Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 317. Making History: Paralympian & Ironman Triathlete Sarah Reinertsen Talks Perseverance, Coming Up Short & The Importance Of Inclusion

Transcript

317. Making History: Paralympian & Ironman Triathlete Sarah Reinertsen Talks Perseverance, Coming Up Short & The Importance Of Inclusion · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We are still hearing stories about kids and people with
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: disabilities being excluded.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: We need to change that.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: What's going on? Everyone? Emily A body here.
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: You are listening to a special episode, episode three hundred
• 0:26
  Speaker 4: and seventeen of Hurdle, a wellness focused podcast where I
• 0:29
  Speaker 4: talk to inspirational people about everything from their highest highs
• 0:32
  Speaker 4: and toughest moments to essential tips on how to live
• 0:36
  Speaker 4: a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We all go through
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: our fair share of hurdles. My goal through these discussions
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: is to empower you to better navigate yours and move
• 0:46
  Speaker 4: with intention so that you can stride towards your own
• 0:48
  Speaker 4: big potential and of course have some fun along the way.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: I said this is a special episode.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: And I mean it.
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: I am bringing a conversation I had the opportunity to
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: have last week in Paris to the feed, and that
• 1:03
  Speaker 4: is with the ever lovely Sarah Reynerdson. You may follow
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: her over on Instagram over at her account at always Try.
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: She's a paralympian. She's also the first female amputee to
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: finish the World iron Man Championships in Kona. And what
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: is so inspirational about this story is that not only
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: was she the first female amputee to do so, but
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: she did it on her second try. She went to
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: Kona in two thousand and four, didn't make the cutoff
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: for the bike, which she tells us this story today,
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: and then had the tenacity, audacity, and strength and courage
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: and will to persevere show up again in two thousand
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: and five and crush that race.
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: I am so inspired by Sarah.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: Like I said, we had the opportunity to connect last
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: week during the Paralympics. We were both at Nike's headquarters
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: there to talk about a new initiative that they have
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: upcoming that is called Game On. So basically what Game
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: On is, I'll break it down.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: It is a.
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: One year career program that is supported by the US
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: Olympic and Paralympic Committees, and the goal of this program
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: is to increase awareness and underscore the importance of disability inclusion.
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: Those selected for hire through the program will be entitled
• 2:21
  Speaker 4: to employment benefits provided by Nike as well as relocation assistants,
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: and they'll have the opportunity to get a ton of
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: hands on experience right at Nike's global headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: Now I'm going to link the details of this program
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: in the show notes so that you can hear more.
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: But to apply and applications open tomorrow September twelve.
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: You can head right.
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: On over to jobs dot Nike dot com slash Disability
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: Dash Inclusion Again.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: I'm going to link this in the show notes.
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: Anyway, I could have talked to Sarah absolutely forever. She
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: is such an inspirational individual and we didn't even touch
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: on the fact that she also participated in the amazing
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: race but another story for another time. This woman has
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: the motivation that you need for your midweek pick me up,
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: and even in the teeny amount of time that we had,
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: I knew that I needed.
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: To share her with all of you. Make sure you're
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: following along with Hurdle.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: Over on social It's at Hurdle podcast. I am over
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: at Emily a Body and with that, let's get to it.
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: Let's get to hurdling. Today, I am sitting down with
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: Sarah Reinertson. She is not only in sports marketing at Nike,
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: but she is also the first woman female amputee to
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: complete the Ironman World Championships in Kona.
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: How are we doing today?
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Do an excellent great to be here.
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: It's so great to be here. I feel like we
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: have had a whirlwind of a week. We are currently
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: finishing things up here in Paris and celebrating both the
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: announcement of Nike's Game On program, but also the Paralympics,
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: which is something you yourself are well familiar with as
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: a Paralympian yourself.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I went to the Paralympics in Barcelona so
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: many years ago, but have been super active in the
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: sports community, and I have some athletes here competing, So
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: I'm really excited to be here in Paris and celebrate
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: part of it with you.
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: And when you say you have some athletes here competing, yes,
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: elaborate so they understand completely.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: So I work for Nike Sports Marketing and so we
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: are the team that signs athletes for Nike, and so
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: I have several Paralympians that are Nike signed and contracted
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: and it's been a thrill to get to watch them
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: compete and several a couple of them on the podium.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: But there's still more events to come, so I'm excited
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: to see them continue to shine here at the Paris
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: Paralympic Games.
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: Sarah, did you want to have a career in sports marketing.
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: Was this something that always enticed you or was it
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: a more natural segue after your athletic pursuits.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't know if I ever thought in
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: my head like, oh, sports marketing was it. I just
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: knew I wanted to be in the arena of sports.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: I wanted to be connected to sport. I loved the
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: idea of wearing sneakers to work every day, and sports
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: marketing kind of evolved. I started at Nike in the
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: innovation team, and so that was sort of my first entryway,
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: and I'm super passionate about product creation and footwear innovation
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: and all the work that we do there. But this
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: was like the natural progression to also help lead Nike
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: in the Olympic and Paralympic space.
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: In the Olympic and Paralympic space, it's so cool, and
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: I candidly think that it's a job that so many seek, right.
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: It's such a sought after opportunity, not only as an
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: athlete yourself, to have this opportunity to give back to
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: sport but still be so immersed in it.
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: It's so special.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm you know, it's you also have so
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: much historic knowledge about the space, about the athletes, about
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: and I think you know, I love the Paralympics, but
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: for a new viewer sometimes it can be a lot
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: to figure out with all the classifications on all the
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: different disabilities, and a lot of the sports have a
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: lot of parallels, but the rules might be slightly different,
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: you know, so tennis or basketball still very similar. But
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: then you also have sports that are unique to the Paralympics,
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: like goldball. So you know, being having grown up in it,
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: I have a deep understanding of it, and it's been
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: exciting to see part of the growth and to see
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: the world catch up to I mean.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: Look, the Paralympics is the third largest.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Sporting event in the world, and I love that we're
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: getting this chance here in Paris.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Honestly, Emily, I'm.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Already thinking about la I'm already, like my brain's already
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: in Milan. And then the big show is going to
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: come to the United States in four very short years.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: Four very short years. Now.
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: You mentioned the concept of classifications, which leads me to
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: want to talk about what yours was. Tell us a
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: little bit about your experience as paralympian and also your disability.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so I am what would be called a T
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: sixty three, which basically means an above the knee amputation.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: So in the track, when you look at the T
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: sixty three category, that is an above the knee amputation.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: And then they also classify the below the knee amputations differently,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: or an arm amputee, or if you have cerebral palsy,
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: that's a different classification. And so they really call out
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: the differences because there is a very big difference if
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: you have your knee. I mean you can just think
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: about when you go upstairs, you have that drive. I
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: don't have that on my left side. So it is
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: a significant difference between an athlete that does have a
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: below the knee amputation. And so that's where they have
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: those classifications. That's at a high level, I mean it
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: really deep in it. But that's a basic explanation of
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: how it all works.
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: Right, And you were born with a bone growth disorder,
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: talk to us a little bit about how that impacted
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: you from a young age.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Sure, So, I was born with a condition called proximalphemeral
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: focal deficiency. I was born in New York. I was
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: diagnosed at NYU Hospital. It basically means I didn't have
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: the tissues to stimulate the right growth, and so we
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: actually help my parents and I at the age of seven,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: so it was probably more my parents, but you know,
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: we trusted the doctors and medical recommendations that I should
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: consider amputation, and so I had my left leg amputated
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: when I was seven years old.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: But I am a.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Person that has experienced disability throughout my life. You know,
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: I think disability is something that can occur at any time.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: Sometimes we say that you are temporarily able bodied because
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: you never know if you have a stroke or an injury.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: You might join the club too, or you just age
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: into it.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: But I was born with my disabilit and the experience
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: that I had through my life as a young girl
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: with a disability, especially in the area of sport, wasn't
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: actually always so positive. There's a story that I often tell,
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: not because I want to make the soccer coach feel bad,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: but I hear similar stories today. But when I was
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: a kid growing up, my mom signed me up to
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: be in the town soccer league, just like my sibling,
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: and when I went to practice, the coach wouldn't let
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: me play with the other kids, and he would give
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: me a soccer ball, and I was forced to go
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: kick the ball against the wall of the school by myself.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: And you know, I think that really had a profound
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: effect on me. And you know, I think some people
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: would say, Okay, I'm not meant to be in that place,
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: but I think because of my parents and maybe being
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: a New Yorker, I don't know. I just thought, you know,
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: it doesn't have to be that way, and I want
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: to play just like every other kid. And so this
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: also is where my passion for sport is grounded in,
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: where my passion for innovation is grounded in, because I
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: want to continue to open up opportunities for others, whether
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: that's through footwear, whether that's through opportunities, whether that's through
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: our partnerships with nonprofits that help serve and fill that gap.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Because we are still hearing stories about kids and people
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: with disabilities being excluded.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: We need to change that.
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: I will double click shortly on the concept of innovation,
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: especially the new innovation that has come onto the scene
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: since you were competing at the Paralympics. But first and foremost,
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: I do want to say thank you for sharing your
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: story and for your vulnerability. I can't even imagine what
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: it had to be like to be othered at such
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: a young age.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think that's where it's like it happens
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: to so many. I think that it's a common experience.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: It's not something that I own on my own. But
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: that's also where we can be more powerful together to
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: kind of shift that mindset. I'm also just thankful that
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: I had a very strong background to help me choose
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: the other choice instead of staying on the sidelines. It
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: like put the fire in my belly to be like,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: you know what, I am not going to be excluded. Yeah,
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: in fact, I'm going to prove to you and show
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: you what I can do. And I wanted to surprise people.
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you joked a little bit about that being a
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: New Yorker.
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: Do you think that was an example that was provided
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: for you, that audacity from your parents or do you
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: think where do you think that came from?
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, my parents are immigrants. My mom immigrated
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: from Norway and moved to Brooklyn and had to learn
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: learn a new language and figure it out. So, you know,
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: I think anyone who like you know my grandparents, they
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: had two kids, They had two kids in tow and
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: they immigrated to another country when they were my age now,
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: And I just think that takes a lot of tenacity
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: to like leave your entire family behind and get on
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: a boat and go to another country where you don't
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: know the language. So I think, you know, that that
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: kind of chutzpah, that tenacity, that that drive, that was
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: definitely part of my family's sort of m o, you know,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: and that was instilled in me. And I'm grateful for that.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: And I think also coming from New York, it's just like, look,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: the sidewalks, the streets, the people.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: It's not no one's gonna stop for you.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: So you either, like you know, figure out how to
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: keep up or Yeah.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: So I love that.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: I love that I was raised there, and I think
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: it's I still identify as a New Yorker even though
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: I don't live there, because I love that the hustle
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: that that place teaches you.
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: It's one thing to persevere and continue on with sport.
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: It's another thing to take it to the level that
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: you ultimately took it.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: To talk to us.
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: About when you started to view your relationship with sport
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: in such a way that you wanted to put everything
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: you had into it.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I think for me, well, you know,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: sport really did become my full full time thing. Actually
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: until I had finished my masters, I also had a
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: job working sort of in the sport space and then
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: media space. Actually, but I met it was probably after,
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: honestly September eleventh that it started to really become a
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: focus for me, because I started to think, you know,
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: when sometimes when things happen in your life or and
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: it happened to the world, it made you really reevaluate
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: how much time you have on this blue marble. And
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: if you want to make a dream or something happen, like,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: you got to start today. And even if it doesn't
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: happen overnight, if it's a big audacious goal, you have
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: to use every day, even if it's that incremental like
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: success to get there.
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: It's like all those little goals.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: But it was truly after September eleventh that I was like,
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: you know what I want to do an iron man, Like,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: why don't I just like buy a bike. I don't
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: know how to ride it, but I'll figure it out.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: I was not brave enough to bring the bike onto
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: the streets of Brooklyn, so I got a bike trainer
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: and I trained my bike a trainer, like in my
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: apartment going nowhere. But yeah, no, I was building my
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: bike legs and building my strength, and so that was
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: really you know, I think.
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: If people have those, but you have to just start.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: And sometimes those tragedies are that ignite, you know, that
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: ignition moment.
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: Anyways, Yeah, you know what I'm hearing you say, or
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: there's a why, there's a way.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: You had such a strong why.
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: It is not the most enjoyable thing to sit inside
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: on a bike trainer, like I don't need to tell you,
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: I know that, you know, but you had a strong
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: conviction that this was something that you wanted to do
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: and that's so special. So that conviction then eventually it
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: took you off the trainer and out into the streets.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Yes it did.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: I actually ended up moving out to California and started
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: riding my bike on the roads. Did my very first triathlon,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: which was a sprint try. You know, it's a lot
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: shorter than an iron Man, But as soon as I
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: did that, I was like, Okay, I've got one part
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: of that iron Man done. I had done several marathons.
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: That was actually probably the first. You know, gateway is
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: once you you know, I had accomplished that distance too,
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: so then it was just putting the other pieces together
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: of the longer bike and the longer swim.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: And California was a great place to do that.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: They have bike lanes outside and swimming pools outside. But yeah,
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: I just kept going, And you know, I did my
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: first attempt at the Iron Man in two thousand and four,
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: and so that's when I really kind of got finally
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: got to Kona and dove into the ocean and gave
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: it my best shot.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and it didn't go as you had hoped. Talk
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: to me about how you navigated that hurdle.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, the first time I went to the
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: Hawaii Iron Man, I missed the bike cut off by
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: fifteen minutes and it was heartbreaking. We had a super
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: windy year. Winds hit like sixty five miles an hour.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: I was getting blown all over the Queen k and
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: I peddled my little heart out. And when I crossed
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: the line, I mean I had a bike, computer and
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: a watch, and I knew that, like, yeah.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: My day was over. And I came rolling in and.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: I knew I had failed, and I didn't want to
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: be treated any different, Like the rules were the same
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: for everybody didn't matter if I had a disability. I
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: wanted to I wanted to compete within the rules of
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: play for that sport. But I missed the cutoff, and
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: there was a lot of tears and a lot of
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: you know, being upset. And but I went back to
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: the finish line that night, because you know, it is
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: a race that goes into the wee hours of the night.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: And I came back with my family and I just
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: watched that finish line and I just vowed to myself that,
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: like I was going to take care of unfinished business,
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: that I would be back to Kona maybe the next
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: year or sometime in the future. And I was gonna
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: I was gonna get it done.
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: But there's that tenacity again, Right. It's not something that
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: you it's a muscle that you strengthen, but it's one
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: that sticks with you.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: Right. And so you were putting in the reps.
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: You knew that you wanted to be back there in ConA,
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: and that is exactly what you did. So when you
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: return uh to the other side of that finish line
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: then next year, explain the feelings to me.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, you know, I went back.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: I mean, and look, when you fail, sometimes you have
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: to change your plan or change your equipment, as the
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: case may be. So I got a new coach, I
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: got a new bike, I got different race wheels, I
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: changed my training program. I actually went to Hawaii twice
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: that year to train and to race. I was like,
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: I need to be on the course. I even got
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: you know, I even prayed to Madame Pele, like I
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: just I did all of the things. And so when
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: I went back and I actually I carried this key
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: chain around that it was sixteen hours and five minutes,
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: and that was my goal time. I was like, I
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: think I've done, like spreadsheeted this out.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: I think I could do.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: This race in sixteen oh five. And I ended up
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: going to Hawaii in two thousand and five for that race,
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: and I crossed that finish line in fifteen oh five.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: There we go.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: So it was amazing, so amazing, so amazing.
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: You talked about also different equipment, and I think that's
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: something that's really been interesting for me this week to
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: see a range of the different equipment that is available
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: now to paralympians and disabled individuals. Can you talk a
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: little bit about what has changed, what products is Nike
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: making right now?
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: That serve that community.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, we have.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: A whole collection of things, and I'm so proud of
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: the work that I've gotten to do it Nike in
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: the innovation space. You know, for me, it started with footwear.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: We have our Flies collection now we call easy On,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: where we make footwear that's just more accessible for people
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: with or without disabilities to get that footwear on easier,
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: whether that's an Air Jordan one Flies which I'm wearing today,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: or the Nike Go Flies. And we also have our
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: peg easy On and that's also one too. Like look,
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: I got to even wear an earlier version of the
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Pegasus easy On in Kona, because you are timed on
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: your transitions, so it's not you know, I love that
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: we're making footwear that makes it easier for anyone to
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: get dressed independently and without hassles, to get out the
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: door and get into the sport of play. But when
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: you're raising a triathlon, you are timed on how fast
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: you get those shoes on. So I mean, I love
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: that this latest version of the peg easy On is
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: even better than the one I got to use at
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: the last Iron Man I did in twenty eighteen. But
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: it is it's a piece of equipment that helps people
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: get out into the sport of play, but it also
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: helps elite triathletes get through their transitions quicker.
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: You know what I love about you, Among many things,
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: I think it's so inspirational that you have been dealt
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: a circumstance that maybe at first you weren't stoked about,
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: and you have made the conscious choice and continue to
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: choose to do the best you can with what you have.
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: Can you talk a little bit about that, because I
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: think that there are so many individuals who struggle with
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: making that choice, who struggle with getting over the things
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: that they can't control, accepting things how they are, and
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: making the best of a situation.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Emily, you said it, You're the best right there. I mean,
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: it's really really leaning into those things where you know
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: that you cannot change. I'm not going to grow my
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: leg back. I am not going to be I'm also
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: not super tall. I like to say I'm fun sized,
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: so I'm not going to be a tall supermodel. I'm
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: not gonna you know, but I know that there's things that.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: I can do.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: I also know that in every opportunity that I've had,
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: I've also wanted to use that to bring someone else along,
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: because I felt left behind and so I don't want
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: to let others feel left behind. And so that also
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: and in many ways too, like you know, when you're
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: a marathon or and you have ignited other people to
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: get to their marathon start line, it also kind of
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: fuels yourself, Like the joy that you feel and the
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: joy that I have felt in doing sport. It's been cool,
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: but I mean even being here at the Paralympic Games,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: I think it's even it's almost twice as cool the
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: joy that I feel when you see someone else succeed
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: and so like, and that can also keep your motivation
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: and love and passion and all of those things. So
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: in many ways it's sort of I feel in some
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: ways it's sort of been selfish and in some kind
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: of way that like, but it's like, you know, in
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: helping others, it's kept me super stoked and super involved,
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: and I still you know, look, my body's aging.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: I've started to have arthritis.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: You know, we all raise the sunset and all that,
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: but I get to stay connected and I get to
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: relive those finish lines through other people.
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: And I don't want to put words in your mouth
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: but being on this side of the coin at Nike,
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: you have this opportunity now to do so much of
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: the stuff that you just mentioned, to give back, to
• 21:37
  Speaker 4: enable and empower others to go after their big potential.
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: I can't even imagine how that must feel for you.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: This has been a dream come true. You know.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: I'll be honest, I never got to win that Paralympic medal.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: I've been on some podiums, but the Paralympics is a
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: podium I've never gotten to be on. But when I
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: think about my work at Nike and I think about
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: the way that we can change the world through our innovation,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: I feel like I've won the gold medal.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: Two last questions.
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: First question, I can't let you go from our brief
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: chat today without talking about seven seven seven. Can you
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: just do me a favor and talk to me a
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: little bit about not only what the World Marathon Challenge is,
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: but the feelings at the end of it.
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: Man, Oh, that's what I don't know.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you know.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of people know about my Iron
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: Man races, but I am proud to be the first
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: leg amputee, male or female to do a race called
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: the World Marathon Challenge, which is seven marathons in seven
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: days on seven continents. And it was like the hardest
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: thing I have ever done. I mean, keeping your mental
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: strength tough and your body tough for seven days long.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: It was I mean, it was hard and I definitely
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: had a breaking point.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: You know.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: We started in Antarctica, then we went to Cape Town,
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: then we went to Perth, then Dubai and then to Portugal.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: And when I got to Portugal, the wheels started to
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: come off. I thought I was gonna quit. I started crying.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I called my coach and my husband during the race
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: as I'm running, and I'm.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: Like, I don't know if I can do this, you know.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: I was like, and who even needs Europe. I've already
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: run in this continent. I think I'm gonna quit.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: And then you know, and actually it was another you know,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: so I had a meltdown. My husband tried to snap
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: me out of it, and he didn't really succeed. I
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: was still in the meltdown and it was another racer
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: who came up and he hugged me and he just said, Sarah,
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: you can do this. And he started to cry and
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: he was like He's like, you know, you have to
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: keep going, just like push through the pain and keep
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: moving forward. He's like, you got this. He's like you
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: don't want to quit. He's like, you don't want to
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: feel that disappointment. And I was like, oh my god,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: you're right. And I just like I kept through and
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: it was raining. It was like it was pouring and
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: the ground was slippering and my leg kept slipping and
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: and I was like, I got to just pull it
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: together and tomorrow is going to be another day. And
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: it was my slowest time of the race, but short,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: you know, I did it. I finished, and then we
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: you know, finished in Colombia, and then I got to
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Miami and that the finish line was in the US
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: and my family was there and it was hot, but
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: I had actually I had our you know, early version
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: of the Alpha flies too, and so I was saving
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: them for the last race and I put them on
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: and I was, you know, I think having that family
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: there really put put it together. And I knew, you know,
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: it was just like hitting mile twenty. My granddad was
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: day seven, but it was just like the most amazing
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: finish line across that and just know that I could
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: be strong, not for just twenty six miles, but for
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: seven days it was amazing. I mean, I just like
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: the problem with having that feeling. It's like to capture
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: it again, you have to do it all over again.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: And I don't know if I could do that, But
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: I'm going to savor it and always think fondly. And
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: I hope that there's someone that can race behind me
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: and break my records and do better than I can do,
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: because I might have opened the door, but there's someone
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: else that can walk through after me.
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: Break through the door, break down the door. You know,
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: it's really beautiful. It's just a testament to not only
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: your will. But you said I'd have to do it again,
• 25:19
  Speaker 4: But I would argue that that strength comes with you now.
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: That is strength that you carry for a life. You
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: didn't come this far to only come this far. I
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: finished the podcast every time by asking people to give
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: themselves advice during a big hurdle moment for you, yourself,
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: the hurdle moment of not crossing that finish line the
• 25:36
  Speaker 4: first time when you went to Kona. You have an opportunity,
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: knowing what you know now, to offer yourself advice back then.
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: What would you tell yourself?
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: I would say this, and it actually is a mantra
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: that I still tell myself. So here's what I'd say.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: The pain is temporary and the memory lasts forever.
• 25:54
  Speaker 4: The pain is temporary, the memory lasts forever. I'm so
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: glad that we were able to do this, Sarah, how
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: do people find you on the social They don't follow you?
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: Just yet? Give us all of the details.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm on Instagram.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: You can find me at Always Try and that's spelled
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: tri I little play on words as a triathlete, So
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: you can find me there at Always Try Tri.
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: I am over at Hurdle Podcast and at Emily a
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: Body Another hurdle conquered.
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: Catch you guys next time.