Thank heavens for friends and family. What would we be without them? Skylar Clark knows what he wouldn’t be if not for two inspirational relationships: his friend Charlie Pearson, an Ironman finisher, and Skylar’s mother.

Charlie, 44, an airline pilot in Newport Beach, CA, with a wife and two daughters, was a casual exerciser and occasional surfer when Charlie talked him into taking up signing up for Ironman Zurich 2019. “He had previous experience running marathons,” Skylar explains. “He taught me everything I needed to know about how to run. Stride, cadence, HR zones, etc. I truly had no idea! Most importantly, he got me started on your 80/20 plan!”

At the same time, Skylar had some concerns about his mother’s health and came up with a proposal. “If she would commit to doing the work and completing a sprint triathlon (absolutely impossible at the time)”, says Skylar, “I would do every bit of the work with her and complete a full Ironman. We gave ourselves almost a year to train. She lost about 40 pounds, learned how to eat and exercise, and completed her tri in Georgia. I did the Zurich IM. She continues to run and swim 4-5 days a week and honestly lives an entirely different life.”

You couldn’t ask for a more ideal way to take the plunge as an endurance athlete, and Skylar made the most of it. He enjoyed the training process, avoid injuries, and completed the race in 13:42—not bad for a rookie!