muscles, before a chiseled man in his 60s challenged him to attend a boot camp class and develop some core strength. That man was Henry Forrest, one of the 12 finishers of the original Ironman triathlon in 1978. Forrest was suffering from Stage IV pancreatic cancer, but that didn’t keep him from leading boot camp each morning. When Forrest died in November of that year, Eskew and some fellow classmates vowed to do the next major triathlon they could find.
Eskew registered for the Gulf Coast
At some point I conceded that I was going to be single the rest of my
life...That’s what drove me to sports. I figured it would compensate for a lack of physical beauty.
Triathlon, the half-iron distance event in Panama City, Fla. That led to the 2009 Ironman Florida and soon an ambitious schedule as a competitive age group triathlete.
At last year’s ITU Long Distance World Championship in Las Vegas, he endured multiple flat tires, a crash and miles of running alongside the bike barefoot before finally fixing the tire and getting back in the saddle for good. It’s just another interesting
endurance tale for an athlete who gives motivational speeches and plans to write his life story. He’s attracted a few sponsors, including Newton Running, and would like to land an airfare sponsor so he can continue to take his growing family to races, especially as more of his kids age out of the free 2-and-under seating. He’s also uploaded a video to Kona Inspired (
www.konainspired.com) with the goal of winning a trip to the Ironman World Championship in October. Eskew speaks to schoolchildren, Rotary groups, and the occasional corporate audience. The message is one of overcoming adversity but also to not just settle for getting to the starting line. “I think the biggest injustice people do to those of us who have been through trauma is to treat us with kid gloves,” Eskew says. “I don’t ever do a race with just the intention of finishing. I always think I’m going to be in the top 10 percent. I might not be, but if you train the way the best train, you’re going to surprise yourself with what you can do.”
Pete Williams is a triathlete in Clearwater, Fla., and the editor of
www.endurancesportsflorida.com.
38 USA TRIATHLON SUMMER 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144