At 50 years old, John is the first person with dwarfism to complete an Ironman competition which consists of an open water swim (2.4 miles), a bike ride (112 miles), and a marathon (26.2 miles).
“Being a little person, we grow up a lot with people telling us ‘You can’t do that, you’re too small. You can’t do that, you’re too short.’ I want to show that any other person who is short-statured, if they want to do something bad enough, they can prepare and do it.”
In 2006, John was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. He also learned at that time that he was overweight and out of shape. So John decided to do something about it, and started participating in triathlons. He was immediately hooked, and soon he started training for longer, more grueling competitions.
In 2014, John ran in the Boston Marathon, but wasn’t able to finish due to illness. His son Owen told him, “Dad, sometimes you’re the hammer, and sometimes you’re the nail.” “So that day I was the nail,” shares John. Owen’s words struck a chord with John, and now they’ve been transformed into his personal motto: Be The Hammer. “Now, it’s my chance to be the hammer,” John says as he began training for the Ironman competition.
Even though John has to take more strokes, pedals, and steps than an average-sized racer, he says, “I don’t think my race is any harder, it’s just my race. … A standard racing bike has 27″ wheels. I have 20″ wheels. So it takes more revolutions for my wheels to go the same distance. But it’s all I know. And I know what’s expected, and I know what I have to do.”
John feels that racing longer distances is oftentimes more challenging mentally than physically. He says he uses judgments from others in the past to motivate him to finish his races.
“When I’m at my lowest and things are really hurting, I’m going to think about people in my life who really doubted me, or tried their best to ridicule me and make fun of me. And I think those people are going to motivate me to buckle down, dig deep, and keep going.”
And keep going he did. At the completion of the Ironman, John ran across the finish line and into the waiting arms of his wife and son for an emotional hug. “I’m amazed at everything he’s done,” says John’s wife Sue. “What he represents for our community, I’m beyond proud.”
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