S2E10 -- Ultraman Florida Race Preview

Episode Summary:

Fan favourite and the voice of Ultraman, Steve King, plus co-race director of Ultraman Florida, Jen McVeay, join me to preview the 44 participants planning to take on the UM Florida race coming up this weekend (Feb 11-13). 

Follow the UMFL at  Facebook or Instagram

Steven Keller, 2020 Ultraman Florida Champion, is my Athlete in Profile for the inaugural Ultraman Arizona race which will be taking place in March.  Steve King, Jen and I will be back in Episode 11 to preview that race.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• 515 The Ultraman Podcast Facebook Page
• Ultraman Florida
• Ultraman Arizona
• All Marine Triathlon Club
• Steve King’s Detachment Technique
• Roswell Park Cancer institute
• Book: ​​El Libro del Finisher
• Ultra Cozumel
• USATF 100-Mile Trail Championships
• Steve-King.ca
• Israelman
• Brasil 515
• Ironman World Championships
• IM Chattanooga
• IM Maryland

Shout outs and mentions in this episode:

• Jen McVeay
• Chuck Kenemy
• Steve King
• Dede Griesbauer
• Caroline Bloom
• Verdant Nagare 
• Kostav Ramkar
• Milind Soman
• Manmadh Rebba
• Dashrath Jadhav
• Phil Cuppernell
• Jonas Johnson
• Juan “Tony” Rivera
• Robert Taylor
• Larry Goodman
• “Old Man” Dan Attard
• Luis de Arriba Hernando 
• “Little” Roy Payne 
• Armando Armellini
• Jeremy Howard
• Steven Keller
• Edwin Vargas
• James Scanlan
• Kevin Wright
• Jeff Fejfar
• Justin Daerr
• Rich Reed
• Jerome Bareth
• KC Northrup
• Mary Latza
• Kevin Becker
• Catherine Becker
• Mario Bartolome Buil
• Ryan Rinear
• Fabia Maramotti
• Antonina “Tonya” Reznikov
• Kate Bevilaqua
• Amy Van Tassel
• Rosecler Costa
• Alexandre Ribeiro
• Karen Woodward
• Sarah Bird
• Simone Silva
• Lucy Centeno
• Carlos Camejo
• Keith Kennedy
• Chris MacDonald
• Jordan Bryden
• Billy Rickards
• Michelle Williamson
• Armando Armellini
• Ally McNaughton

___________________________________________________________

Show Contributors:

Host : Larry Ryan
Contributing Raconteur : Steve King
Announcer : Mary Jo Dionne
Production : 5Five Enterprises
Music  :  Run by 331

___________________________________________________________

For show notes and past guests, please visit the Podcast Website: https://515theultrapodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/515TheUltraPodcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or where you get your pods.   

I would like to hear from you and who you think should be interviewed.

Email : 515Ultraman@gmail.com

Transcript

Larry 0:33

First up is a preview of Ultraman Florida, which is happening this weekend. And then I speak to the reigning Ultraman Florida champion Steve Keller, who is preparing for the inaugural Ultraman Arizona in March. Hello listeners. When was the last time you came by the 515 Facebook page? I am currently running my own March Madness bracket pool for ultra races. So if you want to learn about some of the ultra races around the world, visit my Facebook page. Each week, a series of head-to-head contests are being posted. I want you to vote on which one you would most like to do, or perhaps do again. So drop by the Facebook page to vote on this week's matchups. We have the Cyberman Ultra Triathlon going up against the Marathon de Sable. We have Tour de Jance against the Jungle Ultra. We have a favorite in Race Across America versus the Spartahlon and the Ultra Trail Mount Fuji up against a race I'm sure many people listening to this podcast will appreciate. Ultraman Florida. In order to help spread the word of the pool, please be sure to share the post to your friends so they too can join in. Alright, let's start the show.

Ultraman Florida Preview

Larry 2:00

I am happy today to have two guests with me for a special Ultraman Florida race preview. The race will be taking place on February 11th, 12th, and 13th. In fact, I dropped this episode early in order to give listeners a chance to hear about the race prior to the start. My first guest was just with me a couple of episodes ago because I wanted to introduce her prior to this preview show. She is the co-race director of Ultraman Florida and will be starting a new Ultraman in Arizona this March. Welcome back to the podcast, Jen McVeigh.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Hi Larry, thanks for having me back.

unknown 2:37

Yeah.

Larry 2:38

Unfortunately, Chuck Kennamy wasn't your co-race director, um, wasn't able to be with us today, but uh please say hello to him when you when you get to Florida and you see him for me.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

I will for sure. I talk to him every day, so I'll tell him later today that you say hi.

Larry 2:53

Thank you, thank you. And my other guest is someone familiar to listeners as the voice of Ultraman and the raconteur of Steve King stories. Welcome back as well, Mr. Steve King.

SPEAKER_05 3:04

Thanks, Larry. Good to be here.

Larry 3:08

So, Jen, I'm sure that you and Chuck are in full get ready mode. As you said, you're speaking every day uh now for the race, and hopefully most things are ready to go. But there are always a few last minute things and athlete questions that come in and people that are, you know, am I going to make it? Am I not going to make it? Um, how are the preparations going? And uh are you feeling ready to go?

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Definitely feeling ready to go. Um, there are a few last-minute hiccups here and there. We have an athlete who's still waiting on a visa. So hopefully they'll get that and they'll be able to travel. We're getting lots of last-minute questions on how many pacers we can have, can we use polls during the run? Um, you know, kind of like verifying what the rules are, that kind of thing. So constant um emails coming in right now. But we're ready to go.

Larry 4:02

Awesome. That's good to hear. Um, Steve, I last spoke with you in person after Ultraman Canada in the summer. And now, given that COVID kept many of the events shut down around Canada, will this be the first race that you've called since Canada, or were you able to get others in during that small window where it looked like we were reopening?

SPEAKER_05 4:24

Well, I've had a couple of other races, but not any more Ultraman races. So I'm just thrilled to hopefully be back there and uh celebrate uh another Ultraman in Florida, the event that's been going since 2014, a first class event, and I'm just delighted that it's going to be happening.

Larry 4:42

Yeah, I think everybody's happy that is going to be happening after these years off. Well, let's get into talking about that race then. And uh, Jen, how about we start with uh can we just get a pure breakdown of the numbers? Like who's gonna be showing up to this race?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Sure. Uh we have 17 countries that are being represented represented, which is pretty cool. We've got 34 men and 10 women. Uh in by age groups, we've got one man in the 20 to 29 age group, eight in the 30 to 39 age group, 10 in the 40 to 49 age group, 12, that's our biggest age group, the men 50 to 59, and then we have actually three that are in the 60s. So that's pretty exciting. We love having some of our uh more mature athletes out there showing the youngsters how to do it. Uh for the women, we've got one young woman in her 20s, two in the 30 to 39 age group, six in the 40 to 49 age group. That's our biggest age group for the women, and we have one in her 50s. So total of 44 racers that we have. Hopefully, all 44 will be showing up on race week. And then as far as uh first timers, we've got 33 that are first-time Ultraman racers. Three of those have done uh a 515 distance before, but most of them have never gone the distance. We have 11 Ultraman alumni, and 10 of them have actually done the Florida race. So we've got a pretty awesome diverse field this year.

Larry 6:31

Yeah, that that does sound like a very diverse field. And uh no surprise that the the larger age groups are the ones with the uh the more senior athletes that you know we we grow into this sport, I think. Um, Steve, looking at those numbers, does that kind of match up to what a normal Ultraman race would look like?

SPEAKER_05 6:52

Uh, pretty much does. Um, and I think it's worth noting that when we say there's one woman in the 50 to 59 division, we have to remember that the world best was set by a woman in that division, that Ultraman Florida in 2020, and that was Dee Dee Grisbauer, who stunned the world with being not only the first one woman to go under 24 hours, but actually went under 23 hours with a 22, 48, 31 clocking. So there's great competition between age groups, but it's sometimes there's not necessarily a second person in a certain age group. Uh uh, but you're going to get some incredible performances. These people know what they're doing, they're putting a lot of work to get here, and many of them have got great coaches, some of whom are going to be joining us, and some of whom are part of the alumni as well. I mean, I looked at some of the names and I saw at least 25 alumni that are going to be there.

Larry 7:44

Yeah, there's definitely a large group of Ohana coming in for the Florida race. Um, when we looked at these uh age groups, I noticed that both the youngest and the oldest competitors are from India. Uh, Jen, would you like to introduce those two athletes to us, please?

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Sure. Our youngest is actually 21 years old. Uh, he's coming to us from India, as you mentioned. His name is Vidant Nangare. And he's actually got a crew chief who's very experienced. Caroline Bloom, who finished the 2020 Ultraman Florida event, will be his crew chief. And she'll also be his kayak escort during the swim portion of the event.

Larry 8:30

Yeah, which I'm sure she's happy to be on the boat and not in the water after I spoke to her in an earlier episode, and she talked about her fear of the alligators, and and she'll be coming to Canada, and now she's worried about the ogopogo coming to get her.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Yeah, she she has a thing about the water for sure. So, but she she's an excellent crew chief. She's crewed actually several Indian athletes in the past, so she's very experienced, and and Vidant will be in very good hands with her. We also have our oldest age grouper is Dashrath Jadhav. He's from India as well. Um, so we're excited to see what he can do. He did an Iron Man uh back in last year, and he finished in 14 hours and 12 minutes. So that's very respectable, respectable.

Larry 9:21

Steve, we've noticed quite a growth in the in the sport in India. Uh, there's rarely an event now that doesn't have an Indian athlete showing up to it when it comes to the ultra distance. Would you attribute that to any particular Ohana member or members who have brought the sport back and inspired others?

SPEAKER_05 9:41

I I would say, yeah, definitely. Kostat Rabkar uh for one, and he's going to be there as part of a crew. Milan Soman for another, who's got over a million followers. Uh, and of course, Man Mad Rebbe. These are some of the most popular names uh when it comes to Ultraman, but they've also got the exposure out there through social media and it pays off. When you've got a 21-year-old coming to do it and a 64-year-old, you know, these people want to be amongst the earliest uh members of the Ohana uh uh to be uh part of something special. But you've also uh got to realize, you know, uh they don't have too many races there, but they've got what they call a Herculean man, they've got a uh 70.3 there, and so they're looking for something beyond that because many of them have to travel to other parts of India. And I don't know whether the Damp realizes, but with Caroline Bloom on his team, it also probably means he's got to be prepared to do the beer mile on the Monday.

Larry 10:41

Yeah. Uh yeah, because she is a former champion of that, I believe.

SPEAKER_05 10:47

Well, she was in agony, it was blistered all over, but she still gladly uh went and completed that. Yeah, it's a lot of fun, but uh it's one way to celebrate uh in the afterglow, as uh Dave Cobb would say.

Larry 11:02

Yeah. Um, just before we get into breaking down the age groups, I noticed that there was another pair of athletes with something in common. Uh, Jen, you have two military racers this year, and I'm sure you'd like to recognize them for their service. And what else do we know about these racers?

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Definitely. We always love when our military members uh come to join the Ohana. The first one is Phil uh. He actually crewed for one of our alumni, Jonas Johnson, who's also uh a Marine. Phil is a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, and he's um active duty currently, and he's also a member of the All Marine Triathlon Club. Phil's in the 40 to 49 age group. He actually just attended our Ultraman Florida training camp back in December, and and he's a just a really great guy. So so we're really excited that he's gonna be racing this year. Another military racer that we have is Juan Tony Rivera. He's in the 50 to 59 uh category. He is also uh Marine Corps, USMC, but he's retired. He spent 24 years in the Marines. Um, he's also donated bone marrow twice. So definitely a special guy. And we're looking forward to seeing both of these Marines battle it out there.

Larry 12:27

Steve, do you have anything to add on those guys?

SPEAKER_05 12:30

Well, they uh many of them actually donate to the Semper Fire Fund, which I think is wonderful. And I think also there's another former U.S. Marine in the form of a Robert Taylor in the men's 60 class division, he's also got a PhD in uh human performance. And I love the fact that uh he's also a stand-up comedian, by the way. So I look forward to some something he will say either before the event or when they stand up afterwards, of course, at the awards. But I noticed too, his crew chief is a gentleman called Larry Goodman, and Larry uh raced at the I-Man distances in Kona in 1982 and again in 1985. So lots of experience uh behind the athlete as well. So his show is called uh lactic acid flashbacks. So maybe we'll hear some of that at the awards.

Larry 13:16

Yeah, he might have to try it out and just uh make sure he's got it all down before he takes it on the road.

SPEAKER_04 13:22

Exactly.

Larry 13:24

Um, Steve, I know in your professional life as a clinical counselor that you and and a team of people have recently launched a new PTSD program aimed primarily at military and first responders. Um can you tell me a little bit about that program?

SPEAKER_05 13:40

Yeah, it's called the Detachment Technique. It's something I've developed over 30 years uh with great success. I must say, I only say that because I'm very proud, obviously, to be able to put it together. But I've been working with individuals for years and years, and the closer I get to retirement, I felt that I needed to put it out there for other people to utilize. So we've just I worked with a group of three other gentlemen from around the world, uh, two paramedics and one gentleman involved in security, uh, all had their own different traumas, and uh we were able to work through those. Uh and the good thing is it's something that is easily teachable, easily doable even by the client themselves once they've experienced it one time. And uh usually the traumas are cleared within a matter of hours, as opposed to uh as what happens for a lot of people, they go away to treatment centers for weeks on end, and so it's very cost effective and client effective. And if anyone's ever interested, they can check it out on detachmenttechnique.com.

Larry 14:43

That that sounds fantastic that you're able to break it down to that shorter time frame for people, and uh that sounds like a breakthrough uh way of doing it. So, yeah, people check that out if you feel like you need that, or someone that you know might be uh needing some help in that area. All right. Well, uh, with uh so many racers in the field today, we're not gonna be able to speak about everybody, but we're hoping to fit in one or two in each of the age groups uh to look at, um, whether it's because they have an interesting connection to the race, perhaps they might be one of the contenders, or they just have some other interesting stories about them. So uh almost half of the field in the men's division is over 50. Um, Jen, who should we be looking out for in the men's 60 to 69 category? That you said there were three people.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yes. Uh we already mentioned Dash Roth, who's in this age group. We also have Robert Taylor, who Steve just mentioned, our stand-up comedian, and definitely can't wait for him to bring it. Um we we have high hopes for a lot of comedy over a race weekend. Uh Robert has a lot of experience in the triathlon uh world. He's completed over 40 different Ironman races. Uh his crew chief also has a lot of experience, like Steve mentioned. We also have Old Man Dan Attard. Old Man Dan uh came to us back in uh gosh, 2020, which feels like 10 years ago now. We gave him the nickname Old Man Dan when we were at our training camp and it stuck. Everybody calls him Old Man Dan now, and he loves it. Even at his work, they are now calling him Old Man Dan. Uh he's a really great guy, and he's gonna be fundraising for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. So our 60 to 69 age group has some very interesting characters in it.

Larry 16:41

Steve, are you familiar with Dan?

SPEAKER_05 16:43

I I am. I was fortunate enough to be there to witness it. I think he was a stunned uh more than anyone by the fact that uh when he finished, and he's a 12-time IMAM finisher, but when he finished the Ultraman Florida race in 2020, uh I was able to tell him going into the third day that he had to do around 11 and a half hours to complete the run and set a record. And he ended up setting the record at 30 hours, 31 minutes, and 38 seconds. So it's very pleasing to see him come back. At the very least, hopefully, he can work towards uh a personal best, if not a new record.

Larry 17:19

Mm-hmm. And then in the men's 50 to 59 category, there are 12 racers, as you mentioned in the opening. Are there a couple of people there that we should be looking at?

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Definitely. We've got uh an athlete coming from Spain, Luis Di Arriba Hernando. He's 53. He actually recently wrote a book, published a book called El Libro del Finisher. And he's quite an impressive athlete. He did a 10-hour Iron Man in 2019, so he's definitely someone we want to watch. Steve, do you have anything you want to chime in on about Luis?

SPEAKER_05 17:59

Well, I believe he could be one of the people uh that is going to be a bit of a surprise there because he he has raced at the distance uh in uh Cozumel and came away with a victory there. It was just over 25 hours, I believe. Uh but uh again, different courses, you never know what to expect, and the competition that really lifts the game and the extra training, the extra wisdom of going through the three days and the distances, it can pay off handsomely.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

For sure. He he definitely is one to watch. In the 50 to 59 age group, we also have little Roy Payne. Roy has raced with us. Uh, this will be his third time at this distance. So he is one of our alumni, and he's actually a record holder. Uh he is a record holder for the 50-year-old age group with a three-day record of 26 hours, 23 minutes, and 28 seconds. And he is uh another one that we should thank for his service because he is a 35-year veteran of the Florida State Police Department. And I'm pretty sure he's got retirement in his eyes.

SPEAKER_05 19:11

Right. I just need to correct something there because um he was the record holder until 2017, and then Tim Cronk came along and did uh uh 24-27-59. Uh, but for Roy, this will be his third time uh at an ultraman distance. He actually just came, I think it was like fifth overall, uh, and uh ended up this was in Iceland at an extreme event there, as they would call it. So similar distances, and he did come and join us on the big island in uh 2018 and came second in his age category there.

Larry 19:46

Also in this age group is a man with a large web of Ultraman connections, and and that's Armando Armelini. Um he's he's completed and crewed multiple times in the event, and he's also coached by Jeremy Howard. And and Jeremy was in episode eight this season as an athlete in profile for this race. Um, but as people from the regular listening crowd know, uh he's had to pull out. He's one of the people that had to pull out of the race due to injury. He's also crewed the Ultraman Florida champ Steve Keller in 2020. And and Steve is coming up next in this episode as an athlete in profile, but this time for the Ultraman Arizona race, which will be happening in in March. And and for the listeners, um, all three of us, uh Jen, Steve, and myself, we will be back uh with another episode to provide you with a preview for that race coming up. So, Jen, uh Edwin Vargas, he's another one of the racers with a lot of Ohana connections in this age group. Um, what what do we know about Edwin?

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Edwin uh is one of our really highly respected coaches and competitors. He's crew chief several times, he's coached several Ultraman finishers. So we're we're thrilled that he's coming back and racing with us. We love having him out there. Whether he's racing as an athlete or crewing, he's definitely one that that we really enjoy when he comes back to visit the Ohana. So looking forward to seeing him race.

Larry 21:24

And and Steve, um, people know that you have a prolific ultra running background as well. And there's an ultra runner who might be able to do some damage on day three if his legs aren't too cooked out. Um, what do you know about James Scanlon?

SPEAKER_05 21:41

Well, he's got an interesting background. I know he's uh race strongly like I think he's uh been running for something like 40 years and has got a lot of marathons to his credit, one of which was uh actually just last year. So in the 50 to 54 division, uh at a marathon. To run a 246 is very, very impressive, but he loves to do trail runs as well. He's in fact finished um fifth place at the US National Trail 100 Mila. Uh, he's at a first place in the Jed Smith 50 Mile. That was just two years ago as well. So it's going to be interesting to see the speed. One of the things about the run portion of the event, unfortunately, sometimes there are traffic lights that uh the athletes that have to stop at. So you hope because when you look at the run performances, of course, you've got uh some amazing times that we've seen, like uh, but only one person, um Kevin Wright, has gone sub uh seven with a 657 clocking. Uh, it's tough to do a really fast time. But the great thing is we've got about um, I think five athletes at least that have gone sub-705. So those are the sort of times we can look at for running. Whether he's got that left in his legs after days one and two, we wait and see. But he's certainly uh got the talent if he can uh pace himself sensibly.

Larry 23:04

There are a number of racers, both men and women, uh, who have finished an Iron Man with times starting with a nine uh in this race. So we know the field is going to be fast. Uh Jen, who do we have in the men's 40 to 49 category?

SPEAKER_00 23:22

We've got some fast racers in the 40 to 49 age group. Uh first, we've got Jeff Fayfar. He actually is one of our alumni, super great guy. He um his fastest full Iron Man was back in 2016. I believe it was a 927 at Louisville. He's he has attended our uh Ultraman Florida training camp back in 2019. Really fun guy, really great part of the Ohana. He's got a crew chief who is experienced crew chieving Ultraman, Justin Dare. He's a former Pro Tri-athlete. Uh, he's gonna be escorted in on the swim by another alumni, Rich Reed. Uh Rich crewed him in 2020 as well. And Jeff's definitely one of our contenders. And I'm sure Steve's got extra info on Jeff.

SPEAKER_05 24:16

Yeah, I like the fact that uh he's been there before and he's had a third place in this event, and he's got a very fast time, a 230404 to his credit. And I'm sure he wants to best that time and also move up at least one placing there overall. Uh, he is a FedEx pilot and uh he's also a coach, so he knows his stuff. When you look at um Olympic distance, is uh I think the only person in the field who's gone sub two for Olympic distance, and he's got a 409 to his credit at the 70.3 distance. So uh he would be probably the favorite going into the event.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

Totally agree. Another one to watch in the 40 to 49 age group uh is gonna be representing France, although he is a Florida local now, and that is uh Jerome Bareth. He's 45 years old. He and his significant other, Casey Northrop, will be racing side by side most of the time, I think. We're gonna be talking about Casey a little bit later. Jerome and Casey are have a little competition going on, so that'll be fun to watch as well. Steve, do you want to chime in with some of Jerome's impressive times?

SPEAKER_05 25:29

Well, uh, I I think what he's gonna be looking towards is trying to get a family PR. When you think of families and uh who's racing as well, you got Mary Latser and Randy are going to be there, and you may remember uh Mary Bested and got the best family time between them when she last raced. So it'll be interesting to see how the two of these guys are able to do because uh when you talk about Casey, she has gone sub-11. Uh Jerome, I I think you know it's gonna be interesting to see whether uh some of these guys go hard and heavy on day one. And by that I mean obviously they put out everything they can during the swim portion, but you've really got to accommodate for day two on the bike. And therefore, sometimes the transition and taking your time getting uh through safely off the bike on day one can make a big, big difference. But then, as we all know, that run can uh it all comes down to that in the end. And can you pace yourself sensibly? We've only had one or two people ever that have uh done negative splits on the run. So I'm going to be very interested to see how the thing goes in terms of couples and families uh when they race together, especially uh some couples have raced in different Ultraman events or a different year because they grew, but here you've got a couple going for the same time. And you may remember uh with uh Kevin and Catherine uh from Canada, uh the we had them do five races at the Ultraman distance together, and they're in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Larry 26:59

Yeah, Steve, what are some of the other family connections that come through Ultraman? So I know you keep stats on that sort of thing as well.

SPEAKER_05 27:07

I do, and if anyone wants to go onto my website, they'll certainly be able to see them because there's a lot of them. We've had father and daughter, uh, we've we've had brothers, uh, we've had obviously partners and uh brothers and sisters. So if you want to take a look at the entire list, just go to my website, which is uh uh www.steve.ca.

Larry 27:30

And that was recently updated. It looks great.

SPEAKER_05 27:32

Thank you, appreciate it.

Larry 27:34

Okay, well, let's keep rolling right into the 30 to 39 age group then, Jen.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

In the 30 to 39 age group, we've got a few other really fast people, one of which is coming to us from Bar uh from Spain, Mario Bartolome Buil. Uh, he's very, very fast. He's definitely one of our contenders uh for the title this year. He's got uh an Iron Man PR, I believe it's 902. And what's really, really impressive about him is his 10k swim times uh with a 222.

SPEAKER_05 28:09

Well, I would expect him based on the form that we've seen uh from him, and also the fact that when you look at the record books, uh you you look at who has gone sub-230, and there aren't too many people that have done that, but he has. And so when he did the race in uh 2019, he did a 229-04. Uh, but he has a personal best of 1500 meters, which a lot of people can relate to as well, of 16 minutes, 12 seconds. Uh, some people aren't aware just how incredible these swimmers are that do distances. There was a German gentleman recently set a new world record of 14 uh six. But to look at anyone who can do 16 to 17 minutes for an Olympic distance swim in a triathlon, you know uh we could be looking at somewhere around a 220 to 221 clocking. And uh when you look at the record for the course, don't forget Chuck Kemedy set the record on the swim uh 222-14 when he set the overall uh record and won the very first year in 2014. But I do suspect Mario is going to do better than seventh place, which is what he ended up with in 2019, because uh he has been pushing for this and he's got a sub-four hour clocking. Uh, he did that in Bahrain at the 70.3, and he's also run a 241 marathon in his career.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Very impressive for sure. It'll be fun to watch him.

SPEAKER_05 29:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:33

Another athlete in our 30 to 39 age group actually just turned 39, and that's Ryan Rainier. He's another one of our alumni. Um, he competed back in 2020 and placed ninth overall. And one thing I personally am watching is Ryan, like Armando, is also going to be competing in Ultraman, Arizona in March. So both of these guys are doing back-to-back Ultraman. And we we actually have, I believe, five athletes that are doing both races. So that's pretty exciting. Steve, what else can you tell us about Ryan?

SPEAKER_05 30:09

But I also know that he's done uh a hundred miler in Daytona, and that was a hundred-mile trail run. He did like 18 hours plus uh for that. So uh hopefully he's left enough in the bank to be able to get through this event once again.

Larry 30:24

We also have some very fast women uh in the field this year. So, Steve, you might be calling some new records. There, there are three women likely to be contending for the title. Um so maybe let's reverse the order this time and start with the youngest of these three women, and as all have that nine in front of their best Iron Man times as well. Uh Jen, who are we looking at in this women's field?

SPEAKER_00 30:51

In the women's field, our youngest is Fabia Maramotti. She's coming to us uh from Italy, and she's got a very, very impressive personal best swim time of 55 minutes.

SPEAKER_05 31:05

Uh yeah, I she's also got a 455 PR uh for the bike, and she's got second in her age category, uh nine man, and uh uh as uh won her age division and uh was first in Arizona, did a 957-34 there. So again, she certainly could be a contender.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Another one to look at, who we've already mentioned, is Casey Northrop. She attended our Ultraman Florida training camp back in December with Jerome and wonderful person. We're really looking forward to seeing her race. She has some impressive Iron Man times. She did a 958 at Cozumel last year. Uh Steve, what else can you tell us about Casey?

SPEAKER_05 31:50

Well, she's got a dozen uh 70.3 iron distance races to her credit. She's got uh five finishes at the Iron Man distance. She was in the World Long Course Championships uh last year, got a fourth place in her division, and that was with a uh 1054 clocking. So I think she's very motivated.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

For sure. And I mentioned the the competition that Jerome and Casey are gonna be having. They're actually doing a fundraiser competition so that people can guess, their friends and family can guess which of them will be the fastest in each discipline. And the funds are going to benefit the Special Olympics. So that's gonna be fun to watch those two compete out there, and it's for a good cause.

SPEAKER_05 32:34

Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Our next female to watch in the 30 to 39 age group is Antonina Tanya Reznikov coming to us from Israel. She was a pro-triathlete. And Steve, tell us a little bit about her really impressive times.

SPEAKER_05 32:51

Yeah, very impressive. I think she was born in Russia and then uh represents Israel on the World Circuit as well. She's raced in Barcelona, uh, got a seventh place there in the pro division, did a 907, raced in South Africa, uh, raced in Challenge Roth, got a 13th there. Remember how competitive that field is. And uh that was last year, did a 909. And uh, she is a three-time winner of the I-Man Distance race called the Isra Man in Israel as well. So she knows what it's like to be at the head of the field.

Larry 33:25

And and it's not uh uncommon for a woman to be at the head of the field, especially within the the pros, right, Steve? We've we've had some pro women come into Ultraman before and do quite well.

SPEAKER_05 33:36

Quite well indeed. Uh uh well, look at what happened to Didi Grisbau. She was leading going into that third and final day and held on for second place overall. Uh and uh we had a race here in Canada, which was won overall by Cake Be Balakwa. Israel also had a race at the uh ultra man distance that was won by Amy Van Tassel. So uh it's quite phenomenal, and it's quite possible we could see that sort of breakthrough once again.

Larry 34:05

Well, let's move into the 40 to 49 age group. Jen, what do we got there?

SPEAKER_00 34:10

In the 40 to 49 age group, we've got Rosa Claire Costa. Um, she has done some impressive Iron Man times with a 1020 and a 1030. Steve, what else can you tell us about Rosa Claire?

SPEAKER_05 34:23

This lady, Rose Claire Costa, actually got third overall in Brazil at the 5-1-5. And again, Brazilians are very strong. Remember, they've had a six-time men's women um uh winner at the uh Ultraman World Championships on the Big Island in Alexandra Ribeiro, who she would know, of course. Uh, but she did a great time as well, 25-22. She's raced in Kona and has done uh 10-28 there. She's had I think four age group wins at the I-Man distance as well. So I think uh despite the fact that I think she's 43 now, she could be the number one person as well. She certainly has that caliber and pedigree.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

Yeah, it's gonna be really fun to watch because in both the men's and the women's age groups, there's just some really good comp competitors out there. Another one we have in the 40 to 49 age group is Karen Woodward. Um, I am excited to watch Karen because Karen has an all-female crew. Uh, she's crewed by her best friend and her three daughters. And she has put up some really impressive times um at Iron Man, especially on the run. She's got a 332 on the run.

SPEAKER_05 35:32

Well, on the run, I think she's done like 17 marathons. She's got uh 13 Iron Man to her credit. She's been to Kona uh twice, she's qualified and gone. And uh she won her age division, in fact, I think it was uh four or five years ago uh with a 1027 in uh Montan Blanc. And uh she's also raced to a 1020 in uh Maryland. So again, another person I would suspect is looking for somewhere between 25 to 27 hours in total. But when you're a first timer, you first want to get to that finish line each and every day inside the 12-hour limit.

Larry 36:06

Yeah, that's true. Um, so many of the people, that is just their goal, it's just just to get to that that finish line in that 12-hour limit each day. And I think that's that's the great thing about Ultraman is so many people show up for just their own reasons. They they might not necessarily be there to be at the front of the pack as some of these people we discussed today. Um, they have their their own reasons. There they want to get to that event to challenge themselves or or to prove to themselves or maybe their children, you know, what they're actually capable of and and what the human is actually capable of. Um so Steve, can you maybe give us a few of those types of people that'll be in the race as well that are maybe not going to be out there competing for the top spot, but that we know are there for the right reasons and uh that just want to get to that finish line under 12 hours each day?

SPEAKER_05 36:57

Well, yeah, uh Sarah Byrd comes to mind in terms of here's an excellent swimmer, for instance. Uh uh, she swum up to, I believe, up to 17 miles before and uh has competed at uh three uh double irons. She's done the anvil 36-hour ultra as well, six times at the I-Man distance, uh half a dozen times at 70.3. And I know she dreads the second half of uh a double Iron Man. So uh she's got that same distance to cover at this one as well. And so uh she needs her partner uh to be able to motivate her through. She says that's usually what happens. So she will be someone I think will be comfortable, possibly on days one and two, but not quite as comfortable on day three, and therefore it's about putting one foot in front of the other. We've got Simone Silva from Brazil as well, 45-year-old. Uh, she's raced uh Arizona, but gone inside the 17 hours with just 10 minutes to spare. Uh, she's uh three times at the 70.3 distance, including Santa Rosa, San Francisco. Um, and I see her possibly again, maybe getting close to that 12-hour mark on each three days, but we've seen that many times where someone has done that consistently and they get there because they've got the mindset and uh it's all about the desire to join the Ultraman family. Mary Latzer is going to be back with us once again, and she was comfortably inside uh uh 29 hours last time, did a 2858 clocking. So I don't see her having uh much of a problem getting there. And I know I I saw a posting, I think it was just yesterday, where she was at the six-hour mark of an eight-hour uh spin on her bike, and that was indoors. So uh she was watching, uh I think she was on uh uh uh one of the um uh programs there that uh may be aligned to one of the uh uh the uh courses that you can get on different uh Zwift programs, etc. Uh another one I would see is um probably Lucy Centino as well, because she's coming back for a third time as well. We we we know that uh the Mexican has tried a couple of times before. Uh Ultraman Canada in 2019. Uh she unfortunately was uh she did not finish on uh day two. She ran on day three and got about eight kilometers away from the finish line. Then in Ultraman Florida 2020, some things went hay on on the swim. Uh so she didn't finish uh that. She did the bike though, uh, and then she didn't finish the bike on day two. And I think she recorded 12 hours and 12 minutes on the run. So I know she definitely wants to be there with us. Uh Carlos Camao, Keith Kennedy. Uh, these are people also that I'd love to see. I know Carlos uh finished day one and day two in Mexico, but was not able to complete in day three. I'm hoping Keith Kennedy, he's done it one eye man before. I hope he's going to be able to make it. He's uh dubious on the swim, but he's lucky enough to have uh one of our alumni in the former John Riordan paddling for him. So I think he'll at least have a straight line for that. And I hope everyone makes a straight line to that beautiful finish line after at the end of day number three.

Larry 40:16

That's that's the goal, obviously, for everyone. And it's it's been great hearing about all these people that are going to be racing in in Florida and to say that are going to be racing, I think is the important part there. You know, it's back to racing again, finally. Um, thank you guys very much for coming by and doing this preview with me for Ultraman Florida. I look forward to getting together with you again to preview the Ultraman Arizona shortly. Um, Jen, maybe you can just leave us with a little taste of something that we can look forward to for the Ultraman Arizona as well, since that's going to be your first one.

SPEAKER_00 40:52

Well, I'm looking forward to just all the alumni that are coming. Uh I believe more than half the field is alumni, and there's a lot of alumni crewing. So it's just another really great Ohana reunion after being apart for so long. Uh, but what I'm especially looking forward to in Arizona is seeing what Steve Keller can do out there. Because as you know, he was our 2020 champion, and the Ultraman Arizona course is a bit more challenging as far as climbing. And we actually just found out this week that our day one permit is not going to be given to us yet because they are starting construction on a major portion of our course. And so I am actually flying out to Arizona in two days and creating a whole new day one course. And I've got an idea of what it's gonna be. It's gonna be a little bit more climbing than Florida has. So uh I think that the Arizona folks need to get ready to climb, but it's still not even close to the climbing that they will do when they hit the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii. So I'm just getting them ready for it.

Larry 42:02

And and like I said, this this episode is dropping actually a few days early to allow everybody to hear about the Florida race. And uh we'll we'll be back to to talk about the Arizona race in in the next episode. So thank you both for coming by and doing this preview. I'm sure all the listeners will appreciate it and we'll be following along. What's the best way to follow along if they want to follow that race live or as close to live as they can?

SPEAKER_00 42:28

As close to live as they can, uh, go to our Instagram or Facebook accounts. We're gonna be posting uh photos and updates every day, all day long. So keep an eye on that, and that's how you're gonna know what's going on at the finish line each day and throughout each day.

Larry 42:47

Great. Well, thanks a lot, Jen, for coming along. Thanks a lot, Steve.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

Thank you for having us.

Larry 42:55

So after recording this preview, there have been some late drops to the race. Mario Bartolomeo Bewell, Edwin Vargas, and Julian Summer will not be waiting for the very starting line. As well as these website for the cook and his P. 2020 Ultraman Florida Championship.

Steven Keller Conversation

Larry 43:42

My athlete and profile guest today qualified for the Iron Man World Championships at his first full Iron Man race. He has also raced the 70.3 worlds and completed the Ultraman Florida race twice. In 2019, he was second, and in 2020, he was first. In a time of 21 hours and 49 minutes. He works as a veterinarian in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he lives with his wife and two children. Today I'm introducing him as the athlete in profile for the long-awaited inaugural Ultraman Arizona. Welcome to the 515 Podcast, Stephen Keller.

SPEAKER_06 44:21

Thank you very much for having me.

Larry 44:39

Did you have any idea that you could do a time like that? And um that you'd be in the running for a Kona spot, or were you like most people doing their first long distance and just you know wanting to get the thing done?

SPEAKER_06 44:53

Oh, I had zero expectations going into it. I was um I was really motivated to do well and I trained properly and kind of uh executed, I think, based on what my my training was, but I I'd never had even peeked at at what Kona really entailed and um hadn't even thought about it until somebody told me after the race. One of my training buddies had told me after the race that Kona was a was a potential based on my finish time.

Larry 45:29

So how long had you been doing triathlon at that time of any distance?

SPEAKER_06 45:34

Um probably about two years, maybe. Yeah, I think I took one or two years to do some shorter distances. Um, I'd run a couple marathons prior to nothing serious, it was more just about completing the distance. And then um I had a training buddy who had done five or six Iron Men. So he kind of guided me through how to how to prepare for it.

Larry 46:04

Oh yeah. So so you didn't necessarily have a coach, you just your your buddy was your guide for for how to do it.

SPEAKER_06 46:11

Yeah, yeah. I I really haven't had a coach most of the time that I've been doing triathlon. Um, I think that's one of the fascinating things about it is that you know there's there's quite a bit of a balance between family work and training. So I really enjoy the the aspect of of trying to figure the whole process out.

Larry 46:37

And and so when you went to the world championship in 2015, uh as a result of qualifying, did you did you have that idea of, well, I guess I'll just go every year that I'll just qualify all the time, or did you think of it as, oh, this is something that's gonna be really special and I but I better take it all in?

SPEAKER_06 46:56

Well, that was an interesting year. Um three months prior to Kona, my first daughter was born, and um so you know, life got flipped upside down, and um, I think I did all of my training either on the trainer or primarily on the treadmill, and very little swimming, and I'm not a natural swimmer, so um I think I was still fairly naive to think that that was gonna be enough, and then I got to Kona and found out that that's that's not a race to take lightly, so I kind of got it handed to me, but uh it was still a great experience, um, but definitely kind of got what I deserved in terms of training and execution.

Larry 47:49

In 2018, you come up to my backyard to a whistler for Iron Man Canada uh for the second time, and again you pull off a second place in your age group. Um, but I see that uh you didn't follow up with a world championship race after that one. Did you let that one roll down? Or you you said earlier that you didn't accept. So what's going on?

SPEAKER_06 48:12

Well, I kind of snuck that one in, knowing that um I'd be able to get a trip out to the west coast for my family to visit. Um and then, oh, by the way, there's a race out there we might want to do at the same time. And uh it's a pretty big trip to go from East Coast to to West Coast, and and we took uh we only had one daughter at the time then, so we took her out there, and um I come from zero elevation uh to to go to Whistler is the exact opposite. So I I I went in, I was really prepared. I I knew what I had to do to do well, but also um kind of never really had the sights set on on Kona. I think my wife was actually surprised when I told her that I wasn't gonna take it, but um I felt like that was the big event of the year, was just doing well at Whistler. I really enjoyed the event. I enjoyed the venue. Um, you know, it helps having family there. We hadn't seen family in a in a bit. So it was a we we took some of our family up to the Whistler village and they stayed with us. So, you know, I I just I soaked up the fun at Whistler and kind of felt like it wasn't gonna, I wasn't gonna be able to peek again, uh, turnaround from from July to October.

Larry 49:49

October, yeah. Yeah. Um, and and the Whistler, the the run course there is pretty spectator friendly as well. You can kind of hop around and and see a lot of different spots. So I guess it's good to have the friendship.

SPEAKER_06 50:01

Yeah, it's such a beautiful course, such a beautiful area.

Larry 50:05

Just before we move on to your Ultraman experiences, I just want to touch on uh one more Iron Man race with you. Uh in 2019, you competed at Iron Man, Maryland, where you were fifth in your age group with a time of 915-28. And your bike time in that race was 434-28, which was fifth overall fastest in the in the race. Um, what was going on for you in that race? Like, is that a particularly fast bike course? Were you really dialed in on that race? Um, what's what's the uh how do you pull that off?

SPEAKER_06 50:43

Well, I didn't realize I was fifth overall, so that's news to me. But uh yeah, yeah, um, well, I knew it was a flat course, I think it's got a total of 11 feet of elevation. So okay. Um and I I had done whistler, which is over 8,000 feet. So I had some bike endurance, and um I I I just kind of knew that if on a good day I just kind of held what I I knew I was capable of, I'd do pretty well. That was a core that was a race where I had actually set some time goals and and I I didn't reach it. I I didn't finish the run as strong as I'd hoped to, probably because I overbiked. But um I had gone in with the goal of of going going for it because I knew it was going to be the end of the season for me. And um it's a it's a fast bike course that if you ride it with kind of paying attention to the wind, you can you can do really well.

Larry 51:56

Let's see. And and it seems to me, and in looking at your times, that you are quite a good biker, um, at least in comparison to your swimming. Um so I'm guessing that uh Ultraman plays well to your to your strength then, since so much of it is biking. Um so uh let's let's talk a little bit about your Ultraman experiences. Um you've gone to Ultraman Florida twice already in 2019. You were you were clearly in good shape, as as we said, uh and you came second at that race. And from reading the times of that race, it appears that you ran the entire day three with the winner, Chris McDonald. Uh, and then maybe just let him cross first as the champion because your times are very close. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_06 52:44

Yeah, that that experience was epic. Um, we set out on the run. Uh, you know, it's it's kind of dawn. Um I was already kind of day three, exceeded my expectations already, couldn't believe that the first two days had gone so well. Um, had never run 52 miles. So that's probably better for me when I'm just like flowing and not thinking about the distance. And you know, best intentions start out conservative. Jen McVeigh says go. And Chris starts out like seven-minute pace. I go, oh no. I, you know, and my competitive edge thinks, well, I'm not gonna let him go up the road like this. And so for the first five or eight miles, I probably sat, you know, anywhere from 50 feet behind him to right on his shoulder until he finally let off the gas. And I don't think he realized it was me. I think he thought it was a couple other people. And so finally, when I got on his shoulder, I started having a conversation with him. And then we ran neck and neck for the next marathon until pretty much through the bulk of the course, we were it was like a boxing match, just but a friendly one. And we just, you know, 10 feet ahead, 10 feet behind, stop with your crew, get some water, he goes ahead, then vice versa. It was such an amazing experience. And then right around mile 42, you get out of the clay fields of um the infamous clay fields of Florida or clay roads of Florida uh course, and I just hit a massive cramp, and my leg just locked up. And I at that time I was probably about a half a mile in front of him. Um, he's a much bigger guy, so the heat was really getting to him, and then it got to me shortly after. And you know, he goes by me and he pats me on the back, and it was very, very uh, very good sportsmanship between both of us, but especially him. And so I start to get going again, and he's he's gone up the road after a while. Every once in a while, you could see his his crew halfway up the road or half a mile up the road, and then there's about two miles, maybe a mile and a half to go. And I turn this corner, and he's right there. So he he was experiencing the same amount of suffering and pain that I was. We were just out of sight of one another for the last pretty much eight miles until the final stretch. And he turns around and looks at me with this panic on his face, and I'm barely hobbling, just dragging my body. He's dragging his body. We look ridiculous because it's like a slow motion version of going down the finish chute, and you can just see he he's looks at me like, oh no, this guy's gonna catch me at the end. And I'm waving at him like, just run. There is no chance I'm gonna catch up with you right now. And then he crosses the line, I cross right behind him, we embrace, hug. It was such a memorable experience. I'll never forget that because uh, even though we were competitors, we were pretty much just running together the whole way. Partly through the course, we're hitting these crosswalks where the rules say you have to you have to stop and wait for traffic. And I remember I'm just standing there next to a professional tri athlete in the middle of a race, like, what am I doing here? This is a pro, and I'm just some guy who's running with him right now. So it was a really, really memorable experience.

Larry 57:01

Yeah. And and you're not gonna get that at an Iron Man marathon. Like, how how how often have you gone back and forth with someone or noticed anybody at an Iron Man marathon along the way?

SPEAKER_06 57:14

Yeah, I remember telling him in the um post-race speech we were at one of the crosswalks, and he's sitting there just fuming. He couldn't believe we had to wait for these crosswalks. And I'm sitting there literally peeing my pants, thinking, this is hilarious. I'm standing next to a pro peeing my pants because where else am I gonna pee right now? And he's fuming, has no idea because we're both just drenched in sweat and water, and yeah, it was just a funny experience because the the our two attitudes were changing back and forth the whole time.

Larry 57:54

That's excellent, yeah. Yeah, and and I would assume that um it didn't matter which crew you were going by, you were getting lots of applause and cheers and probably assistance and food and drink, whatever you need it.

SPEAKER_06 58:06

Yeah, yeah. And I think it's interesting when the pros, because the second year we'll I'm sure we'll talk about this. We had Didi there who is also professional, yeah. And I think they come in, they cannot turn off the competitive edge that professionals have, they just have another gear that you know most of us others don't understand. And then, but when you break it down after three days, they come to a level to recognize that it's bigger than just the mono and mono competition. And even their crew, the first few days, they're kind of you can kind of see them, it's almost uncomfortable when when the crews start to cheer for one another, and you kind of see them pause, but then by the end, we're just one big family and everybody's cheering for one another. Uh, it's almost like you couldn't even tell whose crew was who by the end.

Larry 59:01

Yeah, that's one of the things I love about the race as well. Yeah, and and I did want to talk about Didi as well. Um, so in 2020, one of the last races before the the COVID shutdowns, um, you're back at Ultraman, Florida. And this time you you win the race in 21 hours and 49 minutes, which included a day two biking record of seven hours, 46 minutes, and three seconds uh to finish the 276 kilometers of day two. Um and that was still only good for second place in the race after day two, because you were racing with Dee Dee, um, who was also setting a bunch of records for the race during that time. Um, and she had a faster two-day total for the bike than than you did. Um, what was it like for you racing with her and and and all of her experience? Because she's obviously done this a number of times.

SPEAKER_06 59:57

Well, she had yeah, she she was definitely a professional. Um you could just see by the way she carried herself. She had uh Jordan Bryden there, and she had her coach. Um they were all dialed in. And uh it's really amazing to watch how they operate, just their communications. Um, you know, I'm a lot more casual and sometimes probably too casual with how I go through a race of that distance. Not a lot of things are gonna get me upset in the immediate. And those guys were just, you know, every point of communication, they were very specific, very dialed in. What do you need? Uh, you know, and um D D just truly impressive um what she's capable of doing um in Iron Man and Ultraman. That swim that she did on day one, those conditions were insane. It turned into a nightmare. We had kayaks flipping over the storm that rolled through, and then um to see what she did on that swim. Um it was interesting compared to the first Ultraman and the second one. Um, we did kind of have a little bike pack, the day two bike um on the race with Didi. And um versus when I raced against Chris McDonald, he kind of just went off up the road and never saw him again, um, except a few turnarounds. But um with Dee Dee and a few of the other athletes, it was almost like a day of attrition and kind of having, I think, just the fact that I had done the course uh and the experience um is kind of what helped me towards the back half of that race. I still think, in hindsight, not knowing what the record was, I think I caught every traffic light that day. So it maybe could have been a little bit faster.

Larry 1:02:14

Maybe you got a record for that. Yeah, I know. Um so you're actually here today as my guest as an athlete in profile for the long-awaited uh inaugural race of Ultraman Arizona. And I'm sure you've been speaking with Jen. Um, what do you know about the course that she has laid out? Um, and and what are your goals for the race?

SPEAKER_06 1:02:39

Yeah, so I've been trying to trying to squeeze every little detail out from Jen. Um she kind of enjoys just letting it out slowly and not letting people get too analytical about it, which I think is a blessing uh on her part, that we just don't get too obsessive over the details. Um she's told me that the the lake is called Lake Pleasant, and she said you might call it Lake Unpleasant by the time you're done. Uh, she said it's gonna be cold, um, which I I definitely does not suit me. I get cold when I'm swimming. Um one of the things I was telling the athletes who are doing Florida is you know, it's a good idea to put a uh a thermos of some chicken broth or something warm in your in your kayak because you get cold out there and uh help help give you a little burst of energy trying to get that warmth back in you. So I will have to be prepared for that. I haven't decided if I'm gonna wear booties or something else to stay warm. The bike's got a lot of climbing, which even though I live in flatland, I I like climbing on the bike. So I think that's gonna suit me pretty well. And then I think the run is is pretty hilly as well. She hasn't really released that course or given us much details other than the fact that it's not gonna be it's not gonna be flat. So I'm I'm looking forward to the the the day two bike has got a pretty big long climb at the end of it, from what I understand. So that's gonna be that's gonna be quite challenging. I think that's gonna break up a lot of the race and then the run. I tend to enjoy the rolling courses, so hopefully uh things aren't too steep, but um we'll we'll see. I I have I have high expectations for the bike and the run. My swim, my swim's always the the weakest link, but it's it's coming along. The pools just opened about a month ago. So uh trying to make the most of that time now.

Larry 1:04:57

Well, they say better late than never, right? Okay, so Steve, the next thing I want to do is uh go into the transition round where we do two minutes of rapid fire questions for you. You give the the quick answer for me if you can. And on the other side, we talk a little more personally about you rather than just your racing career, so that when people meet you at Arizona, they will have a little more background information about you to to have those conversations with as you're as you're going through the five days, I guess, six days, whenever it is that you're gonna be there for. So uh are you ready for the uh for the transition route?

SPEAKER_06 1:05:36

Yeah, let's do it. All right.

Larry 1:05:39

What has been your favorite race so far?

SPEAKER_06 1:05:43

Ultraman Florida 2020 was was definitely my favorite from an entire experience standpoint. And then the Whistler venue is my favorite race venue just because it's so beautiful. Out there.

Larry 1:06:01

And what's the bucket left right that you still want to do?

SPEAKER_06 1:06:06

Oh, I definitely want to do Ultimand Hawaii one day uh world championships.

Larry 1:06:13

What's a lot of people doing?

SPEAKER_06 1:06:17

I just had some running shoes show up yesterday. So I run in a lot of different brands. These ones are hopeless. Um I have a shoe problem. I have probably about 10 different running shoes that I actively run in right now. Um and yeah, it's it's becoming a bit of a problem. Yeah, I have to keep them all in my garage because if not, my wife might start counting.

Larry 1:06:51

Do you have more than she has?

SPEAKER_06 1:06:53

Oh, I'm sure. Yeah, definitely.

Larry 1:06:57

Um what's the best place that you have traveled to for the world? Not for the race itself, but the place you went to.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:05

Hawaii was pretty special. I've never been there. So that was uh that was a great experience uh to get out to Hawaii.

Larry 1:07:14

What's your go-to workout music?

SPEAKER_06 1:07:16

I usually put on 90s hip hop or 90s uh rock.

Larry 1:07:23

It's usually the 90s genre, I stick to one of the one of the things that you mentioned is how important the the friendships are that you've you've made through doing your 515 events, and you know, it becomes an integral part of who we become. Like all friendships, you know, you learn something from them, they learn something from you. Uh, and I know that the Ohana has kind of changed your way of looking at things in in all areas of your life. Um so, one, can you tell me a little bit about that? And then two, along the same lines, um, can you tell me about the story of how Jen McVeigh set you up with your 2020 crew?

SPEAKER_06 1:08:08

Oh yeah, certainly. So when I really choose an event to go all in, it it takes kind of this um undefined feeling that I get that I almost feel like I have to recognize that there's a process of development. I I won't sign up for a race where I feel like, oh, that's gonna be doable or achievable, no problem. There's gotta be some form of kind of stretch to get to that. And that doesn't necessarily always mean athletically, but it's gonna affect me with balancing life and and work and family. Um, but also what I've realized is that the individuals who are involved with Ultraman and uh who I've met through the Ohana, they really stretched me to be a better human being and a better person. And the last time I was at Ultraman, one of the things I said was, I wish we could just take this energy and take it back, everyone take it back to the communities where we currently exist and try to bring that back and spread that because it's such a supportive environment. It it makes you want to be better when you're around the people who are involved in these races. And I really feel like the event itself is just the medium to become a better individual, better human. Every time I go back, I see another aspect of individuals being selfless and being humble and really just you know opening up and and they they they're willing to do things for you without you even asking. And that really kind of ties into the second part of your question with the crew that I had for 2020. I really didn't have anybody that I could ask within my circle of family or friends other than my wife. And we had just had our second daughter, she was only six months old by the time of the race. So Jen said, Well, I've got three perfect individuals for you. These are people I've never met. I flew down to Florida the week of the race, picked them up individually from the race, and it was like we were family from the first minute. And that's, I mean, something that I can't uh overstate because they were just so selfless. Billy Rickard, he flew all the way from Hawaii, Michelle Williamson, she flew from uh North Carolina, and Armando, he came from Texas. These are these are seasoned Ultraman crew and athletes. They they have a lot of accomplishments way beyond what I've achieved, and they are just extremely selfless. Um they just took the reins, and there's no way I would have accomplished Ultraman Florida with without their their help. I mean, they they definitely uh just just took over, and and they they even said Armando even said that to me on day one or two. He said, You just need to step back and let us help you, and everything will go very smooth. And that's exactly how how it it unfolded.

Larry 1:11:56

Yeah, there there is a real team aspect to the race that the crew plays a big part in.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:03

Yeah, you really have to accept being vulnerable and and vulnerable to the distance, but also vulnerable to the fact that you need help to get through a race like that. And it's not something you can do on your own. And if you don't take a big drink of humility and just recognize that that they're gonna help you get there, uh, if you don't do that, then you're just gonna keep going up against a force that you can't can't break down. So um, yeah, they they really, I mean, I really wanted them to crew for me in Arizona. And Michelle, she's gonna be my crew chief, but uh Billy sent me a message and he's like, man, every single race I'm entering keeps getting canceled. I want to do Arizona. Do you mind? I said, of course not. So he's gonna be racing, and then Armando, same idea. All the races he wanted to do keep getting postponed. So he's gonna do Arizona. So it's gonna be really cool. We're all gonna be out there on the course together this time.

Larry 1:13:11

So so who else have you picked up for your crew then?

SPEAKER_06 1:13:14

Well, right now it's uh my wife and uh my my girls, my daughters are gonna stay home with grandparents, and it's Michelle. Uh, I'm working on trying to pick up one other person if we can make things work. But um if not, maybe Jen will pull some magic again and find another special individual. Uh they're not hard to find. There's a lot of special people involved in the Ohana.

Larry 1:13:43

Oh, yeah. And and they they do love to come, whether it's to volunteer with the race or to crew. Um, everybody loves coming back to experience that that feeling over and over again.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:54

Absolutely. I was hoping to crew at Ultraman, Florida, but just because of the timing, I I won't be able to do it this year. But I definitely want to make that part of my future, is being involved in future races from the non-athletes side.

Larry 1:14:12

So you were you were saying um that your wife will be helping you out and you have two young girls. Um, maybe you can tell us a little bit about that home life. Uh, what are the names of these women in your life and uh what what are their interests? I know the youngest one might not have a lot of interests yet, but tell me a little bit about these women in your life.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:31

Well, my wife, her her name's Allie. She uh she's a veterinarian, just like myself. She's a veterinarian at uh the Virginia Beach Aquarium, so that's a pretty big role that she works, you know, five days a week. It's uh she's she's got a lot of responsibility, and then as well as helping raise our girls, uh Madeline, she's six, and Isabel, she's two. Um they they definitely keep us busy, they're very uh energetic, high-energy girls. Um, they wake up extremely early, which I guess they inherited from me, which means that my wake-up times just keep getting earlier and earlier and earlier. Um but they they are supportive. My my oldest, she got the chance to come to a lot of the races when it was just her. As I said, she came to Hawaii when she was just three months old, and she's come to several other races. My youngest only being two, she didn't really get to come to any of the races last year. Um, but she did come to Ultraman, Florida, uh, right before everything shut down. She was about six months old at that time. So uh yeah, but my youngest is the one who I think is gonna be uh trying to get into the racing as soon as she can.

Larry 1:15:59

You're already seeing that at two years old.

SPEAKER_06 1:16:02

Yeah, she well, just just recently um with all the Christmas gifts, she ran past all the gifts and went straight for the scooter. So a little little tear came out of my eye when I saw that she skipped all the other gifts and went for the the scooter. So she uh and she's definitely the my my oldest is is definitely athletic, but she's she's definitely had time to become very well-rounded. So uh funny funny story just to go back. Um when my wife was pregnant, she actually had our first daughter three two and a half weeks early. And I was signed up for a race. Um, I had worked a really long night. I got called in for a very rare emergency, almost never did at that job that I was working. And I get home about midnight, and she's still awake, and I'm thinking to myself, you know, what are you doing awake? And she says, My water just broke. And I was like, Oh, well, let's get the car started, let's go. And she said, Well, I'm not in any hurry, you know, I don't want to get just stuck in a hospital bed waiting. I'm not feeling any contractions, which just is a testament to my wife, she's calm calm in all aspects of life. So I kind of, of course, it's like after midnight at that point, and I have I was supposed to leave for a race about 5 a.m. And she said, Why don't you just go do your race? And when you get back from your race, we'll go to the hospital. So, you know, I didn't I didn't sleep at all that night. And two or three or four a.m. comes around, and I'm like, so what's the plan? She goes, just go ahead and do your race, which is about 45-minute drive away from our house. So I go and do the race. It was an Olympic distance triathlon. Um, did really well, probably the fastest I've ever done an Olympic distance triathlon.

Larry 1:18:06

Because you wanted to get back home. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:08

Jumped off the bike, said, I really have to take my bike out of transition now. My wife's in labor, and they're like, Why are you even here? And so rushed home, got home. She said, Okay, let's go ahead to the hospital. And off we went. And you know, five or six hours later, maybe a little bit longer than that, my first daughter was born. So it's kind of uh always been part of the story that to the racing aspect of it.

Larry 1:18:35

Yeah. Well, you know, uh a lot of athletes will attribute um support from a spouse or or a loved one in their family that that really goes that extra distance to make sure that they're able to do what they need to do to train and get to races. But that that's above and beyond. That's that's a story I haven't heard before.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:56

Yeah, she's she's pretty special. None of this would be possible without her, but she uh she really she helps take care of the girls on the weekends when I'm doing the longer training, and she understands um that the the daily exercise is part of the routine. Dad's gotta get out and do a little bit of something, or I probably have too much built-up energy.

Larry 1:19:18

And and both you and and Ali work as vets. Um so I'm guessing maybe you you met as a result of your jobs or your schooling. How did that happen?

SPEAKER_06 1:19:29

Yeah, so she's from West Coast, uh, Canada, BC, and I'm from East Coast, Virginia, so two different sides of the continent here, but we went to vet school together down in the Caribbean, and we met there almost the first day on the island. So spent three and a half years there on the island, came back, did a year in the States, uh, and um convinced her to stay on the East Coast. Um and yeah, so it's ever since we met at school, yeah. So we've we've had a pretty interesting life moving around and and traveling.

Larry 1:20:12

And and you work with cats and dogs, um, which I'm guessing is a good idea. That's where that's where the money's at. Um I I've heard during the pandemic that there were so many people getting pets that veterinarians are actually getting overwhelmed. Um, what what's it like for you right now? Is is that is was that happening to you as well?

SPEAKER_06 1:20:32

Yeah, it's pretty, pretty extreme. Um, I mean, at least from a veterinarian's point of view, um, our hospital's pretty busy. We're we're a day practice, so we don't we don't do the overnights, we don't do very many emergencies, but just in general, for as the caseload gets bigger, that's a lot more patients that you have to accommodate. You know, things happen, sick pets, new pets. Um, it's starting to taper off now and get more back to the the normal pace, but a lot of outside the box thinking of ways to see more pets within the same given amount of hours each day. Um lot a lot of probably new strategies and systems that have developed as a result of it, but it it definitely was trying. I I couldn't imagine trying to do a race when we were in the height of 2021 summer or um because I was just too busy at work. I was still able to train quite a bit, but it was more just train by feel, not a lot of structure to it. Where um whereas now things have calmed down to more normal levels again. But yeah, there's been a lot of burnout in the veterinary industry just from support staff and um and veterinarians as well. Um, I think from our hospital, we did a pretty good job at balancing it out. So hopefully we supported all of our staff as best we could, and we've done a pretty good job at getting through it and doing the best we could can.

Larry 1:22:15

Yeah. And is was it is it more volume? Was it just more people getting pets? Is it more pets, or is it just a COVID-related problem?

SPEAKER_06 1:22:23

Yeah, it's kind of a perfect storm of factors. There's definitely was more volume. I was looking back because I do have a leadership position at our hospital, so I kind of helped with some of the strategies and systems. But looking back, we had double the amount of new patients uh this time last year. Um, so there was more adoptions, more new puppies and kittens. We also had to really space things out because of COVID protocols. You know, we never closed down. Um, there was no such thing as work from home. So we had to figure out a way to keep space and keep things clean. There's a lot more time cleaning in between appointments. We didn't have people coming into buildings, so we're having to communicate via telephone, bringing the pets into the building without their owners. So that was more time and labor intensive.

Larry 1:23:25

Um and likely very stressful for the owners.

SPEAKER_06 1:23:29

Very stressful, yeah. So you had to spend a lot of time um explaining things, trying to explain what you were seeing on the your physical exam through the phone. Um, and a lot more people were home with their pets, so they bonded a lot closer. They weren't spending money on travel. So if they their dog or cat had a problem, they didn't have to think about budgeting to bring the pet to the vet hospital. They just called and said, I need an appointment. We had four to six week wait times at times, which definitely is stressful for a pet owner. They weren't able to, you know, get their family member seen, a sick family member seen for four to six weeks. So we had to figure out a way to get around that. So just a multitude of factors really created because of the pandemic, just like every other facet of life has been affected. But um, you know, hopefully we're better for it on the other side.

Larry 1:24:37

Uh, you know, I heard before that the veterinary clinics um were being like bought up by conglomerates because they were a lucrative business. Um and they were kind of driving out the independent mom and pop vets. Um is is that something that you see in the industry?

SPEAKER_06 1:24:54

Yeah, it's a big thing. It's a it's a solid investment if if you own a uh any kind of uh fund that that is part of one of these larger uh capitalist or capital groups. But um yeah, I'm fortunate I work for a uh small business owner, um independently owned, but these uh these larger groups, they they have the resources to to combine these vet hospitals. And there's pros and cons. I used to work for a bigger company. Um, and there's definitely more resources, more training. Um, but yeah, it's it's a challenge to be out there as an individual uh business owner. Um I wouldn't say a challenge, it's just it's hard not to join the rest of the groups because the the big corporations, they're really they're really coming after you. They're they're uh throwing a lot of money around.

Larry 1:25:54

Yeah. So do you have any uh specialties that you do?

SPEAKER_06 1:26:00

So I'm certified in veterinary acupuncture and I'm working towards uh rehabilitation, which is like physical therapy for for people, but we use the term rehabilitation. So I'm almost done with my certification for for that. And uh during the pandemic, I worked on uh becoming certified in acupuncture.

Larry 1:26:27

Well, Steven, um, I think I've taken up enough of your time today. I I really appreciate you taking this time to speak to me and and share your your information and your stories with the listeners. Um, I wish you all the best of luck when you finally get back to racing again in in Arizona. And uh good luck finding that last crew member. And uh hopefully we'll see you down the road.

SPEAKER_06 1:26:51

Yeah, thank you very much for the opportunity. It's been great.

Larry 1:26:55

Thank you. That's all for this episode. Come back next time, and I will have another updated profile for Ultraman Arizona with the