I am struggling now. Three o’clock pm. The heat. The course drops into a dry river wash with deep sand with embedded boulders. Tree branches hang over from the left and right as the course winds like a snake. Great effort is required.
Some riders are taken to the hospital by their crews for dehydration.
I begin to see trash on the left. That’s good. I was going to meet my crew at the Loreto Dump at mile 831. Keep going. Finally, I see a dirt lot with chase vehicles. I see both white vans. Mercy.
I pull up and surrender the bike to them. I slowly survey my pinky. It’s not broken. I feel hotter now that I am stopped. Tanner holds an umbrella over me to shield the sun. I sit down. I am overheated again. Worn down. Fatigued.
I knew I had a big decision to make, and my team knew it too. We didn’t talk about it for a while.
I got up and studied the map on my GPS. I watched dust trails of buggies going by. I knew there was a huge rocky hill climb nearby, and I knew there was a paved road section where the spillways were. It was eight miles before the pavement though. If I could make it eight miles, I could coast the pavement without using much energy. But then the party would be over as there would be more rocky river crossings and 70 miles of sand whoops.
The next time I’d see my van was in 122 miles. That was very far. In my condition, that was very very far. It would get dark for the third time.
My bike on the stand, I stood alongside it and studied the GPS, and then looked to the horizon. Could this be it? I prepared for a year. Has it all come down to this time and this place? Tanner held the umbrella over me and knew the thought I was struggling with. Nobody influenced me. If I wanted to go on, they’d rally around me. If I didn’t, they’d do the same.
They waited…
My body had precious little left. I didn’t want to sit up straight or stand without leaning on something. The thought of riding even eight more miles to get to ten miles of pavement was daunting. 122 miles to see the van again? That was not smart. There was no way to finish in the 48-hour time limit now, and getting lost on my crew was not going to gain anyone anything.
I gazed at the nearby mountains. Last year I got to mile 600. The last two years the course was 822 miles and 855 miles respectively. I was standing at 831. Now I knew I could go this far. There was something satisfying in that.
I had raced for 37-1/2 hours and I would be awake for 42 hours. I had faced the wall yet again. This time, I was better, stronger, smarter. That’s what these attempts had done to me.
Why do I tell you this story? My personal mission statement is “an extraordinary life of shared experiences.” I’m no different than anyone else. I struggle. I search. If I have done anything right, if I have discovered anything about myself and therefore all human experience, my wish is to share and inspire and empower as many others as possible. Heaven knows I have learned so much from other people – those that have come before me and my contemporaries. If I can be part of the chain of people who pass on the human instruction manual to a fulfilling high-performance life, I am eager to do my part.
Emotion welling up inside me and my voice cracking, I softly admitted to my son, “I’m done.”
Great job Larry! And thank you for sharing your story .
Larry truly remarkable and inspiring. It is a great honor to work for a man with your drive and integrity.
I’m so glad you are willing to share and inspire and help empower others! We are a couple of the people benefiting from your generosity, and Maryanne and I “Thank You” Larry 🙂
Great Job Larry to you , your son and team
great story and was a pleasure reading
makes we want to be young again – not that I am conceding to being old – but every now and then my body does remind me about !
cya soon
Thanks for the story! Made an IMPACT!!
BRAVO Larry! What a great ride and I loved reading your writing about it . Amazing – can’t wait for next years !
Larry,
Thanks for the great read! I really thought you were going to complete the race. Helluva try anyway! Hope you and your team recover from the effort
And achieve your goal in the future.
Great story and inspirational, I am 52 and race Netra and GNCC Harescrambles and those are only 2 hour long races. To ride 830 miles in those conditions is amazing! thanks for sharing the story and Think Daily because it does motivate and educate me everyday.
I have been following this story. Wow! It seems almost inhuman for me to think I could do what you, and your son, did. But, if you can do this; it makes my little goals seem so easy. Larry you are an extraordinary dude. Some of your lessons have truly changed my life. For that, I thank you!
Amazing story of super achievement! I’m proud to know you!
Great job and story! I can’t even imagine how difficult it was. Thanks for sharing it. Jim
Larry,
What a great story and an amazing journey. It makes me proud to be working for a great leader and one that inspires all of us. God bless
Thanks for a very inspirational and challenging story. I really enjoyed the serial form – something special to read and look forward to everyday. And I really Appreciated the ending, it was very true, very human and very good!
Thank you so much for sharing, for being totally transparent, and for being encouraging in seeing the Big Picture! I’ve been riveted by your journey!
Larry,
I’m so proud of you and Tanner. It is a huge honor and a blessing to know people like you. Thank you for letting me and everyone else into your life! I cheered for you every day. You set an example for me and my team to strive towards. Thank You!
P.S. This is a story of you winning, because you beat your biggest competitor, yourself. Next time it’s the finish line.
Larry,
Incredible display of fortitude and resilience. The rest of us cannot imagine what you went through over this 40+ hour feat. So many things have to go right to finish a challenge like this and anyone who’s ever crashed a bike still remembers how painful it is. To endure what you did and be able to continue that far is incredible.
Pressing on would have been reckless. You made the right call and should be very proud of what you accomplished. Thanks for sharing and inspiring the rest of us to do something bigger!!
Wow Larry great writing about this awesome adventure. I look forward to the blog everyday but now it’s over, your Done. What’s next?
thanks for inviting us to join you on your adventure. an inspiration to the rest of us over 50
Larry,
I am inspired! I was not there physically, but through your words on the page, I experienced each moment mentally. Your impact is real and meaningful because you are sharing your Journey. Thanks for sharing the real story and not just the highlights. I am proud to call you my friend!
Congratulations Ironman #714 . . . That 831-mile adventure was no small feat! Were it not for that gas issue and 6 hour pause, I believe you would have finished and within the 48 hour limit. I’m quite certain many thousands of people who followed you in this race share that very same sentiment. Your determination and strength were unshakeable. And through it all, you choreographed a fantastic physical and emotional journey complete with sights and sounds, highs and lows, thorns and a single rose – the sweet smell of victory for achieving more than you dreamed possible. You adjusted your expectations brilliantly at each challenge, and guess what? You’re alive, you’re not in a hospital, and YOU decided when to call time (not the course, or mother nature, or anyone on your team). A very smart thing to do since your family, friends, and co-workers would much rather have 831-mile Ironman here with us, alive and well – that finish line would have looked very different from 6-feet under! We are all so blessed that you shared your journey with us – and I thank you for inspiring so many to find and achieve their own limitless dreams. You’re one of a kind Larry!
I looked forward to reading your blog every morning! Thank you for taking me on that journey of your experiences. Wow amazing just amazing! Go get it next year!
What an amazing adventure for you both (and your team). I followed you live online to see how you were doing in the race. It was though to even think as I went to bed, twice, that you were still on your bike racing through Baja. You are truly an inspiration and how you bring your personal experiences to life lessons drives the point home and makes it relatable. I have faith that you and Tanner will be back to Baja next year to put completing this race as a Father/Son combo on your life achievement list. I have a 2015 and 2016 Janesky Racing sticker on my desk and just need a 2017 to add to my collection. Thank you for sharing with us and good luck next year!
Larry, what an amazing story. Finish or no finish it was an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations and thanks for the inspiration
Dave
Phenomenal story
Well written, and glad you shared it.
I found myself looking for the daily email with the updates
Wooooow–amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Larry, you are the most bravest for what you accomplished, a great deal of hard work and energy, you made it farther then you did the year before that in it’s self is a feat many could not do. Your story had me at the edge of my seat every morning, with the feeling like I was there with you. Very proud of you and Tanner. You give other’s the inspiration that they can do anything if you just put your mind and soul into it. GREAT Job. Thanks for sharing your adventure. Susan
Larry, you are an inspiration! Great job!
It broke my heart reading the end. I knew it but felt the pain as if I were there. Thank you for the courage, to even attempt this , to follow through and then share the painful ending.
There was no quitting for you in the end. It was simple math. Not enough time and the danger to your health.
A triumph. That’s what I read.
Hey Ironman #714!
Thanks my friend for sharing your goals, dreams, thoughts, perspectives, experiences, victories, life lessons, mistakes, and yes even your failures. As you very well know, this race was not a failure it was a part of your journey towards excellence and you testing your mastery of the sport you love! It was practice, training, conditioning, learning. We learn and we grow. Proud of you! Thanks for the inspiration and for painting such a vivid picture with your words so that we who cared to follow you on this adventure could better understand what your Baha Race adventures are like. Amazing! I fully expect this is another case of TO BE CONTINUED… Great job!
You left me with many cliff-hangers as I read about this perilous journey. All I can say is – you WON! You gave it your all and shared your wisdom along the way. Your Dad is looking down at you and beaming with pride. We are all proud of you Larry!
Larry,
Thank you for sharing your “human” experience! I looked forward to the next post throughout this story.I laughed and cried and everything in between. Your story inspires me to challenge myself and to keep going as hard as it is at times. You may not have finished the race this time but you won the journey!
Cheers!
Incredible. I am so impressed not only that you did it, but to have that journey with your son is an experience that cannot be put into words I am sure. Regardless of your actual ranking at the end, I would say you came out on top.
Great job.
Larry,
Thanks so much for taking on the adventure and sharing it with us. Truly inspiring and motivating! I found myself looking very forward to each next post. The challenge and experience chosen by yourself, Tanner and your trusted team is something remarkable.
Congratulations and well done!
(I think I will go dust off my woods bike)
Congratulations, Larry! This was a story of strength, courage and perseverance…….there was no failure here. Thank you for sharing!
Well as an onlooker to this incredible story it is so great to actually read it and remember the whole thing as it played out .Larry and Tanner are incredible humans in terrific shape and condition able to do things many have failed .They have the gold metal from me.This story is certainly not embellished at all .
Larry very well written and thanks for the memories
Great Story, Very much enjoyed following it. Congrats on making it to 831!
First I wanted to thank you for pouring your life in others life’s I had a funny feeling I felt like if I was running the race and for some reason I wanted you to continue but I understand that you it was time to stop. May God bless you
Roberto Taton
Awesome
Terrific
Inspiring
Unreal
Heartfelt
Amazing
I look forward to the next time I see to say thanks for a great read, and for insite on perseverance and self motivation.
Mike
I turned 69 while you were on your trip, I really enjoyed reading your experience of your trip. It motivated me to get excited about the challenges I face in business. Your moment by moment experience was interesting and book Quality. I can’ wait to here more about your recovery.
Awesome effort, congratulations! Really enjoyed the daily updates and look forward to next year. I am sure the third time will be a success! All the best!
Congratulations Larry! You still did an amazing thing in trying. Nothing can ever be achieved without first trying. I for one, think you are crazy for trying this, but I’m very impressed and inspired by your experience. thanks for sharing.
Wow.
Those three letters describe what I have been following for months. The story and the daily inspirations.
And though I have never met you, I am sure it describes you as a person also.
Wow.
Great story! Very moving and inspiring. I long to do something like that. Thank you for the story and the knowledge, I look forward to the blogs everyday.??
Wonderful story which I enjoyed sharing with friends. The obstacles that you had to deal with inspire us .Look forward to another movie? Thank you
Hi Larry
Great story! Something tells me you and Tanner are not done with that challenge yet.
Impressive Larry, just impressive!,
Another fantastic adventure my good sir! Thank you being an inspirational spirit. When I met you in 2008 during sales camp I knew you were different from every other corporate owner I had ever met or worked for. I was 100% right. Thank you for all that you do and are. My employment at on of your franchises was brief but you…you have changed my perspective forever. Thank you I hope our paths cross again so I can tell you this face to face.
-Lawrence B
Benicia CA USA
Great job Larry and Tanner! Your hard work and commitment is very inspiring and thank you for the great storytelling. I really enjoyed it he story and appreciate all you do!
Thanks for the inspiration. I do enough backcountry riding myself (in much smaller doses!) to appreciate at least a little bit the magnitude of this undertaking. Your story makes me think that there are no hills I’m currently facing that cannot be climbed.
Paul
Thank you for sharing your story yet again. We saw “Into the Dust” about your first race and enjoyed this one as well through your descriptive words. Your messages of challenge and triumph connect us all in the journey of life!
Larry,
Thank you for living a shared life. What you accomplish is incredible and inspiring. I was motivated and inspired throughout your saga and appreciate the way you wrote it and the time that took, and yes what it took physically and mentally in Baja, wow.
Your sharing it with the world in the way you do with accomplishment and humility is the most inspiring part of all. That gives me something bigger to aspire to every day. It’s clearly not about you as an individual, but you as an expression of whats possible for everyone. Your mission expressed. Thanks for that, it makes a huge impact!
Congratulations on an amazing accomplishment Larry. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing your story and your gift of story telling. I’ve enjoyed reading every one of them!
Just finished the story Larry. The grit and drive you and Tanner exude is inspiring. Everything happens for a reason. Next year you will be stronger, faster and in the best shape of your life. The finish line is in sight.