The Early Years
Like many other kids growing up, I played sports. I played a lot of sports. We'd play something every day in the summer time - often stopping only to eat
or because it got too dark outside. Growing up in New York State, if you liked sports, and wanted to play year round, you had to pick a winter sport
and a summer sport. For me, the winter sport was easy - Ice Hockey. The summer sport was tougher to choose, so I played a bunch of different ones -
Baseball, Golf, Soccer, and, of course, more Hockey. As I grew up, I pretty much settled on Golf in the summer and Hockey in the other 12 months. I
played Soccer (to stay in shape for Hockey), Golf and Hockey in High School, and then just Hockey in College. I was pretty good at all 3 sports, but
hockey was my true love. I would run and cycle to stay in shape for Hockey in what little off-season there was. I never really enjoyed the running -
but I did it. I rather enjoyed the cycling. I would hop on, strap in (note strap - (this was pre clip in) read "have road rash for most of the summer), and go
away with my thoughts for a few hours. With the speed, and the Pedaling, shifting, traffic, etc., there was more to do and think about and more
excitement than running. At any rate, I was under the misguided illusion that there was room for a 5'10" 165 lb. defenseman in the NHL, so I was willing
to do what it took to get there. Uhhh... No dice.
Finally, the unthinkable happened - In a hockey game in a beer drinking league about 5 years out of college, I got hit with a cheap shot (in a no contact
league, no less) and wrecked my shoulder for good. Just like that, my hockey career was over.
Now What? Golf?
This was an easy transition. After all, lots of washed up hockey players make great golfers. My Brother was working in the field, and I knew that at
some point in my life, I had some skills. After putting my golf career on the shelf for 10 years, I dusted off the sticks and gave it a try. Oh boy. I could
hit it a long way, but I had no clue where it was going. It was a 4 hour Easter egg hunt. But I liked it. I went back. I went back again. I practiced. I
started playing golf again. I was becoming a pretty good player - handicap hovering around scratch. I'd play and practice quite a bit. I'd play in
tournaments and occasionally I'd do OK. I took a job in the golf business, so it was natural to play. I liked that it was a measuring stick - a barometer of
my ability. I soon realized that I'd plateaued. I practiced more, I played more, but I didn't get any better. I needed something else. I was starting to gain
weight for the first time in my life, and I still needed an outlet to fuel my competitive desires. I started running again. 2 Mile runs turned into 3 and 4
milers. Not that I much cared, but I was getting a little faster too. An activity that I despised in High School and College had become my friend. I
actually enjoyed running.
The Challenge
Anyone who has a younger brother with whom they have remained close into middle age can relate to this... My brother and I have remained best
friends, and we talk on the phone more days than not. One day, he called me and, out of the blue, he said, "I want to run a Marathon" - pause - "with you".
Like a typical newbie, I said "How far?". "You know, 26 miles, you idiot". I thought, 'No, you're the idiot for thinking about this, and I'm a bigger one for
starting to get suckered into it'. Now, when your younger brother lays a challenge like that on the table, it's not like you can say "nahhh..." unless
there is a really good reason - of which I didn't have one. So I said, "OK". DUH... I had no idea what I was doing, but I started training trying to get my body
to be willing and able to survive a 26.2 mile run. My friends thought I was nuts. My wife and kids thought I was nuts. My parents thought we were
both nuts. Must be the right thing to do...
The more I ran, I found that it was becoming a lifestyle that I enjoyed. I looked forward to running. Although we were 1500 miles apart, we planned
to run this race together. It certainly helped having a training partner, even though he lived halfway across the country and we never actually ran a
single training run together. We ran the same training runs (distances and paces) every day. When race day arrived, we ran our first marathon
together, and somehow we survived it. I ran 20 of the 26.2 with my left IT Band screaming at me, and we ran 25 miles side by side. I finished in 4:00:02,
missing my goal time of 4 hours (which was tough to take after 4 months of training - despite how I felt). He beat me by 30 seconds and that was
tougher to take.
Lying in the grass after the race (big mistake, by the way), I called my wife - not to tell her all about it, but to tell her if she ever let me do another one
of these ridiculous things I was going to leave her. On the plane ride home, I began to wonder - if I ever do this again... A couple days later, I made the
same comment to her - she just laughed at me. I have since run in 8 marathons, and countless other road races of varying distances from 5K's all the
way up to the full 26.2. I've set my sights on trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon - My wife needled me saying I'm either 2 minutes too slow or 3
years too young for that. Someday...
That Someday happened in January, 2011 at the Miami Marathon. I got older, My Qualifying time got higher, and I ran the same pace. The 3:23:09 that I ran
in Miami was indeed, good enough to get me into the Boston Marathon, but it didn't set well with me. I wanted to get in with a sub-3:20 marathon, and I
knew I had it in me. Two Weeks later, the BAA changed their registration and I was no longer sure I'd even get in - despite having run a qualifying time. So,
I set out to try again - this time in Cleveland in May, 2011. Crossing the finish line in 3:17:53, I got what I wanted. On September 16th, 2011, I was
officially accepted as an entrant into the 2012 Boston Marathon. So, on Monday, April 16th, 2012, I'll be toeing the start line in Hopkinton with the
best runners in the world.
The Challenge II
You knew it was coming... Six months after our first marathon, my brother got Achilles Tendonitis and had to stop running. He had to start cross
training, meaning a lot less running, so he started to swim and cycle to stay in shape. Now, he likes both better than running. I guess I should have
known it was only a matter of time before I got the second call. "Hey, I want to do a Triathlon - a Half Ironman - and I want you to do it with me". "Uhhh -
OK"... Being a decent cyclist as a kid, it was easy for me to like that discipline. I was also a decent swimmer as a kid - I'm pretty sure I was undefeated at
Marco Polo and diving for rings in the shallow end. Remember, I said I played baseball, soccer and golf in the summers as a kid. When I tried to swim this
time, I quickly learned One thing - that ex-hockey players sink. I knew right away that i had my work cut out for me in the swim discipline. Despite that, I
couldn't wait to do this. We competed in the Miami Man 70.3 in Miami on 11/08/2009. Despite my DNF due to extreme dehydration, it was a lot of fun.
So much so, in fact, that I went back for more in 2010, competing in Ironman Augusta, a 70.3 Half Ironman and several other shorter races in 2010 and
beyond. Through all of this, I've found that my specialty is on the bike and run. They have events just for me called Duathlons. I compete in them
regularly, and I am working on a top 50 National Ranking in my Age Group. My Brother? He just completed Ironman Louisville. I got the call and replied
with "You're nuts!!!" and walked away without a fight or any name calling. Are we growing up??? Nah...
The Professional Years
It's funny how life comes full circle as you get older. I took a job in college working for a small but very successful Audio/ Video retailer. I
remember walking in there one day before I worked there and I looked around and thought these guys have the best job on earth - they listen to tunes
all day long and get paid for it - I had to work there. So I did - for 11 years. I grew up and advanced through the company. While I loved my job, I always
thought the Sony Rep had to have the greatest job in the world. I finally left the shop and went to work in the telecommunications field. Corporate
America wasn't really my thing, and I kept thinking the Sony Rep had the job of jobs. Until one day, when I was out playing golf and I ran in to an old
buddy of mine. I found out he was a sales rep - for a golf club company, and in my mind, he just supplanted the Sony Rep as having the greatest job in the
world. I made up my mind that I was going to go work for a golf company. A year later, I did. Working in the golf business has been wonderful for me.
Not only have I learned a lot, but I enjoy going to work every single day. Throughout those years, I often thought about maybe doing something else -
still as a rep, of course, but for another company. I couldn't fathom going to work either for a company that I didn't like, or in a field that I wasn't
interested in. I thought for a while it might be in running, but it never got that far. Instead, an opportunity arose with Valdora in the cycling industry
and I opted to turn my direction to the Multi sport/Endurance sports in 2008. In 2009, I had the opportunity to change directions in the Golf Industry,
and I was extremely fortunate to have been able to partner with Adams Golf, the Club Glove, Us Kids, and Etonic. These companies all share the same
passion that I do, and they make it a priority to grow the game every day.
I landed the finest line of Triathlon bikes in the world, followed by the best hybrids in the world, best Travel gear, best kids clubs and a host of
others. I chose companies that share the same beliefs and values that I do. I admire their commitment to quality and craftsmanship, their dedication to
technology, and their unwavering pursuit of the ever elusive PR or a 59. These companies make if fun for me to go to work every day. I can't believe
that I was able to alter my career path and still get to work in both of the areas of my passion every single day.
Everyone should be so lucky.
Jim Yeager
President
Marathon Sports Agency
Like many other kids growing up, I played sports. I played a lot of sports. We'd play something every day in the summer time - often stopping only to eat
or because it got too dark outside. Growing up in New York State, if you liked sports, and wanted to play year round, you had to pick a winter sport
and a summer sport. For me, the winter sport was easy - Ice Hockey. The summer sport was tougher to choose, so I played a bunch of different ones -
Baseball, Golf, Soccer, and, of course, more Hockey. As I grew up, I pretty much settled on Golf in the summer and Hockey in the other 12 months. I
played Soccer (to stay in shape for Hockey), Golf and Hockey in High School, and then just Hockey in College. I was pretty good at all 3 sports, but
hockey was my true love. I would run and cycle to stay in shape for Hockey in what little off-season there was. I never really enjoyed the running -
but I did it. I rather enjoyed the cycling. I would hop on, strap in (note strap - (this was pre clip in) read "have road rash for most of the summer), and go
away with my thoughts for a few hours. With the speed, and the Pedaling, shifting, traffic, etc., there was more to do and think about and more
excitement than running. At any rate, I was under the misguided illusion that there was room for a 5'10" 165 lb. defenseman in the NHL, so I was willing
to do what it took to get there. Uhhh... No dice.
Finally, the unthinkable happened - In a hockey game in a beer drinking league about 5 years out of college, I got hit with a cheap shot (in a no contact
league, no less) and wrecked my shoulder for good. Just like that, my hockey career was over.
Now What? Golf?
This was an easy transition. After all, lots of washed up hockey players make great golfers. My Brother was working in the field, and I knew that at
some point in my life, I had some skills. After putting my golf career on the shelf for 10 years, I dusted off the sticks and gave it a try. Oh boy. I could
hit it a long way, but I had no clue where it was going. It was a 4 hour Easter egg hunt. But I liked it. I went back. I went back again. I practiced. I
started playing golf again. I was becoming a pretty good player - handicap hovering around scratch. I'd play and practice quite a bit. I'd play in
tournaments and occasionally I'd do OK. I took a job in the golf business, so it was natural to play. I liked that it was a measuring stick - a barometer of
my ability. I soon realized that I'd plateaued. I practiced more, I played more, but I didn't get any better. I needed something else. I was starting to gain
weight for the first time in my life, and I still needed an outlet to fuel my competitive desires. I started running again. 2 Mile runs turned into 3 and 4
milers. Not that I much cared, but I was getting a little faster too. An activity that I despised in High School and College had become my friend. I
actually enjoyed running.
The Challenge
Anyone who has a younger brother with whom they have remained close into middle age can relate to this... My brother and I have remained best
friends, and we talk on the phone more days than not. One day, he called me and, out of the blue, he said, "I want to run a Marathon" - pause - "with you".
Like a typical newbie, I said "How far?". "You know, 26 miles, you idiot". I thought, 'No, you're the idiot for thinking about this, and I'm a bigger one for
starting to get suckered into it'. Now, when your younger brother lays a challenge like that on the table, it's not like you can say "nahhh..." unless
there is a really good reason - of which I didn't have one. So I said, "OK". DUH... I had no idea what I was doing, but I started training trying to get my body
to be willing and able to survive a 26.2 mile run. My friends thought I was nuts. My wife and kids thought I was nuts. My parents thought we were
both nuts. Must be the right thing to do...
The more I ran, I found that it was becoming a lifestyle that I enjoyed. I looked forward to running. Although we were 1500 miles apart, we planned
to run this race together. It certainly helped having a training partner, even though he lived halfway across the country and we never actually ran a
single training run together. We ran the same training runs (distances and paces) every day. When race day arrived, we ran our first marathon
together, and somehow we survived it. I ran 20 of the 26.2 with my left IT Band screaming at me, and we ran 25 miles side by side. I finished in 4:00:02,
missing my goal time of 4 hours (which was tough to take after 4 months of training - despite how I felt). He beat me by 30 seconds and that was
tougher to take.
Lying in the grass after the race (big mistake, by the way), I called my wife - not to tell her all about it, but to tell her if she ever let me do another one
of these ridiculous things I was going to leave her. On the plane ride home, I began to wonder - if I ever do this again... A couple days later, I made the
same comment to her - she just laughed at me. I have since run in 8 marathons, and countless other road races of varying distances from 5K's all the
way up to the full 26.2. I've set my sights on trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon - My wife needled me saying I'm either 2 minutes too slow or 3
years too young for that. Someday...
That Someday happened in January, 2011 at the Miami Marathon. I got older, My Qualifying time got higher, and I ran the same pace. The 3:23:09 that I ran
in Miami was indeed, good enough to get me into the Boston Marathon, but it didn't set well with me. I wanted to get in with a sub-3:20 marathon, and I
knew I had it in me. Two Weeks later, the BAA changed their registration and I was no longer sure I'd even get in - despite having run a qualifying time. So,
I set out to try again - this time in Cleveland in May, 2011. Crossing the finish line in 3:17:53, I got what I wanted. On September 16th, 2011, I was
officially accepted as an entrant into the 2012 Boston Marathon. So, on Monday, April 16th, 2012, I'll be toeing the start line in Hopkinton with the
best runners in the world.
The Challenge II
You knew it was coming... Six months after our first marathon, my brother got Achilles Tendonitis and had to stop running. He had to start cross
training, meaning a lot less running, so he started to swim and cycle to stay in shape. Now, he likes both better than running. I guess I should have
known it was only a matter of time before I got the second call. "Hey, I want to do a Triathlon - a Half Ironman - and I want you to do it with me". "Uhhh -
OK"... Being a decent cyclist as a kid, it was easy for me to like that discipline. I was also a decent swimmer as a kid - I'm pretty sure I was undefeated at
Marco Polo and diving for rings in the shallow end. Remember, I said I played baseball, soccer and golf in the summers as a kid. When I tried to swim this
time, I quickly learned One thing - that ex-hockey players sink. I knew right away that i had my work cut out for me in the swim discipline. Despite that, I
couldn't wait to do this. We competed in the Miami Man 70.3 in Miami on 11/08/2009. Despite my DNF due to extreme dehydration, it was a lot of fun.
So much so, in fact, that I went back for more in 2010, competing in Ironman Augusta, a 70.3 Half Ironman and several other shorter races in 2010 and
beyond. Through all of this, I've found that my specialty is on the bike and run. They have events just for me called Duathlons. I compete in them
regularly, and I am working on a top 50 National Ranking in my Age Group. My Brother? He just completed Ironman Louisville. I got the call and replied
with "You're nuts!!!" and walked away without a fight or any name calling. Are we growing up??? Nah...
The Professional Years
It's funny how life comes full circle as you get older. I took a job in college working for a small but very successful Audio/ Video retailer. I
remember walking in there one day before I worked there and I looked around and thought these guys have the best job on earth - they listen to tunes
all day long and get paid for it - I had to work there. So I did - for 11 years. I grew up and advanced through the company. While I loved my job, I always
thought the Sony Rep had to have the greatest job in the world. I finally left the shop and went to work in the telecommunications field. Corporate
America wasn't really my thing, and I kept thinking the Sony Rep had the job of jobs. Until one day, when I was out playing golf and I ran in to an old
buddy of mine. I found out he was a sales rep - for a golf club company, and in my mind, he just supplanted the Sony Rep as having the greatest job in the
world. I made up my mind that I was going to go work for a golf company. A year later, I did. Working in the golf business has been wonderful for me.
Not only have I learned a lot, but I enjoy going to work every single day. Throughout those years, I often thought about maybe doing something else -
still as a rep, of course, but for another company. I couldn't fathom going to work either for a company that I didn't like, or in a field that I wasn't
interested in. I thought for a while it might be in running, but it never got that far. Instead, an opportunity arose with Valdora in the cycling industry
and I opted to turn my direction to the Multi sport/Endurance sports in 2008. In 2009, I had the opportunity to change directions in the Golf Industry,
and I was extremely fortunate to have been able to partner with Adams Golf, the Club Glove, Us Kids, and Etonic. These companies all share the same
passion that I do, and they make it a priority to grow the game every day.
I landed the finest line of Triathlon bikes in the world, followed by the best hybrids in the world, best Travel gear, best kids clubs and a host of
others. I chose companies that share the same beliefs and values that I do. I admire their commitment to quality and craftsmanship, their dedication to
technology, and their unwavering pursuit of the ever elusive PR or a 59. These companies make if fun for me to go to work every day. I can't believe
that I was able to alter my career path and still get to work in both of the areas of my passion every single day.
Everyone should be so lucky.
Jim Yeager
President
Marathon Sports Agency
A Word About the President
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