I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 23. That was a wake up call. A slap in the face. A few years later, I almost died from a yellow jacket sting when I was biking on the W&OD. When I arrived at the Herndon Fire Department for help, my vision was blurred and the paramedic couldn’t read my blood pressure initially because it was so low. A few years ago, I was in multi-car collision on a California interstate at 65 mph. I’ve been intentionally “buzzed” by a Fairfax County bus on my bicycle. For some unknown reasons outside of my control, I am still alive. I am thankful to be alive.

A few years ago, I unintentionally started down a path of trying to optimize my life experiences in order to live life to its fullest in everything I do - my job, my hobbies, my friendships and my relationships with others.

[In 2006], I walked away from a corporate job because it gave me little satisfaction. I felt like I was stagnating. I was willing to take a chance that if I followed my passions that I could make a living and achieve happiness at the same time. I was willing to risk material comfort and my lifestyle for a chance for more self-satisfaction. I do not regret my decision.

Doing 24 IM’s has nothing to do with ego or arrogance nor is it about an obsession with triathlon (I think). It was everything to do with life experience. Finishing 24 IM’s in a year is both an uncertainty and a tremendous challenge. I am not even sure my body can handle it but I’m willing to take the risk and find out. Truthfully, it does not matter whether I succeed or not - what matters is that I’m willing to pursue something purely for the sake of doing it - i.e. “flow.” It may even open up more doors and opportunities for myself or for others - for example, I could complete the 24 events for the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation in order to create awareness about melanoma.

For me, triathlon is what I do now. I enjoy the sport. I may not do it tomorrow. However, I do want to continue to “push the envelope” while I still enjoy doing it. I have a time goal to go under 8:30, which I think I can do at the Quelle Challenge in Roth, Germany. I could have finished in 8:4X this year at Roth but I made a mistake by not ingesting enough electrolytes on the bike / run until late in the race, which resulted in me cramping on the run. Race directing SavageMan was a huge stretch challenge for me. I’ve never organized something as big or as high profile as that event. I walked away exhausted but with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. That feeling of accomplishment from myself was what I was looking for.