Costco Connection - June 2012

for your health

Champion of challenge

Lessons
of Ironman
go beyond
the race
By Claire Sykes

“IT’S PITCH DARK and I’m all alone. The only sounds are my labored breathing and feet tapping the ground. If you have any demons, this is when they try to get you.”

11,000 people who had set and accom-
plished a goal, and I’m lying around eating
sticky buns.”
Cherie Gruenfeld is running as fast as she
can. She can’t think about the bags of bricks
that are her legs, the six miles left or what her
demons would do if she didn’t keep saying to
herself, “Be calm, courageous
and confident.” She hasn’t
come all the way to Kona,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 61

“Have faith in your ability
to accomplish your
dreams, and let mishaps
serve as teachers.” —Cherie Gruenfeld

Hawaii, to muscle through 2. 4 miles of water, spin her bicycle pedals with all her might for 112 miles and charge ahead on foot for 26. 2 miles, and not win this Ironman championship.

The 67-year-old amateur
triathlete and Costco member
from Palm Springs, California,
has won first place in her age
group in 15 out of the 23
Ironman events she’s entered.
Ten were world champion-
ships, in which she was also
the first woman older than 55
to finish in less than 12 hours.
She was even featured on
Within weeks, she signed up for her first
marathon, figuring that was it. But when her
finishing time qualified her
for the Boston Marathon, “I
couldn’t resist.” More races
followed. Then, inspired by a
magazine article on the
Ironman, she took a six-
month leave of absence from
work and hired a trainer for
the 1991 fall Ironman World
Championship. She never
returned to the office.

LEE GRUENFELD

Wheaties boxes, in 2002.

Says Gruenfeld, “Most of
my life, I never imagined
becoming an athlete, but I
love tennis and skiing.” And,
as a software marketing exec-
utive, she adds, “I had a lot of competitive
juices in me.” One Sunday in 1986, she
watched the first City of Los Angeles
While her husband, Lee,
writes successful novels,
Gruenfeld swims, bikes and
runs, training for her races. “As
I tell the kids I work with
[through Exceeding Expecta-
tions],” says Gruenfeld, who
gladly spends more time with
them than preparing for an
Ironman (see “It’s a Gift,” next
page), “you have to stay
focused and believe in your
goal.” For her, Lee’s emotional
support is critical. She says,
“He believes I can do anything,
Marathon on TV. She recalls, “Here were
During an Ironman event, Gruenfeld

As a triathlete, Cherie Gruenfeld discovered that sharing her traits for success could help students’ efforts in school.

LEE GRUENFELD

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