How did you get started?

I’ve been a serious cyclist since my 20s, a very long time ago. My first triathlon was a sprint at a local YMCA in 2004, and my inspiration came from spectating at the same event the year before.

Several friends participated in 2003 so I was there to cheer them on. After they finished the swim and were out on their bikes I watched the last swimmer emerge from the pool and trudge up the hill to T1. She was a woman, probably in her 30s, and what we might call morbidly obese. Several spectators tried to help as she struggled to mount her recumbent but she waved them off, got on the bike and rolled from the parking lot.

After my friends finished their bike and run stages, the overweight woman racked her bike and set off on a slow but determined walk, totally focused expression on her face.

Nearly everyone finished, powerful athletes stood on the podium for their awards and then people left for home. As I drove away I saw this woman again, swinging her arms, walking back towards the YMCA. Everyone else had left, and there she was, walking. I stopped, lowered my window and tried to yell out some encouragement for her. She just nodded and continued.

It took guts for her to enter this event. Maybe some people ridiculed her, though I didn’t witness that. If In the years since then, if I saw her again at other events I didn’t recognize her.

What do you enjoy most about the sport?

Mostly I enjoy the camaraderie. I consider myself primarily a cyclist even after finishing three full distance Ironman events. I have friends with whom I run, cycle and swim, but most of them are not triathletes. Today I rode my mountain bike with a dear friend and cycling buddy. She and I have been riding together for 16 years.

What are the biggest challenges?

For me the challenges have been the time commitment required and my inherent incompetence at swimming and running. I am now (mostly) retired, but until about a year ago my work in corporate accounting and financial reporting was very demanding of my time. Often I worked seven days a week, through weekends and holidays, for months at a time. Training was done in the early hours when normal people were still in bed. I was a lousy swimmer. I’m a little better now, but not much. In 1986 I tore the cartilage in my right knee. Surgery a year later didn’t really help, and I stopped running for more than 20 years. With improvements in running shoes, however, I’ve found that now I can run relatively pain free. I’m a lot slower than I used to be, but I can do it. Even so, I don’t run more than once a week. I don’t want to do any further damage.

The other challenge is the fact that it takes so much longer to recover from intense workouts and the inevitable injuries.

What are some of your most proud accomplishments?

Although I started doing triathlons at an older age, I’ve always been very active. Over the years I’ve done perhaps 50 or 60 century rides. I’ve ridden in MS charity tours for 34 years and I’ve done the Pan Mass Challenge (a cancer fundraiser for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston) 21 times. I’ve ridden in Italy, France and Spain, including two climbs of Mont Ventoux. I’ve done three century rides in Death Valley, including one in which I was literally thrown from my bike in the high winds of a sandstorm. In 2008 I rode from San Francisco to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. My goal now is to complete a ride of at least 50 miles in every state. The score right now is 32 down and 18 to go.

What benefits have you gained?

The benefits are good health and clear thinking. I am still in touch with many friends from the days of my wayward youth. Some of them seem so old. Most are doing okay, but some use walkers and more than a few are dead.