Daniel MacPherson Instagram – Reliably informed by @imlukemckenzie that this was 10 Years ago! Wow! 🤯
After some 23 years in and out of the sport of triathlon – yes I started age 11 – Roth was my last crack at the Ironman distance. I’d been living in LA for a couple of years at this point, but had found myself spending far more time in the mountains of Malibu on my bike than I was prepping auditions or working on set. After racing Kona few years before, I’d taken a bit of a break from the Ironman thing – but here I was – back again with plenty of Ks in the legs, 10kgs lighter and ready to roll.
I led my wave out of the swim and had a hot and hilly time of it on the bike, but halfway the through the marathon – I did something I had never, ever done before. I Quit.
At the 22km mark – just when I was about to go into the hurt locker for the 6th time in an iron distance race – I realized I didn’t have it. The need. The hunger. The will to suffer. I stopped, looked around and realized that I was done with the sport. I had raced world championships at every distance, I’d ticked the Kona Box, travelled the world, made amazing friends and memories, but I was, in that moment…Done. Because even more importantly, I was on the precipice of a new challenge – working in the USA. I’d walked away from a very healthy career in Australia and I was so close to a bunch of big US jobs, but hadn’t cracked through yet – mainly because I was spending 25 hours a week pretending I was a pro triathlete.
I stepped off the run course, got a couple of liters of IV fluid and decided that all the effort I had been putting into triathlon needed to go into my work. My acting. My career.
I returned to LA a couple of weeks later, hung up my bike and turned all that effort and focus into my work.
I was more productive in that next 3 months than I had been for the previous 3 years.
I got my first US gig less than 3 months later.
I miss this sport sometimes, but I’m forever grateful for all it gave me. ⚡️♥️🙏🏼
#Triathlon #Challenge #Roth #Ironman #Throwback | Posted on 02/Jul/2024 18:51:47
