Timex Torture Test with Ben Greenfield

Check out this funny endurance video, in which Dave Erickson and me put a Timex Run Trainer through a torture test in a re-enactment of the John Cameron Swayze Timex commercial. "Takes A Lickin and Keeps On Tickin". And the original video with John Cameron Swayze:

Team Timex Announcement & My 2012 Race Season

Last year, I attended the 2011 Team Timex camp, and I was blown away by the team's camaraderie and support from Timex. It was the first time I'd ever been around a group of individuals that, from an objective viewpoint, seemed to operate and communicate as an cohesive team.

In the relatively individualized and "lone wolf" sport of triathlon, this was a unique thing to see, and inspired me to apply for the 2012 team.


So what exactly is Team Timex?

Here's a snippet from their website:

In 2001, Timex made a bold move in the historically individualized sport, by pioneering a triathlon team. The concept was to support professional and amateur athletes—financially, physically and socially—so they could, in turn, focus solely on training and racing. 

Now in its 9th year, the Timex Multisport Team is a diverse and successful team, composed of male and female athletes—both professional and amateur—ranging in age from 18 to 57-years old, and hailing from the U.S.A., Australia, India, Ukraine, Mexico, Czech Republic, Estonia, Canada and the United Kingdom. 

The athletes serve as brand ambassadors for Timex and associated sponsors at hundreds of events around the world, and work closely with Timex on refining new products for the endurance sports world.

I also asked team member Trista Francis what she thought was the best part about being on Team Timex, and here is what she said:

The best part of being on the Team is being a part of a very unique family in the sport.  The Timex family is like non other and it allows us to surround ourselves with the top talented athletes in the sport from around the world.  This is my 4th year with Timex as my Title sponsor, Timex gives overwhelming support to me and to each athlete on the Team.  The Timex Multisport Team is the most prestigious team in the sport because of this support and because of the talent it draws.  Another benefit; this is not just a team of talent in triathlon, we have some of the best coaches in the nation on board as well.  We are partnered with the NY Giants, Timex Performance Center and the Korey Stringer Insititute in research. Nuff said!

If you happen to be on Facebook, you can also watch this video to see what the 2011 Team Timex accomplished.

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So this week, Team Timex announced it's 2012 multi-sport team.

And I'm on it.

This means that for the 2012 race season (which I've outlined below) I'm proud to announce that I'll be racing for Team Timex.

Feb 16-21: Team Timex Camp & Triathlon America (hooray for partially sleepless nights and flying airplanes around the country) 

March 2012: Snake River Sprint Triathlon (only race I've done where it tends to hail and snow) 

April 15: TriStar111, Mallorca, Spain (I need to brush up on my Spanish. Also teaching a camp for 5 days before this race) 

May 4-May 6: Wildflower Long Distance race (need to go to a world of pain at this one to qualify for my pro card - I'll have to be sure not to pitch my tent on a rock)

May 27-June 2:  Hawaii 70.3 & Camp (week long camp culminating in 70.3...hoping Scott Molina and John Newsom don't beat me up too much at this one) 

July-ish: To Be Announced (meaning a bunch of local races that I drop into randomly) 

Sometime August 2012: Troika Half-Ironman (3rd place, 3rd place, 2nd place - can I freaking win this thing already???) 

September 11: Vegas 70.3 (yet another change to hate race director Frank Lowery, who apparently thinks we're all Navy Seals) 

September 11-15: Triathlon Camp in Tuscany, Italy (really, I'm just going for the rosso) 

October 11: Ironman Hawaii (*ahem*, tentatively. I'll be there either way, just hopefully racing) 

Sometime in November 2012: Laguna Phuket Triathlon (doing a 15 day camp for this race and the next one, culminating with a total escape to Railay Bay...e-mail me if you want in) 

Sometime in December 2012: Asia-Pacific 70.3 World Championship (plan on racing pro here, if all goes well)

A big thanks to all my fantastic sponsors, and you can feel free to leave any questions or comments about this below (since I've received that first "welcome" e-mail onto the team, I've already been inundated with support and congratulations from other team members - so it already feels like a family)!