It’s now been 3 years since I started Carolina Multisports in December of 2020. I left the corporate world to go out on my own and do something new. I loved being around people and I loved helping others. I never knew this job would make these two things so meaningful to me.

My focus over the past year and a half was on recovering from a hip injury. I had my eyes set on the USA Triathlon 70.3 Nationals in Daytona Beach in December. I had qualified for worlds at the 140.6 distance in both 2020 and 2021 so my confidence was high. But after sitting out over a year to rehab my hip, I knew I wasn’t the same athlete. That realization came true. I didn’t qualify for worlds.

As I reflected on the race and the past year leading up to it, I was surprisingly not disappointed. I realized that throughout the entire year as I trained, my hip had improved and my health overall enabled me to experience a lot. I had been surrounded by some of the most wonderful human beings along my journey and together we helped make a huge difference in the lives of others through our community focus, not to mention some of the most epic adventures we had along the way!

The three words that kept coming to mind for weeks after the race were fitness, community, and adventure. It’s taken a few years to find it and attempt to articulate it, but the following thought process gave birth to my vision and mission statements.

Fitness

Improving your fitness gives you the opportunity to pursue new adventures every day 

January often conjures up images of busy fitness centers, only to dissipate weeks later. Instead of a resolution, take some time to write in a journal, about who you are today and who you want to be in the future. Be specific. List your goals and any obstacles to those goals. Write for you, not for others to read. Be honest. Throughout the year, record your successes and failures and what you’ve learned from both. Then at some point, compare yourself to who you were when you started, adding what you are grateful for. Chances are, you’re going to be a much different person, and one to be proud of at that!

As you train and compete, remember, there will always be ups and downs. You are your biggest obstacle. Acknowledge the disappointments, setbacks, and failures, along with the successes. It’s only through this juxtaposition that we can truly learn, and eventually experience joy and success.

Then something miraculous happens. As your physical fitness improves, so does your mental fitness. (Or vice versa. You cannot have one without the other.) As your mental fitness improves, your life improves.

The ultimate reward of connecting both your physical and mental fitness to your daily life comes when you’re able to move beyond your own needs by serving others.

Community

Our capacity to serve our community is greatly limited if we don’t have the health or strength to do so.

We can accomplish so much more as a group than as an individual. Therefore, service has become a cornerstone of Carolina Multisports.

As endurance athletes, we see firsthand the impact that litter has on our waterways, roads, trails, and greenways. Nature is our playground, and we want to keep it beautiful for years to come. As part of the Adopt-A-Highway program, Carolina Multisports adopts a 2-mile section of Shearon Harris Road in western Wake County. 

Last year, Carolina  Multisports partnered with the Arthritis Foundation, by participating in the California Coast Classic. This incredible event is the largest gathering of the arthritis community in the world, raising funds for resources and research, to find better treatments and a cure. As part of the event, Carolina Multisports was able to raise over $3,500. This amount was also matched by Amgen, the presenting sponsor, doubling our efforts. During the 2023 California Coast Classic, I was able to personally meet many of the recipients of the funds we raised. Collectively, 197 participants raised over $1.3 million.

As a volunteer for Zach’s Toy Chest since 2014, I’m proud to announce that 2023 was our best fundraising year ever, raising over $50,000 to assist local kids with cancer.

Participating in the delivery of toys and other essentials to these pediatric patients along with their siblings and parents is life changing. 

We will continue to participate in all three of these areas again in 2024. 

Adventure

Some of our greatest adventures in life often occur when we’re serving others.

This area is new. To give you some background, I had the opportunity to participate in the epic California Coast Classic last year, a 525-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles last year.

On day 5 in particular, we began the day inland riding towards the coast through a cool fog. As we navigated several canyons, the fog gave way to warm sunshine, blue sky, and the smell of eucalyptus trees and salt from the ocean. As I enjoyed lunch with some friends at a seaside bistro, feeling quite fatigued after several days of riding, I was overcome with emotion. This was living. I had never felt so alive! Whether through race events, personal events, or general fitness, I want to help cultivate the pursuit of adventure to connect your fitness to your life experiences.

These three pillars of Fitness, Community, and Adventure combine to create unique experiences for all involved and serve as a motivating force to serve those around us. Join us and share your story with us!