S6E6 -- Ohana Guest : Tony O’Keeffe – 3 time RAAM racer

Retired Lieutenant-Colonel, Anthony O’Keeffe, member of the 2003 Canadian Armed Forces Sports Hall of Fame, joins me to discuss his sporting career.  A career that includes 33 Ironmans, 9 Ultraman Hawaii races, and 3 solo RAAM races.   

Tony shares many tips on how to race these events based on the mistakes that he endured and the successes that he achieved.  We discuss his career in the Canadian Armed Forces and how that supported his sporting goals in life.  

Now living in Ferrara, Italy, Tony is enjoying the Euro cycling lifestyle and is preparing for his next phase in life which will include his own plane.

Listen to this episode if you want to reminisce about the characters in the early years of Ultraman or if you want to gain insights on how to race these events.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ultra TriFest Canada
• Ultra 515 World Wide Championships
• Canadian Armed Forces sports hall of fame
• Tour de France
• Giro D’Italia
• RAAM
• Sebring 
• Heart of the South 
• Race around Oregon
• Shermer Neck
• Ultraman World Championships
• Ironman Canada
• Ironman World Championships 
• Canadian forces triathlon team
• The Swinging Dixx

Shout outs and mentions in this episode:

• Jackie Cowley
• Jimmy Ronn
• Dan Bodden 
• Mark Dwyer    
• Trish O’Keeffe
• Steve King
• Marty Raymond 
• Sergio Cordeiro
• Gordo Byrn
• Don Fink
• Andrew Stanfield
• Alexandre Riberio
• Mike Coughlin
• Tobias Winnemöller
• Graham Fraser
• Sharon  Donnelly (HOF)
• Lynne Bermel (HOF)

___________________________________________________________

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

Insta : 515theultrapodcast

Email : 515Ultraman@gmail.com

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Transcript

Larry 0:49

My next guest has completed more

Tony's Life in Italia

Larry 0:52

than 33 Iron Man events with multiple podium finishes and six times topped the podium for his age group. He holds an Iron Man 70.3 Age Group World Championship and has competed nine times and podium multiple times at Ultraman Hawaii. And he has competed in three solo ram races. Joining me from his home in Ferrara, Italy, 2003 inductee into the Canadian Armed Forces Sports Hall of Fame, retired Lieutenant Colonel Anthony O'Keefe. Welcome. Hey, thanks very much, Larry. Boy, oh boy, that's me. I I hope I got all of that right.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

It sounds good to me.

Larry 1:35

There's actually a lot more in there that I could have added, but uh, I'm sure we'll get into some of those things as we talk today. Thank you. You're very kind.

SPEAKER_03 1:42

Yeah.

Larry 1:43

So how how does a Canadian end up retiring in Italy, Tony?

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Well, a bit of a story uh there, how we ended up here. Um, I I'm a retired military, and my wife just recently retired, but uh, she was active duty and took a job with NATO, and we got posted over to uh to Italy with the in the back of our minds. Um my wife Jack has always loved it here. She was she was uh stationed here in um in the early 90s uh on a temporary duty. And uh our kids are grown, no real commitment. Hey, why why don't we try why don't we try what we said we wanted to do? And so we uh we cashed in the chips there uh a little over a year ago and said, yeah, let's give it a shot.

Larry 2:30

And and how is your Italian? Was your Italian good enough to be moving into a foreign country and living there?

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Well, um I've gotten better real quick, only out of necessity. Um uh I uh I go to school here. I'm uh I'm a student at the professional aviation just outside of Bologna, and uh I'm getting all my pilot licenses in Europe uh validated. Um and of course the classes are in Italian, so the uh the learning curve is steep, but um where we live uh uh um predominantly you won't hear any English in Ferraro. We live in a medieval uh Renaissance uh city. It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful, but it it's it's off the beaten track for let's say uh North American tourists. And uh we're situated right in uh Centro Storico in the historical part. And uh like I say, it's sink or swim. If you want to eat, we learn learn pretty darn quick.

Larry 3:31

Yeah, I'd bet. And and how about your wife? How's her Italian?

SPEAKER_02 3:35

She's coming along. She she's coming along. Um and and she goes out there and braids it. Uh she was uh she she did some work here with the with the Italians prior to uh us uh retiring here. So she knows her way around. She knows her way around the place.

Larry 3:52

And the city that you're in, that it's in northern Italy, correct?

SPEAKER_02 3:55

That's right, that's right. In between, right, right halfway between Bologna and Venice, uh Venezia. And it both of those are a bike ride away.

Larry 4:06

And and have you adopted that European lifestyle of doing cycling tours as well? Um, well, it's in my blood.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

I mean, I do it, I I do it on my own. I I I manage to drag out a few uh a few locals here now. Cycling is it's just another level here, right? It's a it's a very social sport. Uh you're considered a person on a bike, not a target to be hit. Um you know the the the I I'm telling you, I I'm I'm in my fifth year here. I've never been beeped at, I've never been honked at. And we go through, I've gone through, I've ridden to Florence, I've ridden all over. Um, and so to to my point, uh, there's always somebody willing to uh to want to go for a ride. And uh as I say, the the cycling groups here are enormously uh social. Um families are involved, so we'll we'll every weekend, every weekend there's something going on.

Larry 5:01

Every weekend. Yeah. You were just saying before we started recording that the Tour de France is going to come by there this year.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Yeah, the tour starts in uh Ferenza, Florence, uh to uh to English speakers, and uh it's um an hour down the road by train here, or uh it's a six and a half hour bike ride over the the Apennini-Tuscany Mountains. Uh, either way, uh we're going. My wife and I, we've uh we've rented a place for a couple of days uh to uh to take in the whole circus. I mean, it's the tour. Um the giro, uh the giro obviously the giro in May uh every year, and it comes every year, stage 13, the mid midsection stage crisscrosses, whether it starts in the north or it starts in the south. Eventually it's got to come through Emilia Romagna. And so we we we're just absolutely spoiled. Um when I've it's not hard to find a few um uh cycling nerds who want to go hang out up in the mountains for a while and uh let's go chase some uh water bottles and uh free uh free juroschwag. Yeah, it's it's gorgeous.

Larry 6:01

That's excellent, yeah. Well, you do obviously have a big background in the in the cycling part. I mean, you're on the the ultra man podcast here, but cycling has been a big part of your life. Ram is one of those events that a lot of people aspire to, and you you've done it three times. That's right. As as we're speaking now, the the Ram is well finished for some and still going on for others. I'm sure you've been following and dot watching along. Yeah. Um have you been following along this year?

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Yeah, yeah, in and out. Uh in and out. The time difference uh may you know, life gets busy here uh pretty quick, so we're upside down.

Larry 6:44

Right. Yeah. Well, I guess the one good thing about Ram is it doesn't really matter what the time is because they're still going, whatever time it is where you are. Yeah, that's it. That's it, that's true. Yeah. So this year there there was a rookie winner. His name is Jimmy

RAAM

Larry 7:00

Ron, and he's from Sweden. Uh he won the solo race. And they finished in Atlantic City again this year, um, as you know. Um they they do change the course from time to time. Um, I believe when you did it, it was not finishing in Atlantic City.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Um the first time we finished in Atlantic City.

Larry 7:18

Oh, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

And we had the we had the esteemed privilege to stay in Trump Tower on the last night. Uh I'm still getting deloused.

Larry 7:32

Uh that's excellent. Um so you with your RAM career, what do you take away from that? You you did it solo in 2006, 2009, 2009, where you unfortunately had a crash and didn't finish, and then in 2010 again, where you had your own PB of 10 days and you were fourth place overall. Um actually, maybe before that, can you just tell us again what the race entails? I'm sure most of my listeners know about RAM, but maybe we'll give them just a little background.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

So I I can speak about the solo end of it only because I know it. Um, so from uh the solo in 2006, we started an oceanside on the pier. Uh so touch your feet into the Pacific Ocean, and we finish uh in Atlantic City, uh, New Jersey that that particular year. Yeah. 14 states, four different time zones, uh uh tons of climbing uh through the Rockies, obviously, uh is one aspect, but something that sneaks up on and folks don't really count on is through uh the Appalachians. There's more climbing in the Appalachians, and it's up and down. Up and down.

Larry 8:44

Yeah. So before you did your first one, uh how much time do you do researching into like the strategy, the the training, and how to get your crew to work together, but you know, prior to that first race?

SPEAKER_02 8:59

Well, there's um I I wouldn't recommend this to anybody, but what what really happened, and I'm not kidding you, uh we we it was like January, February. My my wife Jackie said, you know, she'll take on the the logistics side of it. I wanted to try RAM, so I contacted the race director. Um, and uh he said, well, you gotta do uh um uh a qualifier, and uh it's got to be you've got to be able to finish 425 miles, uh whatever that is in K, uh, in 24 hours. And there's a a series of these uh ultra racist around. So we hummed and we hod, and I a couple of weeks later there was one happening in Sebring in Florida. Now this is February. I uh I got on my wind trainer in the basement and got my legs up to speed, and my wife and I and a friend uh we flew down to Florida for the weekend. And I I'm honest to God, like I I I was, yeah, I'm coming here to do RAM. And guys were looking at me like, you've got to be kidding. There's no way, you know, you do you do usually, and I would advise it take, take, take your take your time and uh lead into it because if it wasn't for the crew, uh I wouldn't have made it through Ram. I I wouldn't have got out of California, and that's a truth. Um, there's a documentary on that particular race in 2006, it's up on YouTube somewhere. I a guy uh filmed it, and it really shows uh um what what it takes to get someone through. And uh I I wasn't nearly as well prepared as I should have been, but like I say, uh that's through just the grace and uh and hard work of uh of the crew, lots of those folks have been to Ultra, by the way, uh crewing or racing themselves. So we had a we had an absolutely super team, there was no question. I was the monkey on the bike. And uh hey, we we we we made it through the uh the the the race in Sebring, Florida. Like I didn't realize it's a 24-hour race, so you need lights on your bike.

SPEAKER_03 11:06

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:07

I didn't I didn't I thought that it was on like that C bring NASCAR 500 track, you know, that big oval thing that's all lit up. I didn't realize it's on a it's on an old Formula One uh uh um race course, and um the uh the uh uh lights don't work at all. There's no lights on the course, none. So you need a a light. So uh I realized like when after the first 12 hours or so, they're not gonna let me on the course without one. So Jackie went and got a flashlight, and we got a red beacon off of one of the cones that was there for the safety. The flashlight lasted about an hour and the batteries died. It was just one of those experiences, and I realized now I get why they make you do these things because uh uh you know you gotta be prepared, which which I wasn't, but uh I managed to get through. I got uh, I think I did that 433 miles and uh finished in third. And uh I thought, okay, yeah, we're going to Ram. And and I went to Ram in June.

Larry 12:13

That's that's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Yeah, it is. Don't do it. My I have a very good, very good friend who's an ultra guy, and uh he's done uh you'll I'll talk about him uh many times. His name's Dan Bodden. Uh and he won, he was, he was, he's crewed for me all three times at uh at Ram. And the excellent guy. And he he wanted to give it a shot. And I I love the guy so much. I I insist that it I've done it three times. The the third time I did it, because I kept messing it up all the time. The third time I did it, I really did pay attention. And I went and I picked a 36-hour race. That's if you really want to know if RAM's for you, take something longer than 24 hours because you got to work through a few things that you don't see common, including you know, sleep management or fatigue management. And so uh um we we went down to uh to uh the heart of the south 508 is actually 520 miles to uh and and and that was a real eye-opener. It it it it uh it beat me up pretty good, but it got me ready for 2010. When I by the time I towed the line in 2010, I was ready to race. And I I really really had a I had a great time. The crew was was nailed, and uh my point about Dan was that uh he decided, he said, you know, I think I want to do Ram. Okay, buddy, but they're only in one condition. You do one of these 36-hour deals. So me and Jack, we we crewed for him in uh the race around Oregon. He did he got through it, he I mean he did great, but he he said, Oh, oh no, no, not doing it. Oh wow, it's ram ram's not as strange as you think. It's it's it's stranger than you can think. Right. You you're gonna you're gonna go without a lot of things. And I it gets it gets in your I I look back at it now and I just can't I can't believe like uh uh how how I was able to wrap my head around it. But it it took it it took the mistakes of 2006, 2009, and then it just got in my blood and I I I couldn't let it go. But uh yeah, I will I have no no intentions on going back now, I can tell you that.

Larry 14:24

Um at that time, what kind of training were you doing? I mean, you obviously had a solid base. You were racing Iron Man at that time. Did you feel like, okay, well, I've done my 24 hours, I guess I'm ready to do it, or did you at that point still realize, oh, maybe I need to ramp this up a little bit? And and what kind of things did you do in between your your your qualifier and and getting into that first one? And and then after that one, how did you train differently for the next two?

SPEAKER_02 14:54

That's a that's an excellent question. In 2006, when we came home, like again, I still didn't really grasp what what we were gonna do. Um, but like I say, I had a good a good team uh of support all military ultra athletes and and great great people. But uh one thing I thought was these are back in 2006, back in the day, I was on a computer trainer in my basement. I I set up this uh thing where I was gonna ride for 48 hours straight and uh just stay on the bike. And uh it was spring break, so the kids were uh the kids were off school, and I uh I they'd go off and do their stuff during the day and come back, and there's dad on the I never got off the bike 48 hours in my basement on a compu trainer. Wow, and uh I had a I had a record there for a while, Compu Trainer. They were very supportive, and then some other ultra nut has since smashed that. I think he's 98 or 100, uh I don't know, well, 100 hours. But the reason for it was mentally to be mentally prepared. Um once that uh 2006 experience was out of my gut. So then I I started to learn a whole lot more about okay, I gotta learn how to ride at night. I I gotta learn how to ride in the in the rain. Like, like it rained one year in 2006, it was four days straight. We're traveling from west to east, so the the clouds just followed us out of Colorado. And I didn't bring any rain gear. I thought, hey man, it's June. We're going across the state. I was borrowed. I I was wearing stuff that I borrowed off my sister, off anyone who would give us stuff. Like, because once the race starts, you're not going back to your hotel room. So that whole logistic piece is a big is a big challenge. Like, how do you keep this circus moving?

SPEAKER_03 16:46

Right.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

But uh but but by and large, 2009 we learned some things, and by 2010, I was I was pretty much ready. I was ready. I knew this is my this is my lot in life. I I do everything on a bike. That's I don't make any decisions, I do what I'm told, and that's it.

Larry 17:04

And

RAAM : The Crew

Larry 17:05

I think um a lot of people that get into ultra, they and when they have an event with a crew, if they have that idea of I trust my crew to get that stuff done, I just gotta keep moving, um, they become very successful. And and that speaks well to your crew and not only your faith in them, but the fact that they can keep you going is obviously they were learning along the way as well. What kind of setup did you guys have as far as vehicles? And then what were your your strategies of your crew as far as being in different places at different times, washing stuff, getting sleep and all that? Because I know that's Ultraman, yeah, you're out there for 10, 12 hours a day with the crew and everybody's in the car and having a good time and putting on costumes and singing, dancing on the side of the road. This is this is next level crewing. So tell me a little bit about how the crew uh strategy goes for you.

SPEAKER_02 18:01

So so, like I say, my wife, Jack, she she she pretty much ran the ship, but she had, you know, they're still friends of ours today. I I mentioned Dan Baden as one integral guy to the I wouldn't do it without him. Yeah, and if I was ever gonna do anything, he's coming. Because he's a he's a physiotherapist, massage therapist, great guy, athlete, funny, and uh, and a really good friend. So that those were the critical pieces. And uh I knew for me, like what all I had to do was get into a mind state where it doesn't matter where we are, what time of day it is, I'm on the bike. And what what I did, the most successful thing was we we we'd concocted uh uh an area where we uh um a regime where I would stay 10 hours on the bike, 90 minutes off. I had an RV following me, so in there, and it's you know, I was able to strip down, take one of those showers, lie down, get one little REM cycle of sleep, eat, and then back on the bike, 10 hours on the bike again, come off the bike, and two and a half to three hours of rest, regardless of a 24-hour cycle. It didn't matter where that ended up in the day, but that's how we did it. I limited myself to uh one cup of coffee a day, only because I found that that that it was, you know. I tried the uh coffee, Red Bull, uh no disrespect to brands, but I tried that thing and I just ended up with massive indigestion. Yeah, and so I realized, okay, I've got to go on straight good food and keep keep my core temperature down. And that's what we did. I ate real food uh every time, every time I changed my shorts, my my my cycling kit every two hours, and just right on the side of the road, just pull over, boom, boom, we add it down and I'm back on the bike in two minutes. But in that time, I'm eating you know a mouthful of whatever, but real food. And we we were we rolled. We we it really was the hardest part of 2010's rant was when I realized I only have a hundred miles to go. I I I just fell apart like a cheap suitcase. Up until that point, I realized this is my role in life. I just go on a bike, but now all of a sudden I got a goal. 100 miles is still a hundred damn miles. Yeah, yeah, and and it's 90 degrees, and I'm feeling it now. I'm hating it. But anyway, that's for another that's for I thought if I ever did RAM again, I would practice how to finish. Because what we did do in 2010, I practiced the start. My Jack and my my wife and I, we flew to San Diego a couple of times, and I rode my bike from oceanside to Las Vegas, and I got it because it's it's when you go from the Pacific Ocean into the desert, you know, it's in inside of 10 hours, the heat and temperature difference is extreme. And then at night, even though it's 120 degrees in Death Valley, and the in at night the temperature comes down to 60 degrees. That's a 60 degree delta, right? And it and it affects a lot. There's a lot of casualties on the first day, a lot. And I was one of them in 2009. So I did, I I I practiced that. I practiced uh um, well, obviously climbing, riding in the rain, riding at night. Uh you know, I I so that it was it was normal to me. And then I just turned my brain off. Um, so so and we had we, I'm sorry, I just uh if I can just uh say about the uh the support vehicles, we had two vans and an RV. One van, you need to be in the headlights of the van at all times for safety. So we had a music system up there and everything you could think of in terms of bike mechanics. Uh I well, I we had a bike mechanic with us, uh Mark Dwyer, great guy. And uh he was lickety split. Anytime I got off the bike, he he would whip it up to back into fighting shape in no time. And then the the the third van was used to shuttle crew ahead because remember, these guys need sleep. Driving vehicles and they're making decisions. So, so and my my wife ran that whole show. She uh she she had uh she had a schedule down, and and like I say, to this day we're all great friends because it really did work out well, and we all we all wanted to succeed.

Larry 22:17

Yeah, it's definitely a team sport, I think. And and when you were changing your clothes every two hours, there must have been a pile of laundry that needed to be done pretty regularly.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

Exactly that. I thank my sister. My sister came along. She come kind of she might good luck, Jarn, but she loves me enough to to actually do those. No one else would touch it. But uh of course, it was bio biohazard, but all all all all necessities, you know, like all things, it's the details, like in anything in life. It's the details that make make the success. And and the team was what what was what let it happen.

Larry 22:51

Yeah. And and even just knowing where to stop and do the laundry is got to be like one of those details you got to work out ahead of time, or you could end up going for a day without finding the place to stop and do it.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Well, and and you think about it for a second, like like a fan belt is gonna go on one of those vehicles, right? You're gonna get a flat tire for sure. Where are you gonna do it? So these were the things like they they were they had computers and they it that was not my business. I I did what I was told. And and if there were things that happened, I never heard about them. That's that's a good crew, yeah. Yeah, I know I never when Ultraman was like that too. I mean, Jack ran Jack ran every one of our Ultraman crews, and uh um it was exactly like that. If there were troubles, I never heard about them.

Larry 23:41

Now in 2009, what what happened in that race? You you had an accident, is it yeah?

SPEAKER_02 23:49

So um a lot of things happened, a lot of mistakes that just compounded uh their way. Um I got uh what uh uh lots of uh Ram folks call Schirmer's neck. This is where you just can't hold your head up anymore, you know, because you're in this position. And so that was that was wearing me down. I got severely, severely dehydrated in the in the desert on on day number one. I lost like 20 pounds. Massive mistake. So I was already behind the eight ball. It took uh it took to Prescott, Arizona, so almost almost three days before I could it really start eating again. And I started to pick up energy, and but you know, my body was failing. And when we got into Kansas, uh about the halfway point, you know, I thought, okay, I'm I'm I'm now we're seeing casualties along the way. There was a tons of tons of people uh uh pulling out, and uh and I'm rolling through, and um, I got caught on a train track and went down and it hit my head. And I thought, uh, okay, well, this is not no longer cool, it's no longer safe. And uh we still got uh you know 1,500 miles, and uh I'm sure my mother doesn't want to see me on TV in a brace. So uh um you know I I made a call and uh um I think that I think that's what that that's what spooled me up to to to want to go back to 2010 because I made so many mistakes that I thought you know I want to fix this.

Larry 25:22

Well, were they mistakes or were they just you learned so many lessons that you were able to go and conquer it in 2010?

SPEAKER_02 25:29

I like the way you think, I like that, but I'm okay with making mistakes. Mistakes are I got a whole nav bag full of mistakes, and I call it experience.

Larry 25:39

Exactly. Yeah. Um, and and one of the the funny stories that I understand you you actually got a speeding ticket on one-year races. Where did that happen and how did that happen?

SPEAKER_02 25:50

Oh that's right. So in uh in um in Colorado, Wolf Creek Pass is one of there's three major passes that you got to get through. Colorado's a big state, by the way. And Wolf Creek Pass is one of them. You get up over 10,000 feet and there's snow up there, and it did hey depends on what time of day you get there. And uh we got up there, it was it was uh a little bit of hail and rain, but on the descent, the descent is straight down, and it's got those uh rumble strips on the sides of the roads, you know, to keep you safe. And there's it's major, major transport using these passes and and and RVs and these sorts of things. And I I wasn't the first racer through, so who the sheriff that was on duty on that stretch of road had already seen crews coming through with their music blaring and their things. So I and uh I'm sure she already had her her backup. And we we we came we came through and and boom boom, the lights come on. And I have an I had an earbud in my ear, like my the navigator in the van is telling me, you know, left turn, right turn, whatever. These are all in the days before real GPS, you know. And uh uh I guess like I could see the reflection on of the of the poliges, is this for me? And so it a female uh state trooper pulled pulled in front of me, but I couldn't stop. These are rim brakes, like I couldn't get the bike to stop. And pulling over to the side of the road on those rumble strips isn't exactly the best idea either. Yeah, but uh yeah, we we she she pulled us over. And um, I finally, when I finally did get stopped, my buddy uh Dan, who was uh sitting in the nav seat, he's talking in my ear, making all kinds of jokes while I'm trying to look straight face to this lady. But she she knew she knew what was going on, right? And she said she said to me, I know that you'll get a penalty for uh if I call the race director, you need to be safe. So I I realized right away my role in this is to shut up and just say thank you. And that's what happened, and she let us go.

Larry 27:54

And do you know how fast you were going?

SPEAKER_02 27:58

Uh I yeah, I don't know, 80, 80k, 90k, maybe.

Larry 28:04

And are you comfortable with that on the open highway?

SPEAKER_02 28:08

No, not a lot of choice, you know, because you ride your brakes, and then the next thing you know, like uh you're gonna get uh some flat tires or the the rims are gonna heat up. I ride tubulars, so I was always afraid, okay, I'm gonna heat the glue up and the the rubber is gonna come off. Um, and I got you know, I got good at descending. That was another thing that and descending at night, yeah. You know, because the thing about having a van in behind you is that his headlights are are illuminating the road. So a little crack in the road looks like a chasm, it looks like a log because of the shadow. It has a shadow, and yeah, and and and so this was what took me, it took me some time to get used to this sort of thing and trust myself because uh um I I did not enjoy the first two RAMs descending. I didn't enjoy it, it was scary as hell. And I thought, man, if I go up

Ultra TriFest Canada information

SPEAKER_02 29:00

the side here, no one's gonna find me.

Larry 29:03

Hello, listener. I want to remind you to check out my new Ultra Tripass.com and feel free to contact me personally with any questions. Let's let's maybe move on to your

Ultraman Experiences

Larry 29:55

your Ultraman experiences. Um that's obviously what got you to Ram. You you were doing those um before and concurrently, um and after, I guess. Um when I when I was looking up the results, I see that um as they say, you were always the bridesmaid uh when it came to the Ultraman in Hawaii. You've been second there in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008. You were third overall in 14 and 15, and fourth in 2012, 16, and 17. Um that 2016 race, you did set an age group world record for 50 to 59. That was 23, 22, 31. Um good for you. Well, you know, Steve King makes it easy. Uh isn't he the best?

SPEAKER_02 30:50

I I I you know how I got into this whole gig was him. I I in 2002, I want to say, I was the coach of the Canadian Forces uh triathlon team, and we went out to uh Victoria for the Canadian National Championships that brought the uh military team out, and I met Steve in the in the airport on the way home. And I I knew him from Iron Man Canada, but uh with with nothing but respect. And um uh we sat and we chatted for a while, and he asked me, He said, Hey, what do you what's next for you? What do you want to do? And I said, you know, I always wanted to do this Ultraman thing. And he I I talked for a bit and he just looked at me and says, Well, what are you waiting for? I went honest to God, I went home and I signed up right then. I and I did it at 2002, and it was it was Steve King. We became very good, very good friends after that. I I taught I talked to him about Ram. When I wanted to do Ram, it was him I called uh to get his idea uh on ideas on on what to do. But uh yeah, in 2002, uh this guy Dan Bodden, he's done Ultraman, and Marty Raymond, who's uh who's the fixture at Ultraman. I don't, he's done it like 11 or 12 times, but he was my crew with me, Jackie, Marty, and Dan. And we're like we're like we're like a family now, anyways. But the four of us went over there and uh we got ourselves ready and uh and took on that race.

Larry 32:15

And and so how did you find your your first Ultraman? I mean you did very well, you came second overall. Um was that one that you prepared for, or did you just go again and oh I I want to do this and just ruck up and do it?

SPEAKER_02 32:32

I I didn't know what to do, and so uh I I I rucked up, I guess, is and and and and and did it. Um I got myself as ready as I I could, but again, good crewing. The uh and the funny thing was like we Jackie, Dan, Marty, and myself, we went over in advance and got ourselves went and did a route recce. This route was um, it was because a volcano had uh erupted and blocked off the red road. So it was these were out and back, not around the island. So the swim was the swim, but the bike uh it went up into the into the desert uh past Captain Cook, then came back and finished in Kona. Day two was a massive bike ride up through the Koajalas and then back along the Iron Man course. And then the run, the run was an out and back from Kona. We went out as far as uh Waikaloa, turned around, came back, went into the energy lab, and then and then finished. So I knew I'd done a Hawaii Iron Man, so I knew the area quite well. And um I I had finished uh uh way better than I thought I was going to. I I was just happy to be there. There were there were some great, great characters. Uh uh I and and some of my best memories, I remember there's a guy named Serge Sergio Cordero, who's a legend of him in his own uh right, a great guy and a super runner. And uh when we took off for the run out of Kona right off the pier there, uh Gord Byrne, who who won the race, another friend, uh a guy named uh Don Fink was in there, an Australian guy named uh Andrew Stanfield, uh, and maybe a couple other guys. We took off and we ran, and we're just getting meandering our way out of Kona. We're not even up on the Queen K yet, and the sun isn't really up yet. Running along, and I'm not sure. Holy smokes, this like an 84K run. I have no idea how this is gonna go. We got up onto the highway, and I hear the Australian guy behind me, Andrew, he says, For Christ's sake, boys, it's not a 5k, because we we took off. And and there was there was only three of us left at the front. Um uh Sergio, myself, and Don Fink. And we we we we tracked off like three people uh for the remainder of the day. The next time I saw Gord Gor Gord Gord had enough time in hand, but I was in striking range, you know. If if if if if things had gone south for him, you know, anyway, when we got into the uh to to the um uh energy lab to the the turnaround, it's two miles in, two miles out. And as I'm coming out, uh I see Gordo coming in, and he looks over at me like we're friends, and he says, Hey, who wants this more? And it and it woke me up. Well, here's my buddy Marty Raymond, who's uh he's a hockey player, he's a bunch of things, a French Canadian. And uh I didn't know if I was dreaming or not, but I could see Sergio in front, and I'm thinking, okay, I know where I am. I've got like 10k to go from the from the top corner, six miles, and I'm putting my head down. And out of the uh out of the the there's a ditch there, Marty's got a hockey helmet on with a puck stuck in the side of it. And I thought I was hallucinating. And he jump he jumps out on the road and he goes, uh, for Christ's sake, man, don't panic. Like six miles to go. He I was sure I dreamt it. And when we got to the finish line, there he was with his stupid helmet on. He found it in the ditch and he put it on. I don't know who was wearing that thing. A hockey helmet.

Larry 36:22

A hockey helmet in Hawaii. That seems a little off.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

The whole the whole trip was like that. It was just every no no two miles were the same, and it was all an adventure. It was just it was just fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Yeah.

Larry 36:37

Um, you know, I I gotta mention this to you. Um being in Italy, I I saw on Facebook that Sergio is looking to come and do a double Decca in Italy in September. Now 70 years old.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

So maybe you maybe you hook up with him and uh is he gonna do it in one of those, I'll tell you what, I would. I'd go so I'd go support him, sure. Yeah, sure, sure. It's 70. Hey, hard guy. He writes he he he traditionally would run the last couple of miles in bare feet.

Larry 37:12

Yeah, it's hard.

SPEAKER_02 37:13

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Real nice guy. Like you look at him and you think, oh man, this guy should be a cage fighter, but he speaks like Michael Jackson, like very soft, soft voice and uh and kind, kind, kind. Uh one another great uh great Ultraman, uh um Alexander Ribeiro from uh from uh from Brazil, uh just an elegant, elegant athlete, uh you know, a pro uh uh level racer at Ironman and Kona. You know, he's he's been in the top 15 there a few times, um, but just a great guy. And uh that was my that's been my my interaction. I don't I I never really got to know the crews that much because like the way I looked at it, like my crew is handling everything for me. I don't ask them, they don't ask me. I I'm the monkey that runs, but I got to know the athletes because you're running around with them. Yeah, you know, and you get to know people pretty darn quick.

Larry 38:17

Now, in your 2012 race in Hawaii, um one of the ones where you placed fourth, that was uh a comeback race for you of sorts. That was after a pretty catastrophic accident. Can can you tell me about um what what happened in your accident, first of all, uh what you might have been training for? And then how was it that you decided, well, Ultraman seems like a good place to to make a comeback from this?

SPEAKER_02 38:46

The um I I was still in the military, I was active duty, and uh I had got um an assignment to Afghanistan for a year, so that it's a posting, it's not a deployment. And um you lose you know, your head does a lot of things when you're sitting in isolation, not being able to move and do stuff. And uh I I really was aching aching to to to to to get back to racing and and feeling good again. And uh while I was in Afghanistan, uh my wife and I both got a posting to Colorado Springs. So on my return, I was gonna move straight from Ottawa to Colorado, and I thought this is great because it's a training ground, and this is super. And we drove across and I was thinking, okay, like it's been a year. I was in Afghanistan, I haven't done any training, but it's September, and the uh Ultraman is in November, and I want it, and I believe I can win, and so I'm gonna do it. And we my wife was very supportive. We moved up to 7,000 feet of altitude, and I think I was there maybe three weeks, and I just had an unfortunate accident, uh, and I got run over by a truck, and it it put me out. I had some major reconstructive surgeries on my knees and legs and body parts. So that uh I missed uh the 20, I guess that'd be the 2011 Ultraman. Jane and David, uh who I uh uh Jane, Jane was the race director at the time, but uh uh Dave, uh Dave Cobb and Cheryl both reached out and said, hey, if you want to, you know, we don't do this, but if you want to come back in 2012, you bet to something to aim at. I mean, I was in traction, I leg casts and all kinds of rehab.

Larry 40:35

But I see was it the kind of accident where you you were like people might have questioned your ability to race again.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

Um I don't know. I don't think so. Okay. No, like I I now you'd have to ask uh someone else. I one thing about me, I don't ask for a lot of opinions because I just might get them. You know what I mean? Like, there's no sense in asking someone else. Um, I I know that the physio guy, like I worked with the physio at Fort Carson where a lot of war injuries uh get get treated, and he didn't think running was ever gonna be in my future. He didn't think that. Yeah, that was his his thought. But he he wasn't uh Debbie Downer, he just was saying, like, like, you know, let's be real. Right. I felt, I'll tell you honestly, I felt of all the ultramans I've ever towed the line at, that was the one I felt like, oh man, I'm I'm gonna, I am going to race. Um, I'm I want to race. And I'm I'm I was mentally, I was in, I believed I could win.

Larry 41:39

And and how much time did you have to to properly train for that one after your full recovery?

SPEAKER_02 41:46

Well, all of it, you know, like like that part of recovery was training. I now I I can I probably, you know, if I'm honest, I guess looking back, it was less than ideal, you know, being at altitude, and and I I needed to start my job, by the way. Like once I got out of the hospital and out of the rehab, I had to go and get qualified. So so there was that aspect to it. But but that those are those are just things that everybody overcomes, you know. Like you like, I I'm not kidding you. I I believed I I was gonna uh I was gonna race. And I didn't I didn't really think that my my those injuries uh upheld me. I had some other uh other issues that that that I didn't even realize were were underlying as a result, but they came to the forefront and uh it was a long day. Let's just say I needed a lot of sunscreen for the run on day three. I was out there way longer than I wanted to be, but there was no way I was gonna quit.

unknown 42:42

Yeah.

Larry 42:44

Well, you know, um people that listen to this podcast, a lot of them they want like the actual how to advise. Um, and I'm wondering if maybe you can share like your best practical advice, like of doing a 515 distance race for someone who's maybe you know thinking about what should I be doing in training, what should my race strategy be, nutrition. You've talked a lot about cruise. I think we got that kind of covered off. Um it could be something that you learned on your own, or maybe that you learned by seeing another another racer or or you or maybe something you picked up from your your coach Mike. Um Mike Coughlin.

SPEAKER_02 43:23

Big shout out to Mike Coughlin, he's a very helpful guy.

Larry 43:25

Yeah, tell tell me tell me some really good practical advice for for people that want to do a 515 distance.

SPEAKER_02 43:33

Um so like it's not I've I went all in. I'm not a guy, like I don't sip. I I go all in on on the things that I that I do. And and having having done like I'm not a s I don't come from a swimming background. So one thing I did for the Ultraman was I started, I I came up with this idea like what would give me because in order to race, I need confidence. I need to believe. If I I I I I don't Go to a race if I have a doubt. I won't go. And it's not out of any disrespect. There's just no point. I have enough t-shirts and I'm dragging my wife and the family. And I'm so, you know, everybody's got skin in the game, and they're spending money to come here. So I'm going to give my best. And so I I build up to uh 100 by 100. This is a typical swim workout, 100 by 100 meters. Uh um pull boys and paddles, and uh the swim and rest is on a minute 35, target time is 125, so 10 seconds. And you can follow the clock all the way around because it's in five-minute increments. So that's how I knew where I was. Just a swim pace clock, and I get in there three hours and 20 minutes later, I'm out of the pool. But I I build up, I start with 50 and then go to 16, 70, and 80, and that just gives me such enormous. I I'm not like a swimming background, but you know, in the end, I was coming out of the water with the front guys and feeling like I'm ready to race. I'm not completely bagged. Well, it's those sorts of things that I applied to my training. It was to how to move efficiently when I'm fatigued. Even better is how long can I delay fatigue? Let's do that. Let's get good at delaying fatigue. And that's that's that's that's how I did it. Like slow, get on the bike and ride. Um, you know, like if Jackie and I were gonna go somewhere, I would ride and and she'd meet me in the car. Uh, you know, and and and I'm not killing myself, but I'm I'm nice and steady, building up this big diesel engine uh to be able to delay fatigue. Because the that that's all something like the Ultraman. The Ultraman is a race of uh of uh who gets tired first.

SPEAKER_03 45:56

Right.

SPEAKER_02 45:57

And and and that's that there's no there's no special m moment where you put the nail in the coffin. It's like okay, well, who fatigued first? And and and uh I didn't want to be that guy. So though those were the sorts of things, and I and I I I know like I didn't have to do like a million miles every day, but I rode, I rode, ran, and swam every day in some specific order. I'd have like a Mondays was a it uh had a formula, Tuesdays had a formula, Wednesdays had a formula, my entire life. And it evolved around work and raising the kids and and and being a family guy, but you could set your watch to it.

Larry 46:37

I every so being in the military, did that make it easier or harder to train? Or I guess it depends on what your posting was at the time. Like you're saying in Afghanistan, probably you're not training over the street.

SPEAKER_02 46:53

Nothing, but no, yeah. No. Those those are one-offs. Uh in in on a on an airbase, uh, for example, or uh where I was, I I was I spent a lot of time at the Royal Military College in Ottawa. I never had uh uh the environment that I was around was always proactive. It's military. I mean, fitness is fitness is a currency in the in the in in the in the profession of arms. I mean, fitness is life. And so, you know, no one was gonna get in the way of that as long as you know your work's getting done and you're pulling your weight and you're you're leading, you know, oh yeah. I I found the culture to be very, very welcoming. And and so it was never it was never an issue. Um, you know, not everyone's as happy as I am that, you know, for example, I'm fit or I'm gonna go swim at lunch, you know, and like not everybody feels like that. But but it just got in my blood and it became a habit. Yeah. And it was like autopilot.

Larry 47:54

And and I think that's for a lot of the people that are doing these type of events, it is it is lifestyle. It's you know, they they could they could walk up to any uh event and and and complete it because their lifestyle has that that background in it for them that they you know, even if they hadn't specifically trained, a lot of the times you can just walk in and and and pull one of these off, which sounds crazy to people that maybe just do an Iron Man race. When I say just Iron Man. Yeah. Um but but that's kind of the the culture of of the people doing these races.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

Yeah. And you know, I I I looked for weakness, like like where am I weak? And then I'm just gonna spend my time on that.

Larry 48:41

You know, that and and which which a lot of people would not do. A lot of people are like, oh, I'm a good swimmer, I'm gonna do more.

SPEAKER_02 48:48

I know. I I listen, it's it's it's the scourge of uh like the confidence I I I I've had a couple of coaches in my in my time. I'm largely self-coached, but but when I got to to a level where I thought, okay, no, I I need I want to break through and I'm getting older, so I really need help. Mike Coglin was one of them. And and uh um we would talk about exactly that, addressing the limit limiters. Okay, well, let's go nail them. Let's go on your trainer and we so we can control it. Like most of most of my riding was done on a trainer, particularly after after my uh my accident with the vehicle. I was scared to ride it. Colorado was dangerous as hell. I really is dangerous to ride. Beautiful place, boulder, okay. But uh where I was in Colorado Springs, uh, you're taking your life in your hands. And so no, no, here, you're you're a person. You're a person, right? And you know, you're not a target, folks. Folks get out of your way, cars get out of your way, and and and you're welcome. And every cafe, every little town I go through, everywhere. And I'm not the only one. There's like a hub of of people. But uh, you know, uh back to your point uh in working with coaching, um you know, I say, okay, well, let's let's let's work on these on these limiters. And and I need a fresh set of eyes because it's easy to lie to yourself, right? You know, and and and I'll speak for me anyways, it's you know, it's easy to fool myself, and I'll get it later, I'll get it later. Um, and and it at the level that I wanted to race at, I I realized I I can't have any stone unturned. We're not gonna go and make this commitment to go and race at this level and know in my heart that I didn't do the work. I'm not I'm not gonna do it.

Larry 50:44

Yeah. And I guess it was probably you met up with Mike a little bit later in your in your career, but um, and and he's been on the the show before. He was on in season two. If people want to go back and listen to to Mike's episode, but um what was it that he was able to provide? Because I know now he he coaches a lot of people doing Ultraman. Um, that helped you to to maybe go into that next level.

SPEAKER_02 51:10

Well, he his his approach, I raced with him. Like I and I saw him execute. We ran for a bit of time together. I saw I was there when he went by me on the bike like I was standing still. So I saw that. That's not talk. That guy did it. He he got to the finish line on day two. I Steve King will tell you, like they, they you know, they they take their time to move from one place to the next place, and they've got their timings pretty much. He said Mike Coughlin was at the top of Kohalla when he was the first one to go to the finish line, he's just on the other side, 17 miles away. So, holy shit, this guy is flying. I I ran I ran with him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We ran together for a bit, and and uh I just the way him and his wife interacted, a lot like me and my my wife, like you know, you could see that you know they're in it together. And uh so I I reached out to him and I said, Hey, listen, can you help me? You know, I'm an old I was I'm an older, I was older than an older guy, but I still I still I every time I went to the Ultraman, I went to win. To give my best.

SPEAKER_03 52:22

And I did.

SPEAKER_02 52:23

Honestly. I I didn't even care about the fit. Honestly, the the the the finishing was I I know that I gave my best.

Larry 52:31

I know I did. Well, that's the I mean you can always be happy leaving a race when you know that you you left it all out there. Um it it's the thing.

SPEAKER_02 52:43

Like I I I uh I hate losing more than I like winning, and I've only lost when I didn't prepare. In other words, that's that's the losing feeling. Like when I knew in my heart, I you didn't do the work, man.

Larry 52:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:00

You didn't do it.

Larry 53:00

And that's I hate that's different than another athlete was better than me on that day.

SPEAKER_02 53:06

Oh, that's that I listen. There's another guy, Tobias. Uh I'm gonna butcher his last name, great guy, Toby. He's a German dude. He won uh he won him, I can't remember the year, maybe 27. That's him. Yeah, I got it. I probably butchered his name. Toby, if you're listening, because we're we're friends. He we're friends. He reached out to me recently because he he's doing a bike ride across the uh the Dolomitis here and he wanted to know if I jumped. Great guy. But I watched the way he raced. Same deal. Like, same deal. He he just elegant and classy and committed. And you know, he'd show up in the morning, all three mornings he'd show up. Well, you know, I don't think I'm gonna be there. Oh yeah, okay. I told him on it, I told him on their run on the last day, stop saying that. Stop saying that, young fella. But but but just just just a um you know a great athlete. And to watch, to watch people, anybody of any level, but to watch folks work through their demons, it it's impressive and it's it motivates me.

Support the Podcast

Larry 54:14

Hello, listener. I love getting your feedback and suggestions for the podcast. 515, 1525, we're just like 15 at the bottom of the show. Thanks for all of your feedback and support. Well, you've also you know been the top of the podium

Ironman Experiences

Larry 55:13

in a number of your Iron Man races. Um maybe I can just go through your resume here for the listeners. You because it's also very impressive. Um 33 Ironmans at least, maybe you've done more. Um remember. Yeah. 17 times at Iron Man Canada, and and that's the legit Iron Man Canada, the one in Penticton, not this new Iron Man Canada, Ottawa. Shout out to Steve King. Shout out to Steve King.

SPEAKER_02 55:42

Yeah, I love Penticton.

Larry 55:44

Yeah, you did the world championship in Kona five times. You've done various other locations. You have a 70.3 world championship age group win at 50 to 55 in 2017, two times North American age group champion at 40 to 44 and 55 to 59. Um, so with all of that Iron Man racing experience, um I I haven't asked this one before, but can can you give me a I can't believe that happened story from from one of those races?

SPEAKER_02 56:20

Sure. Uh in uh in Kona, um uh the second or third time I got to, so in the early 90s, they had at what they call the hot corner, this big Jumbotron TV. This is before Facebook and the internet and everything. Big huge chase. And as you're coming up, there's somebody with a camera, and you're on the uh you're on the this big TV and he's got a bullhorn in his mouth, and he sees he sees me coming. I'm coming down the street with everyone else, and there's tons of people watching this thing, right? Like say on the hot corner uh by uh Alihi Drive. And um uh he he he uh 915 or whatever my number was, and 915. Uh do you need anything? I I look at him like I didn't have a special needs bag, so I'm like, dude, I I don't have a bag, I didn't, I don't have a special needs bag. And so he looks back and I I can see myself on the Jumbotron. It's me. And he uh he's in the thing and he's like, 915 has no bag. And these were in the days when we raced in Speedo's. So as I'm come, I'm coming through the corner, there's a bunch of people. I'm like, no, I have a bag, I just don't have one of those. And the place white, the place I could hear them laughing a mile away. It's always stuck out, it's always stuck out because I was feeling like shit, but I I was able to uh uh 915 has no bag. Uh I do have a bag.

Larry 57:49

That's great. Uh that that that might top Steve King talking about you to uh a flock of cattle uh in the middle of nowhere at a at an ultraman house.

SPEAKER_02 58:00

Yeah, that guy, man. He you know, and stay mad iron manada. There were times in before Iron Man became a real brand, there was uh and and Graham Fraser had had took it over. They were they were jockeying for some positions. And uh uh Steve, if he wasn't the race announcer, well, he took his little microphone and he went out around the course. And I'm telling you, man, I got a lot of energy from that guy. Up Richter's Pass, on the run. Like I knew exactly where he was, and I made sure to high-five him every time. And there he is, he's talking to whoever wants to hear. And it's it's great energy, great energy. Me, a homeless guy, and Steve King.

SPEAKER_03 58:42

Beautiful.

Larry 58:44

Yeah.

Canadian Armed Forces Athlete and HOF

Larry 58:45

Um now you were uh able to compete in many of these Iron Man races as a member of the military, and and you got some recognition as such. In in 1995, you placed first at the US Armed Forces Iron Man Championship and were named NORAD Athlete of the Year. You as I said off the top, you were put into the Canadian Armed Forces Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, and you were captain of the uh of the team, the Canadian team for the world military games in Rome. These these are things that other people would never get a chance to to know about or or see. Um is it widely known within the forces that there's this a hall of fame for sports? And because when I started to do the research on you, I looked it up and it's like every sport in the world is listed in there. Um is it is it something that's widely known and and what did it mean to you to get inducted into that sports hall of fame?

SPEAKER_02 59:50

Good question. The um so the the I'd seen the Hall of Fame like in every gymnasium in the Canadian forces back in the day, anyways, if they're all laid out the same, and they would have a this hall with the picture portrait and the resume of folks who were in the Hall of Fame. And a lot of them were from wartime service who went to the Olympics. The RCAF Flyers played in the I think the 1926 Olympics or may have their year on. But over the, you know, you see this, you go to the gym every day and you kind of look and they say, holy smokes, like these are some accomplished people. But there weren't a lot of folks like our vintage, like that were serving with us.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:31

And then all then all of a sudden, a biathlete, uh, a couple of biathletes that I knew that uh gone to the Olympics, uh, they got in a couple of triathletes, uh, Sharon Donnelly was one, and uh Lynn Bermel was another. And I I'd been training with them and they were on the national team, and I thought, you know, like uh geez, they've been to the Olympics, so you know, holy smokes, and they're representing the not only the country, but the Canadian forces. This is awesome. But I never I never had given it any any thought. Um and uh, you know, these the awards, they're they're they're they're um I guess uh stepping stones or milestones. I've got a a box here that I'm because we just moved here. I I can't wait to open up so I can kick myself down memory lane and and look and remind myself of you know just just just how long and and and and uh wonderful the the career was, not only serving uh in the uniform, but also as an athlete. Because uh, you know, the military, you you see it here in Europe for sure. The uh, you know, the sports is a big part and fitness is a big part of active readiness. And um when we went, the very first military world games in 1995 were held in Rome. There were 128 countries, and almost every one of the countries, they were their Olympian athletes who are housed in their every country had conscription, France, Germany, Italy, back in those days. And this is where you know their 18 and 19-year-old superstar athletes would be housed by the military. They don't get paid a lot of money, but they've got access to sports and to to racing. And and so this was our for my my first view of it. And I mean, I was I I I was well in over my head. I mean, I wasn't at that level, but it it it it it it motivated me to become that as a result, and and I I uh in the Canadian Forces, the Canadian Forces uh national triathlon team. I when I when I was involved in it, I mean it was a small little uh uh uh group of uh of athletes, and uh we didn't have a very large budget, but we had uh we had uh sponsorship from uh patrons, usually at the general rank. But I saw what what guys after me did with it. I mean, the program is huge, and it's that's just such a delight because everybody gets to play. You don't have to be an elite athlete, they've got different tiers now and and uh regional events, and I mean it's just a wonderful thing. And and I think that that you know that that was the idea about you know, well, here it's now and totally working.

Larry 1:03:13

That's great. And so is that being run by the military offices, or is that like in addition to just the regular races that are happening?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:25

So they no, the Canadian forces have a legitimate program, and they're they're they've got uh sponsorships, sports pro in all kinds of things, archery, judo, you picket. Right. And um, and uh they go out for corporate sponsorships. From what I understand, I've been out of it for a while now. Yeah, but uh the the military officers uh they and and uh enlisted folks who who uh are selected to the program. They get certain times of the year where they can all get together for a week or whatever and do a training camp. Then they're sent back to their yeah, sent back to their respective units to with a with a program in hand and and facilit uh and facilities. I mean, there's pool and gym and staff there to to help them to work their way through it. And uh there you go. You all of a sudden you've crafted yourself a lifestyle.

Larry 1:04:13

That's what happens.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:14

Yeah,

Military Service

SPEAKER_03 1:04:15

yeah.

Larry 1:04:16

Well, you know, I'm also a little bit interested in in some of the work that you did in in the military. I mean, I personally don't know a lot of people in the military. Uh Canada is mostly known as a as a peacekeeping nation. Um what what were some of the jobs that you had coming up your ranks? Um, what were some of the places you got sent out to and and things like that um while you were active in the military?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:44

I joined, I joined um in 1981 and I joined as an enlisted uh uh member uh as a radar technician. So my very first posting was up to uh one of the radar sites in northern Alberta. It's long since been disbanded, but uh I there might have been a hundred and a hundred of us up there when I was 19 years old, but it was great. Uh, you know, like uh here I am uh learning a trade. And uh then the Canadian Forces just opened up. I became uh I became an airborne uh sensor operator, chasing submarines all over different oceans. Uh and you know, we'd fly and and and uh track uh track submarines and surface contacts. That was a lot of fun.

Larry 1:05:29

Did did you ever did you have a ever have an opportunity where you're like, oh crap, something's going down? Or was it always pretty clean on the radar?

SPEAKER_02 1:05:39

Uh no, there's there's there's things that are happening, but we're all well trained to to to happen. Listen, like a lot of things happened in uh in uh the 33 plus years I was in. We saw 9 11. You know, like that was a thing. You know, every airplane got grounded. Well, it didn't that just happen on its own.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:58

And and by that time, I was where. Working in the air defense industry. I was an aerospace control officer, as is my wife. And so we lived through that. And then the consequences after that, yeah. I mean, the Gulf uh experience. I got posted to uh to with an American unit flying AWAX. AWAX is an airport uh warning platform. I don't know if you've ever seen this airplane, but it's got a big frisbee on the top of it. And inside there is a bunch of radar guys uh like myself. And uh I got deployed uh uh to Saudi Arabia flying those missions um uh pre uh pre-9-11, but uh uh post-Gulf War with the Americans embedded and and some you know furniture got broken, you know, there's no question. You know, it's it's a it's a business. Yeah. And then after that, uh I as I rose through ranks, uh I I I worked in staff positions for a bit uh as a career management. Uh that was that which was a great job because it's a people job. Um one of the highlights uh of uh of my career, I was the uh director of cadets at the Royal Military College. So that that it's a people job and and it's a leadership job. And um my personality seemed to fit uh with uh with the temperament of uh what you want young men and women to to kind of aspire to. So it was a it was a symbiotic relationship. I loved it. We did did some deployments and you know, there's as everyone does, I went to Bosnia and Saudi and Afghanistan and all those things.

Larry 1:07:40

Did did you go to to Bosnia um when it was active or after in peacekeeping? After, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:47

After peacekeeping, yeah.

Larry 1:07:50

Those are those I guess are the the better ones to go on.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:54

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Canada, Canada for for its for its size, uh certainly pulled its weight, uh, you know, I and and militarily and certainly, uh certainly during Afghanistan. No question.

Larry 1:08:08

Yeah. Maybe maybe get a little bit lighter here. Uh sure. Um I

Now and Future plans

Larry 1:08:15

understand that during COVID you decided to take up guitar, and now now you're starting to play a little bit. Are you ready to join a band with Steve King?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:24

Sure. I'd love to. You bet. You tell Steve King for me, we got a little trio here. We got a trio. Our our band name is the Swinging Dicks. D-I-X-X. Okay. Swinging Dicks. And we, yeah, we yeah, listen, uh the COVID really hit hard here in uh in Italy. I'm I'm sure you're probably aware, is it it hit everywhere? Um, but you know, then we were locked in here. I've I had probably one of the best times of my life. It was just me and my wife. And it's it's Italy, it's not like anybody missed us. So we we just we just hunkered down and uh uh started picking up little hobbies, and guitar is one of them that's that has stuck. I'm I I'm playing.

Larry 1:09:08

Yeah, good. Um so what is the what does the future hold for you? Uh do you have any more ultra in front of you, or is it going to be more uh European cycling life? Um any 515s, Ironmans? What's coming up?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:24

I I don't I don't know. I I don't have anything on the on the uh um immediate horizon. I'm I'm trying to get my way through school here. Um uh I I want to get uh completely checked out, uh instrument flight rating and uh night and and uh and endorsed on one of the bigger airplanes. And then I my wife and I we want to fly around Europe for a while. I'm you know, just ourselves. Um I I ride or I do something pretty much pretty pretty much daily. Um the the the thing that you can't leave that behind. No, so much fun here in Europe is is the is the social riding. I'm not kidding. There's in every city there's some sort of grand fondo going on every weekend.

unknown 1:10:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:09

And and they're fun.

Larry 1:10:11

And you're saying you want to fly around Europe. What what kind of plane would you be flying in?

SPEAKER_02 1:10:16

I I'm I got my eye on a cheatist that's uh four seat, um uh oxygen equipped, uh instrument-equipped airplane, fully fully instrumented, can get up to altitude. So, you know, I can fly over to Ireland to see my family. Yeah, we want to go over to I I want to I want to do some stuff.

Larry 1:10:36

Yeah. Wow, that's that sounds exciting. The free the freedom to just go fly would be amazing.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:43

General aviation. As long as I can fit my bike in it. Every everything every vehicle, every vehicle we've ever picked had to had to be able to fit my bike.

Larry 1:10:52

Do you you don't just put a roof rack on that?

SPEAKER_02 1:10:55

Not on the airplane.

Larry 1:10:56

I thought about it. Yeah. Well, hey, Tony, thank you very much for joining me today and and sharing your your stories and and your advice for the people that are always looking for advice. Uh it's been great uh catching up with you and and hearing about this. Uh this lifestyle in Europe. It sounds great. Uh, I might have to think about doing that myself when I retire.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:19

Well, if you're if you're ever looking for a ride, that's for anybody. I mean, I'm right here in Emilia Romagna, and I I speak Italian and I know my way around. That's a those are two big keys on a bike that make your uh uh uh um experience much more pleasurable. Excellent.

Larry 1:11:36

Well, I'm sure our listeners will pick you up on that.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:38

Sure. Hey Larry, thanks uh thanks very much for uh giving us the opportunity and um hey, peace and love to uh our ultra Ohana, all those folks out there. They are the everyone who's uh who certainly been in uh in uh Hawaii will know the names that I was uh dropping uh shamelessly here because they're all characters. They're all great, great people.

Larry 1:12:01

Yeah. Thank you. Okay.