Never mind that Ashley Horner has never done a full Ironman triathlon before. Now, she's tackling 52 of them across the U.S and Haiti in 52 days in what she's calling the #WomanOfIron challenge. The 34-year-old fitness trainer from Virginia is taking on the 7,030-mile challenge to raise money for the Maison Fortuné orphanage in Hinche, Haiti. She first visited [...]
Nick Santonastasso doesn't have legs, and he only has one arm, but like any other athlete, his body is doing exactly what he asks of it. The 20-year-old from Bayville, New Jersey was diagnosed at birth with Hanhart Syndrome, an incredibly rare disease in which babies are born with underdeveloped limbs or weak organs. There have only been 12 cases [...]
Going to the gym can be a humbling experience for anyone. Well, almost anyone. At 64, Mike Millen is at the top of his game when it comes to training, and when he's in the gym, it's him showing others just how far the human body can be pushed. You might find him jumping onto an exercise ball to do [...]
As a former psychologist, Janice Lorraine knows the power of the mind. That's why the 74-year-old is still competing in bodybuilding at a high level. She wakes at 5:00 a.m. and walks five miles per day. Her routine also includes visiting the gym three times per week, and an array of body-weighted exercises like pushups and planks. “Rather than being [...]
Photo courtesy of Diane Peterson By Kim Constantinesco Ask any Ironman competitor. Your training can be perfect, your diet impeccable, you can do all the "right" things. But, come race day, you're still vulnerable to outside forces -- a ferocious headwind, a nail penetrating a tire, or a current so strong that it threatens to carry you [...]
Photo by Dianne M Webster By Kim Constantinesco There's no easy way to receive and endure adversity. Most of the time, we can't prepare ourselves for it. Our culture tells us to ignore it, bat it away, and look to brighter days. But, what if there's no other option but to sit in its powerful path? That [...]
Micki Krimmel takes a turn nice and fast. Photo courtesy of Superfit Hero By Shannon Scovel On the full contact roller derby battleground, Micki Krimmel tries to outperform other women on opposing teams in every race. Off the rink, however, she hopes to succeed by bringing women together through a common goal. As a member of the [...]
Hed Cycling CEO Anne Hed. Photo: Enterprise Minnesota Our top five stories from August: 5. George Garcia Jr. Will Compete In The Nautica Malibu Triathlon For The Fifth Time As An Amputee George Garcia Jr. could have quit. He could have resolved to living the rest of his life in a wheelchair and faced the realities of his [...]
As a college student, Andrew Jones, 26, started training and competing as a fitness model, even earning his pro card. But in 2012, while on a run, he noticed a major change in his ability to breathe. "It kind of felt like my lungs had turned into sponges. Like I was breathing through a sponge. (Upworthy) Doctors diagnosed him with [...]
While most high school students are taking finals and closing out the academic year, 17-year-old Andrew Shapiro was busy last weekend setting three new world records. The teen from Virginia knocked out 7,306 pull ups in 24 hours during a Relay for Life event to raise money for cancer research. Shapiro was motivated by his father’s five-year battle with colon [...]