S2E11 -- Ultraman Arizona Preview

Steve King and the race director of Ultraman Arizona, Jen McVeay, join me to preview the long awaited inaugural running of the race taking place March 11-13.  We discuss the themes that cross through a number of the athletes as we introduce you to some of the racers and their crews.

Tallahassee resident and Big Sexy Racing athlete Jamie Harris (2018 and 2019 Ultraman Florida Champion) is my Athlete in Profile.  We have a great discussion about her previous races and some of her personal challenges during the pandemic while trying to prepare for UMAZ.

Check out the 515 Podcast Facebook Ultra Race March Madness bracket pool.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ultraman Arizona
• UMAZ Volunteer sign up
• UMAZ Facebook
• UMAZ Instagram
• Ultraman Florida
• Cadence Running
• Athletic Brewing Company
• AdventurUS Women
• UM Australia 
• Team Everyman Jack
• Muller Bikes
• Full Moon Bicycles 
• Badwater 135 
• Ultraman World Championships
• Vancouver Sun Run
• Vancouver Half Marathon
• Sovereign 2 SilverStar
• Big Sexy Racing 
• Ironman Florida
• Coach Chuck Kemeny (Lifesport)
• Can’t Hurt Me Book by David Goggins

Shout outs and mentions in this episode:

• Steve King
• Jen McVeay
• Fabia Maramotti
• Antonina Reznikov
• Jeff Fejfar
• James Scanlan
• Kiel Omerod
• Chuck Kemeny
• Armando Armellini
• Andy Mally
• Adam Grant
• Bill Owsley
• Vanuza Maciel
• Alexa Boyce
• Amy Butler
• Arnaud Winter
• Olga Padron
• Dan Beaver
• Hillary Biscay
• Meredith Terranova
• Paul Terranova
• Billy Rickards
• Saveria Mazzola
• Michelle Williamson
• Steven Keller   S2E10
• Ally McNaughton
• Mary Latza 
• Fiona Siemelink
• Hans Siemelink
• Mary Cavnar-Johnson
• Caroline Bloom   S2E3
• John Riordan
• Miguel Madrid
• Nicole Suss
• Jake Suss 
• Jodee Gamez
• Julie Riley
• Karime Nevarez
• Matt Barcus
• Kevin Esser
• Ben Hammer
• Jason Ream
• Jenica Barcus
• James Scanlan
• Ryan Rinear
• Keith Kennedy
• Gina Sege
• Jeremy Howard S2E8
• Chris Holtzner
• Joe Miller
• Chris Calimano
• Jordan Bryden S1E7
• Juan Craveri S1E5
• Nicole Benson
• Juan Coassolo
• Jesse Itzler
• Jim Grotkopf
• Elijah Harris
• Carla McDonald

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/

Transcript

Larry 0:41

I'm also joined in conversation with Jamie Harris as the athlete in profile for the race.

Ultraman Florida Preview

Larry 0:49

I am so happy to have my first two guests back again for this episode of 515 The Ultraman podcast. Joining me from his home in Penticton, the center of triathlon in Canada, is none other than the voice of Ultraman, Mr. Steve King. Hello, Steve.

Steve King 1:05

Hi there, Larry. Good to see you again.

Larry 1:08

Good to see you, Steve. This episode is dedicated to the preview of Ultraman Arizona, which will finally get its inaugural race on March 11th, 12th, and 13th. The staff and volunteers are ready to go. The athletes and crews will be arriving in the next couple of days. And leading the Three Ring Circus is none other than my guest, the race director of this event, Miss Jen McVeigh. Hello.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Hi Larry, good to see you again.

Larry 1:36

Yes, nice to see you, you and Steve again. This is great, great combination again for the preview. I saw Jen that you had a call out for volunteers on Facebook recently. Are you still looking for people? And if there are people in the area that want to come and help out with the race, how should they contact you?

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Yeah, we did put out a call for volunteers and then we got bombarded, which was super cool. But we can always use more directional volunteers, people that will be out on the course to cheer for the athletes, point them in the right direction, keep them on course. So if anyone local does want to come out and volunteer, they can sign up on active.com. We've got a uh registration platform on there for volunteers.

Larry 2:22

Excellent. Uh Steve, I wanted to uh give a special thank you to you for doing those daily updates from Ultraman Florida. The the listeners really appreciated those because they were they were very popular downloads. So uh thank you uh for that. And uh perhaps we can just take a couple of minutes to hear about some of your your favorite moments from Ultraman Florida from each of you. Steve, what what stood out in your mind at the Ultraman Florida this year?

Steve King 2:51

Well, I think the sheer dominance of uh Jeff Faifar's win, it was an absolutely brilliant and outstanding three days for him. And uh also the battle until that third and final day between the top two women, Fabio Marimotti of Italy and Antonina Reznikov, uh representing Israel. It was literally about 14 minutes separating them going into the third day. And Antonina had a brilliant run uh that took her uh to the top position and second place overall and top female, and uh Kyle Omerod in third place overall, second male, huge amount of time taken off. So there were there was a lot of good stuff. And James Scanlon, who's actually going to be doing Ultra Man Arizona, was actually the first man to finish the event because he was the first person across the finish line on day number three for the double marathon.

Larry 3:41

And and Jen, for for you, uh, what were some of your highlights? I I know that uh at the awards banquet, it was announced that the race director torch has now been officially passed on to you from Chuck Kennamy. Um that's got to be exciting for you. But what what else was great in the in the race for you this year?

SPEAKER_02 4:01

So much was great this year. Um yeah, it was pretty exciting to have Chuck pass that torch over. And I'm looking forward to carrying on his legacy and making him proud. Uh, fortunately, we have a really awesome staff team, staff team for Florida, best staff on the planet. And they're all sticking around, and a lot of them will also be at Arizona, which is great. And we do hope to see Chuck out there either on the staff or volunteering, uh, crewing, maybe even racing again someday. That would be fun to watch. Uh, but as far as this year's event, um 2022 was absolutely incredible. And I don't know if it was because we hadn't raced in so long. Everyone was so happy to be there and so excited. This was a really stellar group of athletes and crews who started bonding from the moment we all got there. Um, it was really great to see like how they supported each other throughout the entire week. Um, like Steve said, some of the some of the things that really stick out is watching Jeff cross that finish line on day three, becoming the champion. Um, I know how hard he worked at that. Another thing that really stuck out to me was also on day three. Lots of things on day three stick to me in my mind. Uh, one of our athletes toward the back of the pack was really struggling and was doing like I think 17 or 18 minute miles and was not on pace to finish within the cutoff time. And word came to the finish line, and suddenly all kinds of alumni popped in their cars and ran out there to help support her and get her to the finish line. And she definitely ended up picking up picking up the pace and making it to that day three cutoff. And and then, of course, there was El Plan, which I think we're gonna be talking about a little bit later. But Armando Armelini watching him do those negative splits on day three, uh, trust El Plan, and it definitely worked. So lots of things uh stood out, but overall it was just an incredible event. Uh, one of the best we've ever had, I think.

Larry 6:11

Okay, well, let's let's get started with this new uh Ultraman Arizona preview, then. Jen, would you be able to give us some of those hard numbers of the age groupers and things like that that you have in your registration files to start with?

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Sure. Uh for this one, we've got nine countries represented. We've got Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Venezuela, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and of course the USA. Uh, in our men's age groups, uh, we've got three in the 30 to 39 category, nine in the 40 to 49 category, but our biggest category is men, 50 to 59. We've got 12 men racing against each other there, and then just one in our 60 to 69 men's category. With the ladies, we've got one in the 20 to 29 year age group. We have none in the 30 to 39. I think that might be the first time that's ever happened. Six in the 40 to 49 year age group, and two in the 50 to 59 year age group. So altogether we've got nine women, 25 men, 15 of those are first-time Ultraman racers, 19 of those are alumni. So this is going to be a really fun one with that many alumni coming back to race because it's literally going to be an Ohana reunion with so many people already knowing each other.

Larry 7:41

Yeah, and I'm I'm sure that they're coming to support your new race. They they want to make sure that they're there at the inaugural race and are supporting another Ultraman race. And and that's probably the driving force behind a lot of the alumni people showing up, whether they're they're coming to crew or or coming to race.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

Yeah, it's nice to have all that support. I was thrilled with with uh how many alumni applied. And we're gonna have a lot of alumni in 2023, too, because a lot of our racers from 2020 and 2021 ended up rolling to 2023. So that should be another alumni-filled event as well.

Larry 8:17

Excellent. Well, I wanted to kind of look at the athletes today in in a few themes that definitely came up when I was looking at their profiles. You know, some people find their way to ultra-try in a variety of ways. Some are looking to see what they can do themselves, some are wanting to show others what is possible, and and some do it to celebrate either for friends or with friends and to celebrate events. But no matter what's bringing these amazing athletes to the starting line of Ultraman Arizona, each one will definitely battle with their crews through the three days to get to the finish line. Today we would like to introduce some of those athletes to you who will be bringing their stories to Arizona and sharing those stories with one another, creating and strengthening those Ohana bonds that we were just talking about. So uh the first group of athletes we want to introduce have expressed a particular reason or celebration or dedication that they are associating with their journey this time. And because so many of you listening will not be at the awards or at the finish lines of each day, I thought it would be nice to recognize these people here and to give them an even larger audience to talk about some of these things that they're racing for. So, Jen, you have a number of locals in the race. That's one of the things that ties them together. Uh, two of them will be celebrating their wedding anniversaries with the Ohana. Can you can you tell us who we're talking about in these two athletes?

SPEAKER_02 9:45

Sure. Uh the first one is Andy Malley. He um actually was born in Iowa, what one of my favorite states, but his present hometown is down in Gilbert, Arizona, down in the southeast section of the valley. So it's cool that we've got him racing with us. He and his wife are gonna be celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary at the finish line on day three. Not sure that's the best way to celebrate your anniversary, but um, but we're happy that that they're gonna be celebrating that. And it'll be nice to see his wife out there sharing for him.

Larry 10:18

And hopefully he's one of those racers that they will still be together at the end of the finish line. Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

For sure. Then we also have Adam Grant, who actually was born in Phoenix and currently lives in California, though. Adam's gonna be celebrating his birthday a couple days after the race on the 15th. And he's gonna be dedicating the race to his wife, Joyce. They're gonna be celebrating 40 years of marriage. Uh, so that's a really big celebration for sure.

Larry 10:49

Uh, Steve, do you do you have any of the interesting facts that you like to carry around about these athletes that you can share for these two?

Steve King 10:57

Well, Adam Grant is a fantastic lawyer. He's won all sorts of awards. I remember him telling me about a massive uh award that he had won on behalf of somebody, but he takes great pride too in the fact that his uh family are very, very um into what he does, but they're also uh uh well educated and they'll be following the event, no doubt. But he also got to the Big Island. We have to remember not only has he raced in Florida before, but he's also done the Big Island. He's done a dozen I mention in his career, and I think he'll be out to start things off with hopefully an improvement of his swim. He did a fantastic 322 in Florida in 2018. So I think he's very, very keen to get back into the water and get underway.

Larry 11:45

Excellent. And and Steve, many of the athletes race for a cause or for a person that is meaningful to them, often, you know, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's for a struggle or a fight that they are facing. Um the athletes honor that person and their struggles by dedicating a race to them or or for a cause that directly affects them in a lot of cases. Our next athlete is another local out of Phoenix. Uh, he has one of those race dedications. Can you tell us a little bit about Bill Owsley?

Steve King 12:16

Ah, okay. Yes, indeed I can. Um well, he's actually done, I think, 13 I men in his career. And um, I think Cor Delaine was one of his very best, but uh he's got some uh uh fascinating background as well. But as you say, one of the reasons he he's wanting to do this is because of a rare disease. It's called uh Rhett syndrome. It's a neurological and developmental uh disorder, and I believe that he knows someone, his niece, I believe uh uh Presley is her name, and uh he's doing that for that reason. And often when someone dedicates it either to a person or to a cause, it actually uh helps internally, you know, in terms of pushing through, maybe at a time when it was very dark or very uh or they're feeling like maybe they need to drop out. It's amazing how having a dedication like that can pull you through the worst of times. And as we know, over the three days uh when you've got up to 12 hours a day and all the different conditions and things that can happen, you can have some pretty low moments. So uh not only is it good for the athlete, but it's certainly good uh if they're raising money and awareness for any of these types of things. So we appreciate Bill doing that. There's also uh one of the most experienced athletes in the field. Unfortunately, a friend of hers passed away uh literally in uh at Phoenix, Arizona a while back, and uh that's Venusa Maciel from Brazil. And she has raced as high as second before. She's been, I think, second, third, fourth, and seventh at uh Ultraman World Championships, and she was the sole female finisher at that sort of distance as well in Brazil, her home country.

Larry 14:00

Do you have anything more about Venusaur, Jen?

SPEAKER_02 14:03

So we're excited also that Venusa is going to be celebrating her birthday with us. Uh, she her birthday is on uh March 9th, so we're gonna have to get some cupcakes out there uh at the uh Thursday briefing so that we can do a belated birthday celebration for her.

Larry 14:23

And and she's not the only one who's racing in honor of someone who's been lost recently as well. There were there was another racer that's uh doing that, Jen. Can you tell us about Alexa Boyce?

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Yeah, Alexa's gonna be racing with us, and she's racing in honor of a friend of hers who was also her training partner. And uh her friend's name is Amy Butler, and she recently lost her battle with breast cancer. So Alexa's dedicating this race to her in her honor. And we're excited to see Alexa race because she's she's put it in some really impressive times. Uh, she did the Lancing Marathon in a 347. She's also competed in the double anvil. So it's gonna be fun to watch Alexa race.

Steve King 15:07

Well, I agree. It's it'd be nice to see her out there after doing that double anvil, but she she's got four Iron Men to her credit as well. And uh I think we'll see her start off probably with uh around a four to four and a half hour swim based on what she's done. Uh, she raced a 117 swim in Louisville.

Larry 15:25

And as we were talking about earlier, you know, Ohana is probably one of the biggest reasons why people come back to the community year after year and race after race. Um, this next group of racers all have crews that are surrounded by family or extended Ohana. Um, Jen, do you have a count on the number of previous Ultraman racers that will be present in some form at the race?

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Yeah, I actually did a count this morning because I was curious about that. As I was going through the crew list and recognizing so many names, we actually have 42 alumni who are gonna be in some capacity at the race with us, whether they are athletes, crew members, paddlers, staff members. So there's gonna be Ohana all over the place. It's gonna be really fun.

Larry 16:15

Excellent. Yeah. And and the first racer to introduce to you under the Ohana theme is Arno Winter. And what stuck out for me was that his crew is kind of like a United Nations assembly. He lives in Fort Lauderdale and is representing France, but his crew also covers Nicaragua, South Africa, Belgium, and another person from France. So, Steve, I know that you know him from previous Ultraman races. Uh, is there anyone in his crew that you're also familiar with? Or anything you want to add about his racing?

Steve King 16:49

Well, it's the same crew, actually, he used when he raced up here in Canada. Exactly the same. And his wife, Olga, has been to each of them. And uh, I don't know if you're aware, but uh Arnau is a perfumier. And uh, once I asked him, I said, Well, did you ever make any specifically for the your partner? And he said, Absolutely. So Olga's had the benefit of a special perfume that's named after her. He's a nine-time I-Man finisher, and he's raced three times at the Ultraman distance as well, uh, including Florida, including on the Big Island in Canada. And he's also crude, which again speaks volumes for a lot of these people who are returning as athletes.

Larry 17:32

Uh Jen, the next athlete has a number of the themes that we are using today in this preview show today as well. He's a local, he's an Ohana, he has the Ohana around him, and he's an Ultraman alumni. Can you tell us a little bit about Dan Beaver?

SPEAKER_02 17:48

Yeah, Dan, I know, is really excited to race. Uh, he's been waiting for years, literally, like the rest of us. He originally registered way, way back in 2018 when we opened registration. So he's patiently waiting, and his patience is going to pay off. He's actually been training on the course a lot. Um, I keep an eye on his garment and Strava activity, and he's put in a lot of miles on our actual race course. So he definitely has that benefit of being a local. Uh, Dan has an awesome coach in Hillary Biscay, who happens to be one of our Ultraman World's women's champions back in 2013. And uh Dan owns a running store down in Gilbert, Arizona, and it's called Cadence Running Company. He's gonna have a great crew out there with him. He recently got married. His wife's gonna be on his crew. And uh another fun fact about Dan, he's gonna be racing both Iron Man World Championships this year, both at St. George and in Kona. So that's kind of cool. He's got a lot of things lined up this year.

Larry 18:57

Steve, do you have more for Dan?

Steve King 18:59

Well, yeah, as uh Jen says, he's very experienced as well. He's done like 37 IMM races in his career. He's gone under 10 hours. He's done events like the Alaska Stream, and uh he was with us in Florida in uh 2019, had a great performance there and started off the day with a 309 swim.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

The best thing I remember about Dan in Florida was actually the beer mile, the day after the double marathon being uh big sexy and Dan shuffling at the beer mile, barely being able to walk, it was pretty humorous. Another alumni who we're really excited about seeing out on the race course is Meredith Terranova. Meredith has uh raced with us before at Florida and at Worlds, and she actually pulled out an 809 run in Hawaii. So looking forward to seeing what she's gonna do on the Arizona course. She has done so many ultras, more than a hundred ultras, and she always has a smile on her face. So we love when Meredith comes out and she brings her pro crew. Her crew chief this year is gonna be her husband, Paul. And uh we know that they're gonna have lots of fun out there. So can't wait to see Meredith and her crew.

Steve King 20:21

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that as well because she loves to get to that run section. Uh, she does have a PR swim, which she did in uh Florida in 2014. I think it was a 342. Uh, but she's raced three times on the Big Island as well, uh, at the Ultraman distance, and uh has been, I think, uh fourth and fifth there. But she was second overall when she raced in Florida in the women's division. And uh, as Jen said, with 105 ultra runs behind her, she looks forward to making day three the best it can be for herself and pulling through the field and positions.

Larry 20:56

Uh Jen, I know that you know Billy quite well, so maybe you can introduce him.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Sure. Billy Rickards is coming from the Big Island of Hawaii. He lives in Waimea. He's raced with us at Florida, he's raced worlds before, and uh he actually hooked us up with one of our new sponsors, Athletic Brewing Company, which is a non-alcoholic beer, which is quite delicious. So we appreciate him hooking us up with them. He's bringing with him a very experienced crew chief, uh, his friend Severia. She crewed for him in Hawaii back in 2019. She actually has her own really interesting story. Severia founded and created a company called Adventurous Woman. And this is a women, women owned and led company, and they're dedicated to providing opportunities for women to learn new skills and try lots of outdoor activities in lots of different beautiful environments. Um, I know recently they did uh an adventure in Bend, Oregon. They go to, they've been to the mountains in Georgia. Georgia. They go all over the place. I want to go to one of these things someday. But Billy's got some other interesting things about him because he also has been a dolphin trainer. And there's not a lot of alumni who can say that for sure. He also is a pretty good musician. He plays the trombone and the drums and the guitar. And during the pandemic, Billy and I actually wrote a song together. And it's dedicated to our friend Michelle. And if she's listening to this podcast, this is the very first time she's ever heard about this. And we've never performed it for anyone. So maybe we'll perform it in Arizona. We'll see.

Larry 22:40

Oh, there we go. Breaking news.

Steve King 22:43

Well, I sure look forward to that song because I was aware he was a musician. And uh uh as some of you may know, I I wrote uh the i Man Canada song and uh um it got a lot of play for quite a while there. But I look forward, it'd be nice to have an official Ultraman song as well. We should look at that. But uh I I think you know the other thing for Billy is uh he's now into that uh 50 to 59 category, but he was just with us a couple of weeks ago for Ultraman Florida as a crew with Michelle uh for the man with the plan. And so uh we're delighted to see him back because he has raced on the Big Island, of course, he is from away, but he also has raced in Florida. I did that in 2019, and he'll be looking maybe to go sub three and a half hours for the start of his swim. He's uh four times raced on the Big Island at the I-Man distance as well.

Larry 23:33

Well, Jen, you might have to uh arrange for uh a drum set to be set up at the dinner so Steve can join you two on the on the song.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

Yeah, I'll see what I can do about that.

Larry 23:46

Uh our next athlete has a connection to animals as well. Um and and a connection to Michelle. Uh Steve Keller is a veterinarian, and he was my athlete in profile for Ultraman Arizona in the last episode. So go back and listen to that episode if you want to learn more about him. Um, Jen, what makes his crew so special?

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Well, back in 2020 when he became our men's champion at Ultraman Florida, he had a crew that was lovingly called Team Caban, which stands for Keller, Billy, Armando, and Michelle and Ellie. Um, so his crew was made up of Billy Rickards, Armando Armelini, both of who are racing Ultraman, Arizona, and Michelle Williamson, who is going to be crewing for him again this year at Arizona. So I think this year the team name is gonna be Team Cam because it's an all-female crew with Michelle and Allie and Mary. Mary Latza is gonna be joined joining the crew, so that's a great addition. So I think with all of Team Cabam at Ultraman, Arizona, except Michelle, who's crew chiefing but not racing, we're kind of pushing Michelle that she needs to do Florida or Arizona next year, and she needs to get the guys to come and crew for her. So it would be really fun to see Armando and Billy and Steve Keller crewing for Michelle at one of the races next year. But we're we're really excited to see Steve race. Obviously, we want to see what he can do on this course. He loves hills, even though he doesn't live in the hilliest area. Um, and he he he and I were texting the other day because he he seems to think I'm secretive about what the courses are. But the the the day two course has been available for several years on Ride with GPS. And I finally posted it and let everybody know, hey you guys, it's been sitting there, so I'm not that secretive. But uh I can't wait to see what he does, especially on that day two course for sure.

Steve King 26:01

Yeah, I I can't wait for that either because he certainly is the pre-race favorite. Remember, in his previous two outings, he's had a second and an overall win. And uh he went uh when he had that overall win, it was his first time going sub three hours for the swim portion. He uh is now the owner of the fourth fastest time ever with a 2149-16. Uh, he set the best total bike time as well for the total bike for day one and two with an 1141.10. And that's uh the second fastest uh day two time, second fastest only to Jeff Pfeffer, who set the fastest time just a couple of weeks ago. But he he did a 746 uh when he did that, and then the uh top three fastest ever runner with a 702-52. And I know this last year he he did a couple of 50k runs as well, one of which he won overall. So he's in fine form and certainly would be the pre-race favorite.

Larry 27:01

Uh Steve, do you want to introduce Fiona to us?

Steve King 27:05

Ah, Fiona, yeah, I certainly would, because Fiona is someone who represents like three countries, uh uh South Africa, the UK, and she is now an American citizen. It's great to see another alumni coming back with her in the form of her husband hands as well. They both raced here, and uh, she's raced uh five previous Ultimat events as well. We've seen her in Canada, um you've seen her in Florida and on the Big Island, and in fact, her best swim was on the big island. She did a 405, and she's got uh two firsts in her age category as well. So we're delighted to see she's back. She's taken on extreme events as well. She's done like 120 of marathons and uh 21 I men, I believe, including uh winning her age group, by the way, at the Alaska Extreme event. She and Hans both went and did that.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

Yeah, Fiona has an experienced crew in Hans, Hansie. We lovingly call him. And she's also bringing an athlete that she coaches that's gonna help Hans on the crew. Uh, her name is Mary Kavnar Johnson. And Mary actually won her age group, the 60 to 64 age group at Iron Man, Florida. And she's heading to Kona Iron Man this year in 2022. And rumor has it she's gonna be applying for Ultraman Arizona in 2023. So looking forward to meeting Mary in person for sure.

Larry 28:30

And then I assume that Hans and Fiona will come back and crew for her.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

I would assume so, yes.

Larry 28:37

We will be back with the rest of the preview in just a moment. I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who voted in the first round matchups of the 515 podcast March Madness pool on our Facebook page. If you haven't checked it out yet, it's not too late. I have set up an ultra-race bracket pool to find out which race the listeners would most like to do as part of their bucket list. Or to do again because the experience was so great. Each week, new races are put in head-to-head matchups for you to vote on. If you are listening right after the drop of this episode, then the matchups are currently the group A semifinals. It has Ultraman World Championship up against the Barclay Marathons and Ultra MX 515 against the Marathon de Saab. MX-515 had the most votes for any race in the first round. Starting Monday will be the Group C semifinals with Ultra 520 Canada versus the Ultra Challenge Israel and Ram versus Epic 5. I suspect that will be a battle. And both of Jen's races, Ultraman Arizona and Ultraman Florida, made it through the first round and will be up for voting again in the Group D semifinals starting March 28th. So jump over to the 515 Podcast Facebook page after this podcast and make your votes count. And please, share the post with your ultra friends so they can join in the contest too. And now, back to our preview. The next athlete is someone that you can get to know even better in a few minutes, as she will be my Ultraman Arizona athlete in profile for this episode. Jen, this athlete has some people close to you on her crew. Can you tell us about Jamie Harris's Ohana crew?

SPEAKER_02 30:37

Yeah, Jamie is bringing another pro crew, all very experienced. She's bringing Chuck Kemene as her crew chief. He obviously knows everything there is to know about racing and winning an Ultraman. She's also bringing Caroline Bloom and John Reardon, both of whom are Ultraman Florida alumni. So very, very experienced crew, and we're lucky to have them on the Florida staff as well. Um, Jamie, as I'm sure you're going to preview later, was our Ultraman Florida women's champ in both 2018 and 2019. And I believe she is our favorite going into Ultraman, Arizona for the women.

Steve King 31:18

Yeah, I would agree with that. And interestingly, she was obviously part of the team in terms of organizing and helping uh Ultraman Florida. And but uh during the course of her volunteering, she was uh spinning on a bike quite often because she knew this event obviously was coming up, didn't want to lose any training time. But the 46-year-old is in great form and she knows the sport well. Uh, having uh uh raced at Ultraman Florida on three occasions and with those two wins that Jen mentioned, and uh she has got a 301 start in terms of her best swim. I think she's in fine form, and we can see obviously the two winners. We do need to remember this is the inaugural Ultraman Arizona. So who whoever takes the victories overall for the men and women are going to set the benchmark times. And that also applies to those that would win their age categories. So these are the lucky people who are going to be the first ones to be at that start line and hopefully all to the finish line on day three. Uh, but Jamie also has put in some big runs. She did a hundred miler in the keys, and so I think she's looking to try and improve on each section. We certainly would um expect her to do really, really well on that bike portion as she has done before.

Larry 32:34

And the next two athletes are taking the Ohana aspect of this race to the next level. They are both coached by their spouses, and both mentioned for an odd reason, another connection, I don't know, that the cacti and the beauty of Arizona are the main reason that they are coming to this race. So one is representing Spain, and the other is having a homecoming as they were born in Phoenix. Steve, what do you know about these two cacti lovers, Miguel Madrid and Nicole Suss?

Steve King 33:07

Oh, okay. Uh well, Miguel, um, I know did the Ultraman distance race in Australia. Uh, that was in 2019. He did uh, I think it was around 31.14. And uh I know he wants to get to the Big Island to do the world championships. When he raced in Australia, he did, I think it was a 456 start on the swim. So um that doesn't leave him too much time. And day two on the bike is pretty hilly, I understand. There's a lot of climbing in Arizona, so we certainly look forward to him uh being there. And the Spaniards just love these distances and these races. So we're delighted to see Spain is represented. And Nicole Sush, just 27 years of age, I believe. So the youngest athlete in the field, um, male and female, three times at the I-man distance as well, six times at the 70.3. Her husband Jake, uh, it takes a lot of guts. Uh husband Jake, they're partners in coaching as well, but he's going to be on the crew, but she's also got her in-laws, uh Sid and Kim, that are going to be there. So that's going to be interesting to see how things pan out for them. But uh, I think it's great that they both love to be there, and we certainly wish all the best. She has represented the USB four at world uh championships at uh sprints and Olympic distance.

Larry 34:25

And and Jen, I know you like to recognize the service members, so maybe you want to talk a little bit more about Nicole.

SPEAKER_02 34:32

Definitely. I find her occupation to be really interesting. Uh, she's a special agent criminal investigator for the United States Air Force, and I'm totally into NCIS. And so I love that kind of stuff. So I'm definitely going to want to pick her brain a little bit. Maybe I'll wait till the awards dinner, though.

Larry 34:51

So Nicole is one of the people who is new to doing the distance, uh, but she's not the only one new to doing the distance. As we mentioned, there are 15 new athletes in the field. So in this next part, I'd just like to speak about a few of these athletes, the the newcomers to the race. So uh I understand that the next athlete overheard about the race at a double anvil and that that they were crewing at, and and then they had their interest peaked and sent out an email to you, Jen. Uh, can you share a little bit about uh Jody Gamma's?

SPEAKER_02 35:24

Yeah, Jody back in March of 2020, right before everything like turned to chaos, she was at the double anvil in Florida, and her neighbor had mentioned to her that Ultraman Arizona had just been canceled. Um, it was originally scheduled to take place the following weekend. So, out of curiosity, Jody hopped on the website, and applications were still being accepted because we knew we were gonna um have a lot of drops and we're gonna have openings. And she applied, and the rest is history. So uh I'm glad that she overheard her neighbor, and we're looking forward to seeing Jodi race with us.

Steve King 36:06

Well, she's out of the Lone Star State, they breed them top there, and she's done a couple of iron bands, so it's neat to see there are some people who do one Iron Man and go straight to Ultraman. Well, she's done two. Uh I think it was Waco and uh Kozamel, I believe, was the other one that she did. And she's done five races at the 70.3 distance as well. And she's also over two days done a 250-mile uh in in terms of cycling. So I think she'll have the the push, the the strength, and hopefully the time that will get her there inside those 12-hour limits each and every day.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

Uh, our next athlete that we wanted to profile is Julie Riley. Julie is coming from Little Rock, Arkansas. I think this is our first Arkansas, Arkansas? I don't know how you say that. This is our first athlete from Arkansas, as far as I can remember, in uh doing any of our Ultraman races. I could be wrong. Steve can correct me on that because he knows where everybody is from. Uh Julie has done lots of different things. Uh, she's done many different ultras. She's done four Iron Man. She has also done eight uh half Iron Man uh as well. Steve, what do you have to add about Julie?

Steve King 37:23

Well, uh I'm fascinated by the fact that she is also a great skydiver. Uh, she's done over a thousand skydives. Remember, we've got a couple of people, in fact, who do those 50 miles or 100 miles where you skydive before you start uh running. Uh her husband's done over 2,000 jumps, I understand. So, but the other thing is she's done a 10K before in terms of swimming. She's done what they call the bridge-to-bridge. She did that, I think, three years ago, and around three hours. So she could be right up there in the swim, of course, uh, along with Jamie, who would expect to be around that same time.

Larry 37:59

And then staying in the rookie category, Steve, we have another woman in the 40 to 49 age group named Karim Neveres.

Steve King 38:09

Yeah, she's actually listed though in the 50 to 59 now because of the birth date. They go as at the 31st of December this this year. So there are some people right on the cusp of that. But she's another uh athlete from Texas, uh, 10 times at the 70.3, a couple of times at Worlds. Uh, she's done Ir Man Cosumel, Louisville, Texas, as a uh PR, I believe just uh uh 11 hours, eight minutes, something like that. And uh I know she in Louisville, she went sub one and a half hour for a swim. So I would expect her to again be looking at somewhere around four to four fifteen on the swim to get things underway. But it it's exciting to see this many people who want to take it on because as we I think we're looking at in terms of when you add up those who have done an Ultraman before and an Ultraman distance race, we've got 14 Ultraman virgins that are hoping that by the end of day three that they'll be a big part of the family.

SPEAKER_02 39:05

Another thing I want to mention about Kareem, she is dedicating her race to children with autism, especially uh her son and his classmates. And so it this is gonna be a real special one for her. Um, all of those who dedicate a race to somebody like that, is it it just it means more than just racing for yourself.

Larry 39:27

Yeah, I think I think as Steve brought that up earlier, that's the thing that's gonna, particularly for a rookie, maybe, really help propel them to that finish line. Now, in the men's 40 to 49 division, there is an athlete who will be racing for the first time as well, but who has crewed before, and it looks like he has surrounded himself with a very experienced crew. Uh, Jen, can you tell us about Matt Barkas?

SPEAKER_02 39:58

Sure. Um, Matt is very fast and he has a very experienced crew. So it's going to be interesting to see what he can do out there. His crew chief is his friend Kevin Esser. Uh, and Matt crewed for Kevin at the Ultra 520K in Canada uh several years ago. And then they both decided to do this distance event, and he was able to race in 2019. He is a Kona finisher as well. Then he's also got his friends Ben and Jason, and then his wife Jenica will be crewing as well. Ben and Jason are both Everyman Jack teammates of Matt's, and they're both Kona finishers. Jenica is the only non-triathlete in the bunch, uh, but I'm sure that she's gonna keep all of these guys uh in line out there on the race course. Uh Matt's got some really impressive personal uh bests. He did an 853 at Iron Man, Texas in 2018. Uh, he's also done nine hours at Iron Man, Arizona. Steve, what else can you add about Matt?

Steve King 41:05

Well, the fact that uh he's also on that same team as Jeff Fafar, the Everyman Jack uh squad that speaks volumes. Uh, got some wonderful athletes there. Uh, I think he's done 10 Iron Men, he's won a couple of them uh uh in his age category as well, 14 times at the 70.3, he's done a 249 uh marathon at the uh in Boston as well. So I think he's someone that obviously Steve Keller will be watching out for, especially when it comes to that third and final day.

SPEAKER_02 41:36

This next group of athletes is doing what we call the double. They all just completed Ultraman, Florida a few weeks ago, and they're gonna be racing at Ultraman, Arizona as well. Those include Armando Armelini, who we mentioned earlier. He is the one that had the strategy known as El Plan. He did an 1155-33 run at Ultraman Florida, gave us all a heart attacks. We didn't think he was gonna make it. We also have James Scanlon, he was the first to finish the Ultraman Florida run a few weeks ago. He loves hills, so he should do pretty well in Arizona. We also have Ryan Rainier. He uh definitely won the most adorable finish award at Ultraman Florida. His little baby son Mac ran up to him at the day three finish line. And then we also have Keith Kennedy. Uh his crew chief Gina was amazing. She rocked it in Florida, and she's coming back to help him get across that Arizona finish line.

Steve King 42:35

Well, I think it's wonderful because uh two of those are actually hoping to do three or even four. Armando Armelini is hoping to do four of them in a 12-month period. We've had a number of people, like a dozen people, who've done three in a 12-month period before, but uh it'll be fascinating to see if these two guys can make that. So, Armando, of course, uh he's done 11 I men. He has also crewed many times, so it's wonderful. And he's coached by the one and only Jeremy Howard. So we know he's in good stead. The plan worked. Let's hope he can stick to the plan. James Scanlon, that was uh fascinating to him because he's done a 241. He's in the 50, I think he's 53 now, but he he did a 246 uh marathon in Berlin. That put him in great stead to move like six or seven places up the field uh after day number two to end up in a great position. As Jen said, the first man to actually cross the finish line. But he started off with a 436 swim. I think he would love to improve on that. He's done five I men before, and I think what's impressive too is the man who was third at Ultraman uh Florida, Kyle Ormerod from Canada, he's actually going to be crewing for him. So a lot of uh uh giving back there. We appreciate that. Uh Keith Kennedy, he had done one I man before taking on the Ultraman Florida. Uh and so he's looking to do now three this year because I think he wants to go to the Big Island, of course, as well. He's done about 30 ultras in his career. And he was very concerned about the swim, but thanks to John Reardon and uh to his wife as well, because uh she did a marvelous job. Uh, he ended up with a 351. So he was a happy camper. Uh, he lost a little time on the run, but that was uh simply going uh slightly off course. But that can happen. Ryan Manier, I think uh Ryan's another person to watch out for because he's a brilliant swimmer. He he did a 243, uh, is his best. He did a 248 this time out, and uh that was his uh second time in Florida, but he he's at a top six placing there. Of course, he's done a four I am in a 1037 there, and he's crude, but right now those four guys are all looking to get to the finish line for another Ultraman and the inaugural Ultraman Arizona event.

Larry 44:47

And and I think Ryan Rainier probably has a slight advantage in that uh if anything goes wrong with his bike, his crew member is the designer of the bike. So I'm sure it'll get fixed immediately and properly.

Steve King 45:04

Well, we just need everyone to buy a bike from JB or Chris uh Holtzner because uh he would be there, he would have a bike uh all over the place uh to get. But we've got to remember the they can only use a second bike if there's a major emergency and it's approved by the uh bike mechanic, and that has to be the race bike mechanic, not their own one.

SPEAKER_02 45:26

We actually had an incident this week. Uh, one of our athletes, Chris Calamano, shipped his bike out early to California and it cracked. And so he immediately, you know, got on the horn with us, and and JB got his uh dimensions and is offering up one of his personal bikes that he built. Uh, but Chris thinks he can probably get his repaired because California's got a little more resources. So if he doesn't get it repaired, though, he's going to be riding a full moon bicycle at Ultraman, Arizona.

Steve King 46:00

Well, I'm glad you brought up Chris Calamano because he's out in New York and he is someone else to watch out for. Even though he didn't do as well as he would have liked when he was with us in 2016, started off with a 410 swim. He has done the double anvil and he's actually won 40 events and some different types of events. He's done that skydive 50, I mentioned a 50 miler, but he's also won the uh race where you uh run up the World Trade Center, the staircase race. So, I mean, he is definitely someone to watch for. He's done Death Valley. Um, he is someone who has won uh those backyard events, but he did one with the world champion Jordan Bryden uh put one on uh online uh last year. And uh he ended up staying for two days, just continuing to ride and be bested everybody in that.

Larry 46:50

Yeah, I did have Jordan Bryden on the podcast in season one in episode seven, and we talked about that backyard challenge. Well, um, we could not do a preview show without including another Badwater racer, one of the most prolific racers on the planet, to whom all three of us know quite well. Steve, you've called this man's adventures many times, and Jen, both you and I have had the pleasure of crewing for this amazing athlete. He appeared as an Ohana guest on the podcast back in season one in episode five. So I recommend listeners that are new to racing this distance go back and listen to that episode because he he gave some really good tips on how to do that race or or speak to him at the race if you're one of these rookies coming up uh for Arizona this year. Uh Jen, uh who are we talking about?

SPEAKER_02 47:44

Well, we are obviously talking about the Juan and only Juan Criveri from Argentina. Uh, because he is the Juan and only, I have assigned him race number Juan for Ultraman, Arizona. And after that, everybody will be in alphabetical order by first name. But I had to give the Juan the Juan. Uh I have crewed Juan so many times I can no longer count, um, including three times at Badwater. And uh this year his crew chief is gonna be one of our staff from Ultraman, Florida, Nicole Benson, who is a very experienced staff member and crew chief. She has crewed many times at Ultraman, Florida. So I know the Juan will be in very good hands. Um I am personally going to train her on how to properly choose what time the Juan will poop on day three for the poop contest. And they will be sporting their Team Wonderful crew shirts out there. And another fun fact about the Juan is that he is the only person in the world who has ever done every single Ultraman branded event. So it was pretty obvious when we started this one that he was going to be one of the first people to sign up and get registered so that he could keep that record intact.

Larry 49:03

Yeah, Steve, tell us a little bit more about that.

Steve King 49:06

Yeah, one, I I love this guy. He's brilliant. He, in fact, we've got to remember he represents Argentina, but you've got another one from Argentina and Juan Car Solo as well, who raced in Florida and Hawaii in 2018. So it's great to see him back with us. But uh Juan Criveri, I I love the fact that Jen gave him number one because he's also got more Ultram races under his belt than any other athlete in the field with 13 of them. He's done 61 IMAM races, I believe, as well. He's uh twice uh done the epic five. And as Jen mentioned, Death Valley. And I remember a few years ago on the Big Island, uh, the day before the race, he ended up slicing uh one of his feet up when he uh uh was getting out with a coral, and um it was heavily bandaged. And I couldn't believe when I saw how bad it was that he was able to cycle and run and still get to that finish line. He has a best uh of about three and a half hours for the swim, did that some 12 years ago uh up in Canada, in fact. Uh as Jen said, it's wonderful that this man has done all the others. When you think he he was in Wales, when he raced in Wales at Ultraman UK, uh like a week later, he did their Iron Man race as well. So he's a really gunsy guy. And uh hopefully his family will be tuning in. It's hard to believe. We've watched that family grow in terms of uh the kids uh and their ages, just a wonderful family.

Larry 50:33

Yeah, um I suspect that his good swim back in 2011 might have had something to do with his paddler who was guiding him. Uh, that was none other than yours truly when Lucy and I crewed for him at Ultraman Canada. Well, that's uh pretty much all the time we have to discuss the people that are coming. Um, Steve, was there anybody else that you really wanted to highlight that we we haven't hit on?

Steve King 50:58

Well, let me think. Well, Jesse Itzler, I only found out this morning that this gentleman is actually going to be with us. And uh for some people who may not be aware, he used to go under the name Jesse James. He was a rap singer and had a couple of big hits on the Billboard Hot 100, but he is quite the entrepreneur. He was the uh as an author, he's a rapper, as I said, but he he was the co-founder of Marquee Jet, one of the largest private jet uh car companies in the world. He was a partner in Zico Coke, and up water, sold that to Coca-Cola as the founder of the Hundred Mile Group, and he's one of the owners of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. So, you know, his wife is also the person who uh started Spanks. Uh, and so I think we're really going to be uh pleased to see what he does. He's written a couple of books. I know he spent time with the Navy SEAL um learning stuff, but he he utilized that and puts on uh camps for people uh where they paid quite a bit to uh be with him and learn how to dig deep. And certainly it'll be interesting to see how deep he's able to dig. Uh he's done uh, I think 50 marathons in his career, he's done a couple of hundred milers, he's done one Iron Man, so he's going straight up to the Ultraman distance at the triathlon. So we'll see whether he's uh run DMC fan.

Larry 52:18

Well, uh Jen, maybe we'll just uh finish off with any uh updates you want to give us to this secret course that you have. Um I know that you you were having to change it the last time we spoke due to some permitting or uh road construction or something. So now that we're only a couple of weeks out, I assume it's all set. Um any any highlights or updates that you need to give out for the for the people listening at home?

SPEAKER_02 52:44

Well, our courses are set, but of course, because of the way states and counties and cities work, the permits are not signed. I'm sure we'll have permits, you know, a day or two before the race because you know, I need more stress in my life. Um we're not too concerned about that, but we do have all three days' worth of courses set. And we are gonna be keeping the day one course up in the northern area of of the valley now, and they're gonna be finishing at Lake Pleasant. And so there it's gonna be a different boat ramp where we finish from where we started. Uh, but crews will be a little more familiar with the area, a little bit bit easier for the athletes to know where they're going. We're gonna take them through some hills where we've added an extra thousand to twelve hundred feet of climbing since we changed that course. So day one's gonna be a little bit hillier than it was originally. But we're uh looking forward to it for sure. We're in the last minutes of planning, printing all the binders, you know, ordering toilets at the last minute, all kinds of things like that.

Larry 53:54

All those last minute things that a race director takes care of. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:57

Right.

Larry 53:58

And and Steve, um, this will probably be your next race that you call. But do you have anything else coming up over the summer this year? Have you booked anything else?

Steve King 54:06

Oh, yeah. I've got quite a few events that are now uh going to take place. I'm really delighted that uh, you know, things are happening again. It's great to see the athletes. That's why it was such a thrill to be there in Florida to see the Ultraman family again and everyone who's involved. Uh, and I'm delighted Jim Grotkoff is going to be joining me again uh in uh uh Arizona. We we make a good team. But um yeah, I've got the Vancouver Sunrun coming up. As you know, we have up to 50,000 runners in that event. The Vancouver Marathon is coming up. We've got some triathlons that are going to start fairly soon as well. But I've also got a brand new ski race that's coming up that's going to be uh from Sovereign Lake to Silverstar. And it's two days of racing. The first day is uh classic, second day uh is going to be, of course, skate ski, and uh it's at the marathon distance. So uh people can do uh the heart a 21k or a 42k either day. And so we've got some American and Canadian Olympians coming to join us.

Larry 55:05

And that'll be happening obviously in the in the Okanagan area. Those are the names you can.

Steve King 55:10

Yeah. Yeah.

Larry 55:11

Well, excellent. That's some good stuff to look forward to. Finally, finally, stuff to look forward to. Well, uh, good luck to you guys with uh organizing the event and and getting all the athletes safely across those three days of finish lines. And uh we'll look forward to hearing some updates as to what's happening. And Jen, as last time, what is the best way to keep up to date with the race as live as possible?

SPEAKER_02 55:38

As live as possible, head over to our Instagram or our Facebook pages. Uh, we're gonna have several staff out there on the course and at the finish line that are gonna be updating uh the Instagram and the Facebook, and we're gonna try to get pictures of every single athlete uh loaded up and finish line picks, everything. We're gonna try to keep it as busy as possible out there. If if we do have a little bit of lag time, sometimes we do have areas on the course that don't have any signal at all. So just be patient. We will update you as soon as we can.

Larry 56:12

Excellent. All right. Well, it's been nice speaking to both of you again for this preview show. Uh they're very popular. The last one was uh one of the quickest downloads uh records that we've had on the podcast. So um I'm sure people will be listening to this one just as much. All right. Thank you guys for uh coming in again.

unknown 56:31

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 56:32

Thanks for having us. Thanks, Larry.

Larry 56:37

Remember, you can check out the show notes for any of the links for upcoming Ultraman Arizona.

Jamie Harris Conversation

Larry 56:45

My athlete in profile today will be racing at the inaugural Ultraman Arizona on March the 11th, 12th, and 13th. She is a member of the Big Sexy Racing Team, a multiple Iron Man finisher, and a two-time Ultraman Florida champion in 2018 and 2019. She also competed there in 2017. In fact, she resides in the state of Florida, and today she is joining me from her hometown, the capital city, Tallahassee. Welcome to the 515 podcast, Jamie Harris.

SPEAKER_04 57:19

Hey, how are you? Glad to be here.

Larry 57:22

I I am well. I am well, and I'm glad to have you here. Uh so you recently returned from Ultraman, Florida, the the rerunning, the coming back of Ultraman, Florida after COVID cancellations. Um, what were you doing down at the race? Were you there as a spectator, a crew member, volunteer? What was it?

SPEAKER_04 57:42

I was there as staff this year. Um mostly I was involved in the start and finish line setup and takedown. And so it was an early morning, but I was just absolutely thrilled to be down there with my with some of my good friends and my Ultraman family and community. And I feel like I was more excited about being there for that event and just being able to be present and help out however I could than like I was that I've been feeling excited about my upcoming race. So yeah, yeah, it's a different sort of excitement, you know.

Larry 58:28

Yeah, of course. Yeah, you get that you get to go back and see everybody and and reconnect, and and there's no pressure with the race to be to be had.

SPEAKER_06 58:36

Yeah.

Larry 58:37

So I I saw that your your age group record uh was taken down this year by Antonina Reznikov. Um yeah. I understand she's a pro though, so are you okay with that?

SPEAKER_04 58:51

Yeah, absolutely. Um it it was a lot of fun to get to watch everybody race, and there were some really strong women in the field this year, and that was like super fun to be able to see them and and and I admire them.

Larry 59:10

I understand that people really enjoyed watching Fabia take on the pro and Antonina. Can you can you tell us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_04 59:18

So she was really impressive, and her attitude um was was impressive, and it was just fun to watch her because she was always smiling. She seemed to like really enjoy it and have such a good time and such a good attitude the whole through the throughout the whole thing. Um so that was that was fun to see.

Larry 59:40

Um is that how you race? Do you do you have fun while you're racing, or is it like I do have fun, but I don't know that that really like shows that that really comes through a whole lot.

SPEAKER_04 59:53

Um, I tend to have a real serious face just in my day-to-day life. And so when I get really focused on something, you know, I have that serious, focused face. And um, there are times when I try to remember like to smile, and especially like when I'm struggling, I think about some of the things that I've like learned throughout the years um in racing. And you know, if you smile, um you know it it kind of hurts less sometimes. And so, you know, I so I start to cheer other people on, and you know, and then I'm not as self-focused, and you know, it can help get me out of you know, the a dark place if I'm in one. Right, yeah.

Larry 1:00:42

And and the good news is um if you win your age group at Ultraman Arizona, you'll you'll have another record.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:50

Yeah, because it'll be the first race.

Larry 1:00:53

Yeah. All you gotta do is win your age group.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:56

Right.

Larry 1:00:57

Easy, right? Easy, easy. I mean, I'm sure your coach has laid out the plan that's gonna make that happen for you. I understand that in the beginning you were working without a coach, but now you are working with coach Chuck, Chuck Kennemy from Ultraman Florida. So you're in good hands there. When did you decide to to get a coach? And what exactly were you looking for when you started looking?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:23

Yeah, I picked him up in 2013, about uh probably about eight or nine weeks before Iron Man Florida 2013. So I think I've done Iron Man Florida five times, uh, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 21. I had self-trained for the first one, and then pretty much I had self-trained up until um I asked Chuck for his help. Um, and really what my struggle was with was with uh nutrition. And so that was what got me to reach out to him and talk to him a little bit about nutrition, and and I thought, and then I thought, well, um, you know, maybe I really do need a coach. And I decided to go ahead and um and get on board with coaching. I up until that point I had wanted to sort of uh spend as little as possible on on the sport, and that wasn't something I thought that I should or could spend my money on. And so that took a little bit of of time for that evolution to happen and to be me to be willing to spend that money on coaching.

Larry 1:02:42

Yeah. Um, well, I guess that the the dividends that come back from the coaching that allow you to have more enjoyment of the racing and then your and your triumphs as you're as you're going, it it it pays off in the end.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:54

It does.

Larry 1:02:55

Yeah, it just takes the time to come around to that. And and when you're looking ahead now to Ultraman Arizona, do you feel like uh you're prepared for this race? Uh you've had a long, long time to get ready for it, a couple years. Uh I'm sure that the training cycles have been up and down and up and down, but so are you feeling prepared for for the race?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:18

I think yes. I'm as prepared as I can be at this point in time. Yeah, there have definitely been ups and downs to this particular training and in the last couple of years leading up to this race, because you know, it was supposed to happen in March of 2020.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:39

Right.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:40

Right. And so I was definitely trained up for that. And my bike had left. Uh had gotten picked up from the bike shop by EPS. Um, and a few hours later I got the email that it was canceled. Um, and then you know, we tried again to prepare for November, and then that was canceled. Uh had a few things happen. I had surgery in 20, I guess it was 2020 in June. I had a kidney surgery and then I was so I was down and down for about six weeks or so um and didn't wasn't training at all.

Larry 1:04:27

Yeah, that'll that'll put a big hamper in uh in the ability to keep those those miles up.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:33

Yeah, but then it's it's funny because um I didn't really didn't really do a whole lot after that. The pools were closed, and then they had limited hours, and then I started going less and less. And swimming is something I've continued to do um, you know, for all these years now, and I've done it regularly, like three times a week, and um I had my training buddies at the pool, and then when everything was shut down, I stopped going, and that was kind of the easiest thing to sort of let go, and I could run by myself, you know, and it was just hard to get to the pool for a really long time, and I got out of the habit, got out of the habit of getting up early, and then I just kind of felt like more and more isolated, and I wasn't riding with my friends outside in my normal training group that I ride with on the weekends, and um so yeah, those those habits are really important to keep keep you motivated and to keep things going, and and I know a lot of people were struggling with that during COVID, you know, people getting stuck on their trainers indoors, yeah. You know, and and even though I'm very much an introvert, I still I really like uh my friend, like you know, my Training partners, and they're not people that I go and hang out with otherwise, but they're reliable like this reliable group that I get together with and just do that particular activity, you know, and um and we all enjoy it, and and that's something that you know a lot of us in particular, you know, in me, I need. Um, and then I had a couple little nagging injury type things, um, just things that were really bugging me and that were hard to train through. And so I had some struggles. Um, and then I finally um went, you know, and got an injection because I was having some pelvic pain. And I went to the orthopedist and he finally figured it out. And like in May of last year, I was finally able the end of May, I was finally able to start training again and felt good.

Larry 1:06:55

Well, that's good. That's that you were able to get through that time and and and get back to your regular training routine. All right. Well, uh, we've come to the point of our conversation where we want to get into the transition round where we transition from your athletic career over to your more personal life. So when people meet you at Arizona, you know, they'll try and find some connections to have those conversations with. And and hopefully some of this personal stuff we can we can share with them will do that as well, not just not just your racing career. So are you ready for the rapid fire questions?

SPEAKER_04 1:07:33

Sure. I don't know that I'm great at rapid fire answers, but okay.

Larry 1:07:39

There we go. What do you like to do for fun that doesn't involve twin biker running?

SPEAKER_04 1:07:45

I like group fitness classes. I do like uh cardio kickboxing other sorts of like high intensity cardio type locality.

Larry 1:08:10

I use the coin. Is there anything that you have recently bent or that you have on your desktop? All right. Um tell us a little bit about how your home life and the commitments there um what do you what do you have going on and and how do you balance that with your triathlon training in racing? And and maybe you want to do a quick shout out to your son for his birthday, I understand.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:43

Oh yeah, yeah. So my son just had his birthday on Saturday, he's 23. So happy birthday, Elijah. He was with me at my first Ultraman and helped crew for me in 2017. And he turned 18 on that Sunday, so that was fun.

Larry 1:10:08

Did he get out and run with you as well? He did. Is he a bit of an athlete?

SPEAKER_04 1:10:15

Uh, he was a swimmer, swam a little bit in college. He always is very encouraging.

Larry 1:10:20

Is he still living at home or has he moved out?

SPEAKER_04 1:10:22

He is not, he's living in St. Augustine. Yeah, so it's just the two of us at home. My wife, Carla. Um, she has crewed for me uh all three times. She will not be going with me to Arizona only because she's in nursing school at FSU currently, where I went to nursing school. And she's always very encouraging of my training, and she helps support me in whatever I need. Um, if I say I'm gonna I need this thing, or I'm gonna I have this goal, then she's like, How can I support you? And she's off like doing the research about what it is and what I need, and so it's super awesome.

Larry 1:11:13

And yeah, I feel like I think most most people in the Ultraman community have that strong support behind them in some form.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:24

I'm so glad I do because I couldn't I couldn't do it without her, and you know, obviously, like if she if she didn't support me in it and then our relationship would likely suffer, you know, because if she doesn't want me, you know, doing races or training, then you know, then she'd be unhappy and I'd be unhappy.

Larry 1:11:50

And so yeah. Yeah, it is it is a big commitment on on the person who is part of that as well.

unknown 1:11:57

Yeah.

Larry 1:11:58

To be able to pick up.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:59

I'm lucky. She she does some of my training with me. She'll go out on my runs with me a lot of times, or um, if I have like a particularly long run, sometimes she'll ride her bike um while I'm running.

Larry 1:12:13

A lot of people will say that, you know, I want to show what I can do to my son or daughter and what what I'm capable of so that they know what strength looks like and they can also do these things and or whatever it is that they want to do. Was that part of your drive in Iron Man or Ultraman as well? Is I've got this this son that I want to show um that that I can do this and that he could do this if he wants to, or whatever it is that he wants to do. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:42

Yeah, absolutely. I wasn't being the best that I could be. And when I found out I was pregnant, I was 22, I decided um, you know, that I was gonna be the best version of me for this other person. And um, and so, you know, and it was it was sort of an evolution, obviously.

Larry 1:13:09

And and what was what was your family life like then as a young person? Did you have someone who was showing you the same thing?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:19

I didn't. Um I said I I was involved in um swimming as an age group swimmer. Um but yeah, the family life was pretty tough. Uh I grew up in an abusive household, and uh my father left when I was young. And then my stepdad may or may not have been an alcoholic. Uh a long time he thought he was. Um yeah, I eventually ended up in foster care as a result and went through a whole lot of struggles with substance abuse, eating disorders, you know, mental health issues. Um you know, had a had many years of counseling as a teenager and growing up, and eventually graduated the foster care system and uh ended up here in Tallahassee. And it's not the place I would have necessarily chosen for myself, and that decision was made for me. But yeah, it was it was I ended up being court-ordered here, and uh I've I've been here for 28 years and uh and I like it. It's it's a good place.

Larry 1:14:58

Well, it's good that you ended up in a place that turned out to be good for you as well. Um what what age do you age out of foster care in the US?

SPEAKER_04 1:15:10

So well, I guess technically 18, but then they have another um facet of that, which is um like independent living, they call it. And you can stay until you're like 21 and they'll give you a stipend for it'll pay for part of housing and it'll help with tuition and things like that.

Larry 1:15:45

But you were you prepared at at that age to then be out on your own? Uh what at 18? Yeah, 18 or 21, whenever these these things were happening.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:58

Like when I look back at it, you know, no, no, no. There was no way I could have survived on my own at 18, really. Um I mean I I I kind of sort of did, but I was not, I still was not making the best decisions at that age and went back right back to making some pretty terrible life choices.

Larry 1:16:23

Um but but then you you you did, yeah, I mean, like most people, you work your way through these things, you you you figure it out, you you have your child, you want to do better. And as you said, you got you got into nursing. Um now I haven't talked a lot about COVID during the podcast because people get tired of talking about covet. But I think if I'm speaking to a nurse, um I pretty much have to talk a little bit about COVID right now. And uh what what is it that you do uh in your nursing? Where where are you practicing?

SPEAKER_04 1:16:57

So I work in an office setting, I work in family practice.

Larry 1:17:03

So while you're not maybe a a nurse in a in a hospital watching the COVID patients come in and leave again, I'm sure that it's probably affected you just as much because in your practice you get to know the families so much better. You have much stronger connections to them rather than just a nurse who might be caring for them while they're at the hospital. So how how has COVID affected you um professionally? But when I say professionally, personally on that professional level, like how are you handling the COVID situation?

SPEAKER_04 1:17:37

Um, I've had uh some ups and downs. Um for a while, it was pretty exhausting with the all the this huge influx of calls and people at first they were worried about the unknown, and it took a while for COVID to actually reach our community. And then, you know, then when it did finally reach our community, I've I've lost a number of patients, and that's been difficult. Um you know, people that I care about and I care about their families.

Larry 1:18:18

Yeah, I I know that there's there's a lot of burnout being reported for this reason in the in the healthcare industry. Like people are just they're getting a little overwhelmed with the way it's happening with COVID. Um do you see that happening in in in your practice? Are like are there things in place to help you professionally with with trying to deal with these things? Or is it just so new that this pandemic is taking so many people that even the health industry is not doing great health-wise?

SPEAKER_04 1:18:54

I don't know that there's uh been a whole lot of help professionally. I mean, I think the same things that have always been behind the scenes, like uh the employee assistance program, which I don't know anything about, but I know that that exists. Um we did have a nice like COVID remembrance day. We had some uh plastic pinwheels um that we, you know, that the staff got together and we we took a few moments and uh had a gathering and put them outside and and took the time to acknowledge each other and you know our patience that we had lost. Um so that was that was nice. And I I feel like right now, um, I mean there's just been so many, it's been a roller coaster of just up and down, up and down. And right now, thankfully, things are much better in terms of um right currently, right now, I'm not seeing people um real sick. You know, as of a few weeks ago, I still I still knew of people who were dying from COVID and getting sick with COVID, but just in the last couple of weeks, things seem to have sort of tapered off, um, which is good. You know, the vaccines when those came out, I mean, that was we we were inundated with that, you know, huge task of trying to get people vaccinated and encouraging them to get vaccinated and answering questions about vaccines and um, you know, so that that was and and then still trying to take care of patients who who need to be seen for their current illness. I think that's the biggest challenge right now is you know, if I feel like there are a lot of roadblocks, you know, and and and understandably so, you know, we're trying to be very careful and we're trying to not bring sick people into the office um to protect the staff and other patients. But the reality is is that people still need scene, they still need help with their current diseases and illnesses and you know conditions that they have. And so that's that's a frustrating piece for me.

Larry 1:21:34

Yeah, yeah. Um so right now, the way the way things are set up, are you seeing more people through the telehealth then or are people still are they starting to come back in the door now?

SPEAKER_04 1:21:49

They're starting to come back in the door. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, telehealth was one good thing that came out of came out of all this, and we now have that technology at our facility.

Larry 1:22:02

So I was looking at what what you've shared with me as far as um other things that you do as well. And and obviously through all of the hardships that COVID have brought, it still hasn't scared you away from from nursing or being part of the the health system because you were actually taking part in gaining some more knowledge around around the health system. And and you took a program to become an EMT as well during these COVID times. Can you tell me what what what what sparked you to to take that on it?

SPEAKER_04 1:22:35

Uh it was something that I had wanted to do. Originally thought that I would be an ER nurse, and I have not worked in the ER, and um, I thought it would be a good opportunity while I wasn't doing a whole lot of training. Um I just took the time to um enroll in the EMT program and um take advantage of that, um, thinking that I may get some more experience in the emergency room and you know learn learn a different side of things, see a different side of things, um see if I was interested in it at all. Um and I really I like to take on new challenges and I had uh I had intended to go back to school after I graduated from nursing school to at least you know get my master's, and I still haven't done that.

Larry 1:23:36

Is that so is that something in the next few years that you'll probably dive into then? I may, I may, keeping the door open.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:46

But you know, I yeah, so you uh I did I ended up taking a few um prerequisites for the physician assistant program and um to knock those out of the way in case I would like to do the PA program at FSU, they have one. Um but then I really missed my training.

SPEAKER_06 1:24:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:13

I missed training, I missed racing, and really wanted to get back into it. Yeah, yeah.

Larry 1:24:19

Well, maybe maybe pro triathletes in the future instead, then getting a little old. Um well with that being said, what what are you most looking forward to for Ultraman Arizona then, since you're our athlete in profile for Ultraman Arizona?

SPEAKER_04 1:24:39

I'm just looking forward to the experience of going somewhere I've never been. You know, yeah, I haven't I haven't done any real traveling to a race, and so a little nervous about the details of how to get my bike there and all of that. Um, but I I'm just really looking forward to being with my community of people, being part of of that community. The experience is so short, you know, a lot of it is a lot of it's the training. Once that experience is over, I mean it's three days and then you know you're done. And then looking for the next challenge, but I would just like to enjoy it.

Larry 1:25:24

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's not so much the getting to that finish line after you've done it, it's more about the experience of of the training and and then being at the at the event itself. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before. Well, listen, Jamie, I would really like to thank you for coming and being our athlete in profile for the inaugural Ultraman Arizona. I really look forward to following you uh and your race to see how it all comes out and see if you get a new age group record.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:57

All right. Well, thank you for having me.

Larry 1:26:01

Jamie, that was a wonderful conversation. I truly appreciate how open you were to discussing your life. And I'm sure that even the people who thought that they knew you well before have learned some new things about you. Thanks. Well, that's it for the Ultra Man Arizona preview show. Make sure to come back for the next episode when I'll be speaking to none other than Australian.