with the sport after finishing their first race . In fact , when he competed in his inaugural triathlon three years ago , he felt horribly out of place because he didn ’ t have an expensive mountain bike , twitched uncomfortably in his spandex shorts , and was the only contestant heavily decorated with tattoos instead of sponsor logos . Even worse , he didn ’ t like running , biking or swimming and fully expected his first race to also be his last . As he recalls , he was miserable and felt every muscle in his body aching when he finally crossed the finish line in last place . That ’ s when he was shocked by a crowd of people applauding and cheering for him . He was dumbfounded .
“ People were cheering more for me than those who finished at the head of the pack ,” he said . “ I had never experienced this in any other sport , so it ’ s what sparked my curiosity about the unique culture behind the triathlon community .”
No stranger to competitive sports , the 37-year-old was a semi-pro surfer in his twenties and dabbled in motocross and mixed martial arts in his thirties . After a few broken bones , near-miss calamities and constant scoldings from his wife , he was in search of a safer sport that would also challenge his competitive spirit . Triathlons intrigued him . He entered a few races and became so passionate about the sport that he decided to work on a documentary called The Triumph Project .
“ I was fascinated because there were so many aspects of this sport that people didn ’ t know about ,” he said . “ I wanted to tell the story of my own experience and others who love triathlons so that people could realize you don ’ t have to finish first to be successful . I wanted it to be about weekend warriors , amateur athletes and anyone competing for their own personal reasons .”
Despite the fact that he had no experience in filmmaking and had only completed three triathlons , Jeff decided to do the unthinkable . He mapped out a plan to run , bike and swim the distance of the entire Eastern seaboard , starting in Maine and ending in Florida . His journey would require him to complete a Half-Ironman every day for three weeks , spanning 14 states in the process . Every day he would invite local triathletes to join him while swimming 1.2 miles , biking 56 miles and running 13.1 miles . His wife agreed to follow him in a camper along with a videographer to film him and other triathletes for The Triumph Project .
64 Extraordinary Health ™ • Vol 29