“ I ’ m picky about what I eat and also about supplements ,” he said . “ My favorite Garden of Life product is RAW Protein & greens ™ . It ’ s really smooth and tastes great ! Having a high-end protein and veggie blend is a big boost to my overall health and recovery process during hard training cycles . There ’ s no question that good nutrition and Garden of Life supplements have helped tremendously with my success .”
“ I had tried my hand at a title here for nine years , so to finish with a gold was priceless ! It was a dream that became a reality , and the icing on the cake was the team gold !”
Over the years during his remarkable career , Joe has occasionally felt the sting of defeat . But not this year . Somehow , in 17 competitions all over the world , he ’ s won them all , including recording the fastest time in 25 years at the formidable Pikes Peak Ascent ( 2:05:28 ) and a couple of national titles . He even found time to win the inaugural Garden of Life Sun Run 5K in June , setting a course record at PGA National Resort after initially worrying the mostly level golf course terrain was not hilly enough for him .
“ It was good for me to practice running in the heat and humidity in South Florida ,” said Joe , who has to run a lot harder to break a sweat in Colorado . He added that it was also a great opportunity
for him to visit Garden of Life ’ s headquarters and get to know the company that supports him with clean , Certified USDA Organic and Non-GMO Verified supplements . As one of the company ’ s first brand ambassadors for almost four years , he ’ s also one of the most loyal .
Ironically , Joe never would have been voted Most Likely to Succeed while growing up in a high-crime area of Tacoma , Washington . In middle school , he wasn ’ t running yet , except with a crowd of “ bad boys ” that worried his poor mother and kept her pacing the floors all night . Oddly enough , a teacher thought so little of him that he predicted Joe would never be more than a “ burger flipper ” with a minimum wage job . The comment resonated deeply with him — so much that he resolved to stay out of trouble and joined the track team . The rest is history .
“ I think about that sometimes ,” he said with a laugh . “ I like proving the doubters wrong . It ’ s what fuels me to keep on going .”
Vol 29 • Extraordinary Health ™ 7