Imagine! CEO Completes IRONMAN

Imagine! CEO Mark Emery recently competed in the 2018 IRONMAN Boulder, his first ever long distance triathlon. Two months prior to the race, he suffered a hip injury and had to modify his training to manage the pain. Two weeks before the race, Mark could not walk a full mile, and the race was the first time he had run in nine weeks. Despite the setback, he stayed the course and gave it a go.

Mark is no stranger to adventures and stepping out of his comfort zone. Hiking from Aspen to Crested Butte and back again in one weekend, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and peaking Mount Ben Nevis in Scotland, a rim to rim day hike in the Grand Canyon, and a handful of national and international bike tours. This is just a taste of Mark’s drive for adventure.

Before committing to the race, Mark was fascinated by the IRONMAN. “Look at these folks doing this, why on earth would anyone do this?” wondered Mark. He talked to friends and colleagues, picking their brains about the race and why they did it. This included co-worker Heather Forsyth, who competed in her third IRONMAN this year.

His curiosity and admiration snowballed into serious consideration, so he took a few evaluations to see if he was capable of such a feat. “Mentally, I was pretty sure I could put myself through this. Physically, I wasn’t so sure.” The evaluations came back positive and Mark made the commitment in fall of 2017.

A month after committing, Mark experienced one of worst things any father could go through, the passing of his daughter at age 25.

“Training became my therapy,” said Mark. He incorporated grieving into the training and wanted to be by himself. “I hired a coach to help me organize my workouts, but anytime she asked me if I wanted to join groups, I said ‘absolutely not.’ For me, training was pure solitude, solace, alone time. And terrific for me.”

Training went as planned until early April when he started to feel pain in his hip. Mark adapted his routine to manage the pain, but as the race drew nearer, he didn’t know if he would even be able to run.

It was HOT on IRONMAN race day. It reached a high of 93 degrees and a constant intake of fluids was a must. He had a smooth swim and was very pleased when he exited the reservoir. The bike ride was when the sun showed its ugly side and beat down on all the riders.

“I constantly felt depleted and didn’t know if I had enough fluids in me, until I rode past a tree that gave me a small allergic reaction and my eyes started to water. I said to myself ‘Thank goodness! There ARE fluids in my body!’”

Mark dismounted the bike and began his biggest challenge of all, managing the pain in his hip. He was prepared to pull the plug at any moment, knowing it wasn’t worth it to extend the injury. “If I was in Vegas, I would have bet on me quitting the run before six miles,” said Mark.

But then, something happened. He found a certain rhythm and cadence to his step that bypassed the pain. “It was mechanical, almost like a robot,” said Mark. “I knew that if I could avoid any mistakes and maintain that rhythm, I would make it.”

Mark used the newly founded mechanical motion and crossed the finish line at 14 hours, 54 minutes, and 27 seconds. “I probably could have finished with a faster time, but I wanted to soak in everything going on,” said Mark. He stopped to chat with people, rested up at aid stations, and took in the mountain views.

After asking Mark what major lesson he took away from his IRONMAN experience, he responded:

Mark and his wife, Judy, at an Imagine! event. 

“The human condition is interesting because people are given a variety of gifts. It is my judgement that if you don’t take advantage of those gifts, then that’s not okay. Something as simple as reading, writing, thinking clearly, formulating ideas… if you’re not taking advantage of that because you have that gift, something is wrong. Physically, it’s the same thing. If you’re not challenged physically, and you’re not demonstrating the gifts you are given, in my opinion, that’s not okay. I’m lucky at my age to do what I’m able to do. It would be wrong for me to not take advantage of that and do uncommon things, like the IRONMAN.

“When these gifts are not acted upon, what a loss to the rest of us. Leave your legacy. Exercise that. Demonstrate that. Everybody’s got something. In our line of work, it’s a challenge to find what somebody’s something is, but it’s there.”