They call it the “Beast of the East“, a triathlon in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, created and managed by the Wicklow Triathlon Club (see www.wicklowtri.com). As a member of the club I was helping with the event in my favourite way – playing the bagpipes as the swimmers entered the cold and choppy waters of Lough Dan Co. Wicklow.

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It was over an hour before the last person finished the swim and I managed to keep the bagpipes blowing for most of it, although I’m sure it was way tougher for the swimmers to keep their lungs going!

Once all the swimmers were out I went up the road to help with marshalling the event.

By the time I got to a good place to help, many of the triathletes were already beginning to zoom in on their bikes and then zoom out again for the run.

While I was helping to marshall cyclists, runners and some cars on a small hilly country road, I noticed a young boy waiting to support his Dad.  Accompanying him were his Grandparents, his Mother and siblings. The young boy wondered where his Dad was but with a smile of enthusiasm he waited patiently.

His Dad eventually appeared and was coming last. He slowly (and painfully I’m sure) jogged up this hilly country road in his bright orange t-shirt. Yet to my surprise, this Dad, after completing a very tough 1.5K swim, a 40K very hilly bike ride and just beginning a very tough 10K run stopped for a moment and kissed one of his children. He then headed off over the hills to continue his run, in last place. The young boy sat on a grass verge by the side of the road and continued to wait.

While the young boy waited he told us how his Dad had won a medal in another triathlon and completed a 20k run before! The pride he felt for his Dad was evident all across his beaming smile as he told us about his Dads previous accomplishments. However it was a long wait for his Dad and most people had dispersed before there was any sign of him arriving back from the run.

The Grandparents and Mother decided to go on to the finish to wait and see their “son-in-law finish the race”. The young boy, now left alone, continued to wait proudly on the grass verge for his Dad.

Eventually his Dad did show up and by then everyone else was well finished. However when this young boy saw his Dad coming both their faces beamed with delight! The young boy got up from the grass verge and ran with his Dad that last few hundred meters.

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When everyone who was still around at the finish saw these two great champions running that last few hundred meters they responded with clapping, cheering and roars of support all the way to the finish. It was brilliant! It was for me the highlight of the event!

It really didn’t matter where this man came in the triathlon because in the eyes of this young boy, his son, and many who watched including myself, this man and his son will always be winners!

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Photos by Andrew Cummins – www.AndrewCummins.com

Unhappy with how your life is going then learn how to pursue

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Begins September 21 2010

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Related Links:

www.WicklowTri.com

Triathlon Can Dad

Outsider Magazine article

53 Degrees North Article

Iron Man Champion – Aged 74

Ok so you think you’re old and have given up on some of your dreams! Well when I read about this amazing 74 year old lady, Harriott Anderson from a friend of mine Jenny Brice I felt a new surge of energy for all that is possible in this life!

In summary Harriott has completed 18 Ironman Triathlons (consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike and a marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) run). She’s currently training for the next Ironman in Kona, Hawaii in October 2010! What an inspiration!

Below is an interview with Hariott and part of a blog article about her written by Kathleen Jensen

Be Inspired by this amazing IronLady!!!

The following excerpt is written by Kathleen Jensen and was originally published on www.athleta.net

When Harriet Anderson crossed the finish line at Kona — the Ford Ironman World Championship — in October 2009, there were a few reasons she stood out. At 74 years of age, she was the oldest female competitor to complete the race. At 11:53 p.m. she finished, just seven minutes before the cutoff. And the reason she’d taken longer than usual? The arm taped to her side was a clue. She’d broken her clavicle at mile 80 of the bike ride when another cyclist bumped into her. Did that deter Harriet? No. She picked herself up, finished the next 32 miles on the bike, and promptly walked the entire 26.2 miles of the marathon.

Meet Harriet, the Women’s 70-74 Ironman World Champion.

THE JOURNEY BEYOND

What makes a person push and endure beyond barriers? There’s not one noticeable moment in her history that would make someone think that Harriet was destined to be an Ironman champion in her 70’s, and that’s the beauty of her story. Harriet grew up in Los Gatos and spent the summers with her sister on the beach in Santa Cruz. In college she spent a summer in Yosemite hiking long distances without stopping. “The guys I was hiking with were impressed that I just kept going,” says Harriet. “I guess I was just born with the endurance gene.” She married Gary 50 years ago—they celebrated their golden anniversary this month—and raised two kids.

As a school nurse Harriet understood the value of good health. When their kids left home, a friend encouraged Harriet and Gary to join an exercise class at Canada College. “We met three times a week and focused on strength training and running,” explains Harriet. Then someone suggested a 10k race. Which she did. And then a half marathon. She did that too. In 1986 she decided to tackle the Honolulu Marathon.

THE PATH TO IRONMAN

This path of racing one distance and then doing longer races is familiar to most athletes who get hooked on racing. Triathlon caught Harriet’s eye, but she wasn’t a strong swimmer. So she joined a master’s swim club at the community center and then tried her hand at a couple of sprint distance (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) triathlons. That went well and she had fun, so when some friends planned to do the Wildflower Long Course distance race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) in May 1989, she signed up too.

Wildflower is well-known as a fun race with a super challenging half Ironman course, not generally forgiving for first timers. And yet 53-year-old Harriet won …

Click here to Read on

Enjoy

Sean M Kelly

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I’ve often spoken or written about the importance of having a purpose for what you do – your life, your work, your relationships and other important areas of your life. Have a great purpose and you’ll be motivated greatly! A great purpose acts as a lighthouse for the direction we want to go and we find it easier to make decisions because we know what’s really important to us. And when our purpose revolves around helping others we often find the extra energy and motivation to go the extra mile.

No more is this true than in the case of Dick Hoyt and his son Rick. When Rick was born his Dad was basically told to put him into some sort of institution for life and that he would never amount to much because of his extreme paralysis. Luckily enough Dick didn’t listen to such life limiting advice. Instead he nourished his sons talents whatever way possible and now they compete together in Ironman triathlons and Rick has graduated from university. To be inspired and feel the spirit of these two great people watch the video below. It’s amazing and a great example of the power of purpose in a Father/Son relationship:

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For more on the Power of Purpose, Vision and manifesting your dreams purchase Sean’s latest ebook Dare to Dream – click here

Well here’s another amazing video which movingly demonstrates the inner power of the human Spirit! In times where the only focus seems to be on “whats not working” in our world – the economy, the climate, peace and so on, it would be good for us all to listen to the wisdom which is shared by these two amazing people - Jim Mac Laren from the USA and Emmanuel Ofosu Yoboah from Ghana.

At the age of 22 Jim Mac Laren an all American athletes life was changed dramatically when he was hit by a bus. Believe it or not he became an Iron Man triathlete after that but as you’ll see in the video far tougher challenges lay ahead of Jim. As fate would have it he connects with another one of lifes great heros Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah a one legged man from Ghana.

Whatever challenges we face in our day let us Be Inspired by Jim and Emmanueal to have the courage to face them with the same conviction that we shall overcome.

Receive regular Be Inspired videos, articles and reflections by signing up below. And remember if you help spread these positive messages you are also helping create a better world for all. If you purchase some of the inspirational products from this website on the right hand side you are also helping pay for the time it takes to continuously develop this site. Thank you. Sean M Kelly founder www.BeInspired-blog.com