James Ironcowboy Lawrence is a world record holder in the Ironman Triathlon and has completed 50 Ironmans in 50 states in 50 days. This is a feat that no other man has ever done. In this episode of The Manliest Podcast, Ryan talks to James about his incredible feat and how he was able to do it.
00:05:32.580So people don't really – people that even know the full story can't appreciate what these two guys did.
00:05:40.100I mean they came out and their responsibility was to make sure that I had everything I needed during the day.
00:05:45.820And then just with all the chaos and everything of planning, also their job was to drive me through the night to get me to the next state.
00:05:53.300And so they – these two studs, they went 50 consecutive days with literally no day or no night, just naps, 15, 20, 30-minute naps whenever they could get it in.
00:06:05.020And I mean you've probably driven – done an all-night driving thing and it gets tired and challenging.
00:06:10.840Imagine doing that for 50 consecutive days and you can't take the next day off.
00:06:32.400I mean I think just the allure of adventure and very few people thought it was possible and these two guys were one that backed me 100 percent.
00:06:41.640And they saw the value in being part of history because we ultimately did go on and complete the 50 Ironmans, which every single person, including sponsors that came on board with us, said it was impossible.
00:06:56.260But they wanted to see just how far I could make it.
00:06:59.100And so I mean I think it was the allure of adventure, of being part of history, being part of something special.
00:07:06.360I mean I convinced Aaron to quit his job and Casey.
00:08:08.980Just a massive accomplishment in the sport with how competitive it's gotten.
00:08:12.800And, you know, people kind of write that off as genetics or, you know, you just had a good race or you worked hard the last six months.
00:08:22.060And they didn't see the five years that he sacrificed and everything to get to that point.
00:08:27.000I mean, it's called hard work and sacrifice and discipline and all those cliche words that get thrown around but are rarely applied.
00:08:34.340And so for me, you know, I didn't wake up and go, you know what, let's go do 50 Ironmans in 50 days.
00:08:39.760I think I'm mentally and physically and spiritually ready to do that.
00:08:43.600What people don't see is the decade prior to where me and my wife, my family, we really went on a journey and we did a lot of things right along the way.
00:08:53.880And we paid attention to the smallest of details.
00:08:56.960And in 2010, you know, I broke the world record for half Ironmans, which set me up for 2012 to break the world record for the most full Ironmans in a year.
00:09:06.500And so the progression was, okay, let's see how far we can push consecutive Ironmans.
00:09:12.380And the standard at the time of consecutive was five, five in a row.
00:09:17.120And so there's a race in Hawaii called the Epic Five.
00:09:28.720And he had some logistical problems and he ended up doing the five Ironmans in seven days.
00:09:34.620And so when I was on the Rich Roll podcast before, he was like, okay, James, craziest thing I've ever heard of.
00:09:41.880I believe, okay, let's just say physically and mentally you can do it.
00:09:46.620I ran into mechanical problems over five days.
00:09:49.980You're definitely going to run into mechanical, logistical, whatever they call it, things that are outside of your control over a 50-day period.
00:09:59.140And I almost took insult to that because people would always say, oh, if anybody can do it, it's James.
00:10:06.300But he's going to run into something outside of his control.
00:10:09.080And to me, that's the first excuse that people come up with to do anything.
00:10:13.740It means they're not willing to be creative and adjust their flow towards the goal or destination.
00:10:33.460And those events we can't control, but it's the huger portion of the opposite and the other side of it is how we choose to deal with that event that happened to us and how we navigate it.
00:10:45.140And I think more often than not, people go, oh, that happened outside of my control.
00:11:44.280I mean, it just sounds unbelievable what they've done and what you have done.
00:11:48.040What did it feel like, not necessarily leading up to the event, but as you were actually embarking, like literally I'm going to start this race.
00:11:55.940What's going through your mind at this point?
00:11:57.540You know, there's just so much excitement and energy built up.
00:12:01.820Because when your mind perceives that you're ready to do a 50-day challenge, the first third of it or half of it should be a breeze.
00:12:11.560And so, you know, we were brimming with confidence and naively so, which I think was a blessing at this point.
00:12:18.460Because had we known the reality to it, obviously we would have never tackled something like it.
00:12:23.240But I think we were just so excited with what the future meant.
00:12:28.360And we knew what our goal or destination was.
00:12:30.520And I think we were just all so open to the adventure and allowing it to unfold.
00:12:36.540There was so much hatred and negativity towards what we were trying to accomplish because it was so big that I think we kind of got together as a crew and decided, okay, look, let's channel all of our energy and focus on things that we can control.
00:12:49.740Well, let's not go out and try to prove everybody wrong today or over this next 50 days.
00:12:54.940Let's go out and prove ourselves right.
00:12:57.740Yeah, I really like this perspective on focusing internally because like you said, that is something that you can control.
00:13:03.360What did you do to tactically block out some of the negativity and the naysayers?
00:13:07.580Because I'm sure when it came to sponsors and raising funds and even when you fell into situations that would have been difficult, I'm sure there might have even been to some degree people excited to see that maybe you were about to fail.
00:13:19.880I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I'm curious about that perspective.
00:14:24.940And until you've experienced something or in the thick of something, you can't possibly understand the reasons behind someone's decision or why they're doing something.
00:14:34.660And everybody is on a very unique journey.
00:14:36.880And even somebody else in the same situation would have made a different decision.
00:14:39.940And that doesn't mean it's a right or a wrong one.
00:14:41.960It means it was the best decision for them in that moment.
00:15:01.880And we were always dealing with something.
00:15:05.260I mean there was either a mental aspect that we were working with or physical or logistical.
00:15:10.880And so I can't say one was greater than the other because we were always dealing with one element of some kind.
00:15:19.560And what's crazy is most people quit on something big or a giant task or a huge journey right before your mind and your body come into alignment with each other.
00:15:32.220And a lot of times or even every time, that moment before that happens is deep into the journey.
00:15:41.360And most people don't have enough conviction and belief in what they're doing that they quit before that harmony happens with their mind and their body.
00:15:49.000And for me, it didn't happen until Ironman 30 to where my last 20 Ironmans became almost routine and manageable.
00:15:57.600And a lot of it had to do with mental shifts and everything that happened prior to it.
00:16:01.620But my mind and my body finally came into alignment.
00:16:04.360And most people would have quit at Ironman 5, 10, 15, 20, 25.
00:16:13.380You know, I do a lot of presentations to companies and stuff and I talk about you can plan yourself to a failure.
00:16:20.460At some point in time, you have to execute and put something into action.
00:16:23.500And the secret to success is taking the first step almost blindly because you'll never have a perfect plan to execute.
00:16:30.600And that's the whole point about being creative and flexible along your way.
00:16:34.360A perfect plan, nothing's ever going to go according to plan.
00:16:37.140You're going to run into things that aren't foreseen.
00:16:40.420And when people run into those unforeseen things, that's when they're like, oh, can't do it, can't be done.
00:16:45.960Men, I want to invite you to join the Iron Council before the new year.
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00:19:49.820And just off the cuff without putting much thought into it, I would say you have to assemble a team and have somebody that holds you accountable.
00:19:57.680And a self-imposed deadline is going to be hard because you'll always find an excuse.
00:20:02.320But it straight up comes down to most anything in your life.
00:20:04.960It's called discipline and sticking to deadlines and making things happen.
00:20:09.600And you just have to give yourself hard stops and hard starts and you do your best to adhere to it.
00:20:14.600But I would think in order to help you keep accountable, that's why people hire coaches.
00:20:37.700Oh, I mean, we didn't realize the level of fatigue that was going to hit me.
00:20:43.480And so we had all the courses planned out and we had to start changing courses on the fly and locations and because of weather and being forced inside and dealing with everything in the motorhome braking and the generator.
00:20:59.420And we hit a deer on race number seven.
00:21:03.300I tore my shoulder on race number six.
00:21:04.960We got pulled over by the cops and told to stop on day one in Hawaii.
00:21:09.580I mean, there's just a million things that happen along the way that's going to sideline you that you just can't control.
00:21:16.840And you just have to figure it out and implement a strategy to get around them.
00:21:20.680And it just all comes down to creativity and flow.
00:21:23.300Yeah, no, this definitely makes sense.
00:21:27.560What did your training leading up to this look like?
00:21:31.080I imagine that this is almost – it's probably a full-time job for training when you're gearing up to do something like this or even more than a full-time job.
00:22:10.000That doesn't include therapy and stretching and fueling and all of that.
00:22:15.340And then I had to plan the logistics of the project, which was a full-time job because I was web design, creativity, fundraising, manager, sponsorships, all of it because nobody believed it was possible.
00:24:23.660But I made my kids, my family a priority and they continue to be so today.
00:24:28.640Yeah, I mean we talk about this quite a bit which is the idea and the philosophy of congruency between who you are at home and work and play and with your kids.
00:24:35.740And I think you've nailed this is that you're overlapping everything and there is no hats.
00:24:40.340You're just the same guy wherever you are.
00:24:41.980And I think that makes things much more efficient.
00:24:47.160I mean I'm sure there was a race that was probably the most difficult whether that was the course itself or something that you may have been struggling with.
00:25:34.140And it was super, super hot outside and I lost the battle and concentration with my fatigue.
00:25:39.860I fell asleep on the bike and I crashed, which made it very challenging because I had to figure out, okay, how do you get back on your bike?
00:26:57.320What people don't know about the journey is, you know, people don't know that followed it really closely is we did this to raise money for childhood obesity and the Jamie Oliver Foundation.
00:27:09.600So people could have come out at any point, swim, bike, run, and join me.
00:27:12.700But every night at 7 o'clock we did a structured 5K so the masses could come out and run with us.
00:27:17.980And early on my 12-year-old daughter realized that, you know, Dad was struggling.
00:27:22.940And she declared on day number four, Hey, Dad, you know, together we can do this.
00:27:28.340And I'm going to run every 5K with you because she had run the previous three.
00:27:32.700You know, she ended up running 55Ks in 50 days through all 50 states, which for a 12-year-old girl with limited run background is incredibly impressive.
00:27:42.080But I knew, you know, just like the picture that your kid sent you is I had a 7 o'clock appointment with my daughter every single day where it was an opportunity for me to reconnect with my family.
00:27:53.580And there was no way I was going to miss that and hear about their day.
00:27:56.640And so, you know, I had an incredible why to get to 7 o'clock that night.
00:28:01.880And then once I got through that, it was just like, okay, let's just finish off this marathon, get in the vehicle and see if we can catch three to four hours sleep tonight before we do it all again tomorrow.
00:28:13.520Did you start from the West Coast then and move to the East Coast?
00:28:17.060I mean did it just move that way or how did this work?
00:28:19.920Yeah, logistically we had to start in Hawaii.
00:28:21.600So we went Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, then down to Oregon, California, and then we started to move our way across the bottom.
00:28:28.800And so we kind of zigzagged down the lower half of the country all the way to the East Coast, up the East Coast, and then we came back west, zigzagging across the top states, and then dropped down into Utah, which is where I'm from.
00:28:40.740And so we basically did a perimeter of the entire country hitting the middle states as it was logistically appropriate.
00:28:57.060It all started with putting a big map on the wall.
00:28:59.260My kids and I with Sharpies, we would start drawing on it, and we looked at major interstates.
00:29:03.080And initially we were going to swim and try to swim in all YMCAs, and that didn't work out.
00:29:08.020So we kind of had an outline of where we wanted to go, and then we did a social media call for people to help us in each state.
00:29:14.880And then certain people would pop up in states, and they would say, oh, this is a great place to do it, and it would deviate our course.
00:29:20.660And if we were to ever do it again, which never again, but we made a lot of mistakes as far as the route that we took.
00:29:29.440We could have saved ourselves a lot of driving time.
00:29:32.060And it's one of those things, hindsight's 20-20, and you don't – you can't – I wish, hey, it would be awesome if we all had a crystal ball, but we don't.
00:29:40.220And so we made a lot of mistakes, and I could do it a lot better.
00:29:43.000But it would have made the journey what it was.
00:30:07.080It was just – when we're racing, Ironman is not a very spectator-friendly sport like any endurance sport.
00:30:12.860And when the kids come out and try to support you, they get to see you for 10 seconds.
00:30:15.940And if they miss that, then it's just kind of a letdown for the athlete and the kids.
00:30:20.140And so I just – just on a whim, me and my buddy were like, we're going to wear cowboy hats today, and you guys are going to see us coming.
00:30:25.980And my buddy bailed on the race, and I ended up wearing the cowboy hat during the marathon portion of the run.
00:30:31.240And my kids got to see me, and it turned out that everybody liked it.
00:30:35.180So all spectators really got engaged with me because I was different than everything I was doing.
00:30:40.660And at the end of that race, my wife was like, well, I guess you're the Iron Cowboy.
00:33:43.780So as far as mentally and physically, one of the things that I wanted to achieve was to find my mental, physical limits to my my satisfaction.
00:33:50.640And I can honestly say that I found those.
00:33:53.920And so I don't have anything on the agenda right now as far as something big like that.
00:34:01.600And it would, you know, I don't know that that's worth risking me doing something like that.
00:34:05.860And I'm not recovered mentally or physically in order to do something really, really, really big again.
00:34:11.060Because in order to do something like that, it takes years and years of prep, both physically, mentally and logistically.
00:34:15.960And so for me right now, I'm having a lot of fun speaking, going around, traveling the world, telling the story.
00:34:24.120It's really having an impact on people and it's getting them engaged and active.
00:34:28.560I mean, we're in a day and age where, I mean, depression is rampant and obesity is a problem and activity is an issue.
00:34:33.880And so if there's a way that I can have just the smallest impact on individuals, then that's so satisfying and a huge reason why we did it.
00:34:42.200But the documentary just came out, like I said, on Vimeo.
00:34:46.100You can pre-order our book right now on Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
00:35:35.300Every December, regardless of what I'm doing, I try to shut everything down.
00:35:39.380And it's kind of my mental, physical, corporate, whatever reset button.
00:35:45.100And it allows me to almost sit down and reflect on what we accomplished in the year and plan on what we have to come in the new year.
00:35:54.320And I think everybody has to take a physical and mental break.
00:35:57.520I mean, that's why people get burnt out.
00:35:58.980And with how intense we train and with how intense we coach and everything that we do, I mean, it is – I mean, we give you everything of us.
00:36:40.120You know, this is a real easy one for me and take away all my world records, take away my recent accomplishments, take away all of that.
00:36:51.000And the best way to define that question to me is just to be a father.
00:36:57.140And if you strip everything away from me and at the end of the day, if that's what I'm known for, then that's a win and that's my satisfaction.
00:37:07.900So if somebody wants to learn more about what you're doing, obviously watch the documentary or find out about you a little bit more in depth.