Greg Richards
It started with a bet. After the Baja 500 in 2007 a team mate of Greg Richards who is also a triathlete said "if you beat me in the Pacific Grove Olympic Triathlon I'll pay entry costs the next year. Baja 500 entry costs around $10,000 when you include team setup and all the items needed to be competitive in the Pro Motorcycle class.
Well he accepted the bet with about 6 weeks to go. Greg only owned a mountain bike, so his first ride went to the local bike path. There is a small hill along the way in front of Anderson dam. He says that hill killed him. But after a few weeks he remembers thinking to himself after going up it, that he crushed it. Keep in mind this hill is about 50 feet tall. He purchased an Orbea road bike after a few weeks and keep riding. Greg had no back ground in any of the three sports required to do this triathlon. The first day he got in the pool and swam with purpose he realized it was much more difficult then playing in the water. The event came in September of that year and Greg finished in 2:51. They exited the water together in about 36 minutes, but Greg put 12 minutes into on the bike averaging over 20 mph in his first race. Josh could not make up the difference in the run. He probably won more money then the pros that day(no he did not make Josh pay).
The Athlete
That was the start of it. Since then Greg has completed numerous triathlons, duathlons, bike races, and running races of all distances. This year he competed in the Ironman Coeur d' Alene and the Ironman 70.3 World Championships completing them in 11:10:51 and 4:35:27 respectively. He dropped his half marathon time from 2 hours to 1:32 at The Rock and Roll San Jose.
Now a fitness addict (he routinely works out 20 hours a week), Greg has helped his family members and friends, who have been inspired by those whole triathlon thing, to lose weight and become more fit. He has helped 7 people with their diet and workouts have lost a combined 140 pounds over the last 4 months. They have each competed in running races and have half marathons in mind next year.
Greg will toe the start line again at the Ironman Hawaii 70.3 and possibly Ironman Cozumel in 2010.
Congratulations and good luck next year!
CCTC
Past Athletes
Chris Shilling