T S I L A*

Its no secret that triathlon training can be tough to juggle alongside the demands of ones career, family life and social commitments. And whatever happened to downtime? We talked to ve deeply driven, immensely successful business executivespeople whose professional plates alone are overowingto learn how endurance sport ts into (and ultimately enhances) their busy lives.

Martin Franklin
CEO, Jarden Corporation

Martin Franklin, 46, knows too many airports far too well. Hes cycled and run around their perimeters to keep up with training during his frequent business travel (averaging 700 hours ying time annually). As CEO of the Jarden Corporation, a consumer products company whose brands include Zoot, K2, Coleman, Oster and Bicycle playing cards, Franklin squeezes training in wherever and whenever he can. The Ironman nisher and ultra-marathoner plans to run the 250K Sahara Race across the desert in October 2011the best method he can muster to nally see the Pyramids. Franklin is earnestly devoted to employee tness initiatives, having kicked o a company-wide health campaign in 2010 by leading 10 10Ks in 10 days at dierent Jarden facilities.

When training for ultras Ive run with Oakley sunglasses that have a telephone. Ive held a number of meetings and conference calls while running. People realize Im outside but they dont actually know Im on a training run.
marathon later that month. He kicked it o following the 10K program. Thats incredible. Thats saving a life as far as Im concerned. Meet me on the run: When training for ultras Ive run with Oakley sunglasses that have a telephone. Ive held a number of meetings and conference calls while running. People realize Im outside but they dont actually know Im on a training run. Into the zone: To me endurance sports are not athletic events. The real endurance stuthe longer racesare spiritual events. Theyre very serene things, where you really get to push your body and feel closely at peace with yourself. Its the only time I really get that feeling. Not so type-A: Im not a fanatical trainer. I dont obsess, I dont log any of my training, I dont have an eating regimen. I try to lead a normal, balanced life. Ill have a cigar when appropriate and I have a penchant for martinis. I just like the really challenging races because they make you dig deeper as a person.

Martin Franklin

Blank slate: Im in the ideas business.

BY HOLLY BENNETT

When I have time away from the telephone and meetings, thats when I tend to be most creative. Going for long runs and long hikes and bicycle ridesthey free up ones mind from all the chatter, enabling you to think clearly. HR approved? Ive interviewed people on runs. Ive even interviewed people in the sauna after a run! Quite frankly, you can learn a lot more from running with someone than having them sit behind a desk where theyre so prepared and working from some script that they learned from an interview consultant. Lead by example: One fellow at Coleman came up to me and said he had lost the equivalent of my weightabout 160 poundsand was running his rst half-

Like father, like daughter and three sons: Ive never sacriced time
with my kids to raceI take them everywhere. These races are somewhat narcissistic, but I turn them into charitable events and make them learning experiences for my children. Of all the races Ive done, the most pleasure has come from the ones Ive done with my kids.

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In the case of leading a company, its about taking the company and the people I work with to new levels of performance. With endurance sports, its the same thing, but its all focused internally instead.Frits van Paasschen

Seize the morning: In the mornings

Frits van Paasschen

President and CEO, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. Frits van Paasschens rsum includes executive stints at both Nike and Coors Brewing Company. He stepped into his current role as Starwoods CEO as a rookie in the hotel industry; the company has experienced unprecedented growth since. The ever-adventurous van Paasschen, 50, has conquered a dozen marathons and more recently took up the tri-sport challenge, with a few sprint and Olympicdistance races under his belt and a 70.3 on the horizon. His travel necessitates training on the road. In fact, Starwoods global success inspired a ve-week-long relocation of the senior leadership team during the summer of 2011 to China, the companys second largest market outside of the United States.

and evenings I try to be home as much as I can with the family. I have three kids and my in-laws live in our home, so I have a full family life and a full job. Early morning exercise is the only time I can consistently be on my own for a little while. Im not by nature a morning person, but for me that balance is important. Driving force: What gets me more motivated than anything else is taking on something that Im not sure how I will do and making a success of it. In the case of leading a company, its about taking the company and the people I work with to new levels of performance. With endurance sports its the same thing, but its all focused internally instead.

Theresa Gusman

Perspiration and perspective:

During the nancial crisis, there was worse news every day. Exercise was a good way to put distance between the discomfort we were all feeling and the uncertainty about what was going on. Whos the boss? Ive gotten to know people in my career through running whom I wouldnt otherwise come across. I think sometimes it takes away the organizational perspective that people have. In the oce Im the CEO, but if were out for a run Im the guy whos breathing harder trying to keep up. I dont have any problem with the fact that Im not the fastest person out there. It means that someone else is, in a way, really in charge at that point.

Managing Director, Global Head of RREEF Commodity Advisors, a Deutsche Asset Management Company Most of us would rise for an Ironman race around 3:15 a.m. For two-time Ironman nisher Theresa Gusman, 51, the early morning wake-up is an everyday occurrence. Thats when she trains, prior to starting her day managing Deutsche Bank teams in New York and Frankfurt from her home in the Colorado mountains. Gusmans business unit is in charge of $4.5 billion in commodity assets. She works 5060 hours each week, racks up numerous frequent yer miles, parents two teenage children and even coaches the Investment Challenge team at Aspen High School. All this, and Gusman tries to hit the hay by 9 p.m.

Dog-eared passport: We have about

1000 hotels around the world. Ive been in this role for a little less than four years and Ive been to more than 400 of our hotels in about 50 countries now. No spare moment: I have appointments and meetings scheduled every minute of the day. I usually have to apologize at some point in front of somebody because Im eating lunch simply because there hasnt been time to stop and do that.

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Being a role model is not just about your professional life. Its really important for people to understand that in order to be successful at work, they need to have at least some semblance of balance. Part of that is being healthy.Theresa Gusman
Late bloomer: I just decided when I
was 41 to start doing triathlonsalmost like a midlife crisis. Some people go out and buy Porsches. I buy really expensive bikes. Ironman might seem easy: What I do in the investment business is pure competition. The dierence is you do an Ironman maybe twice a year or other distance triathlons a couple of more times a year. In the business that Im in, youre competing against other portfolio managers every day, and your performance is noted for the world to see every single day. Ironman, you need to have that mindset that youre going to get to the nish line no matter what. The same is true in business. You have to focus on the goal and get over whatever adversity you meet. Things are not always going to go the way you think they are, and you just have to say, OK, I can paint this as a challenge as opposed to a setback. a large collection of top duathlon and triathlon nishes. A member of NYCs famed Full Throttle Endurance triathlon team, Creamer ts in most of her training at the teams early-morning weekday workouts. Weekends nd Creamer focused on family life with her 9-year-old son, Kieran, and partner Stuart, a sympathetic marathoner.

All in a days work:

We publish about 60 original titles a year. Im also a working editor. In a given week I might get 20 submissions direct to me, and whatever my sta gets that theyre serious about I have to read, too. Then the whole publication processeverything from jacketing books to how to pitch them to what media to go for and how much money to spend on each campaignits all part of the job. The two-hour pledge: Training for triathlon is what makes it all possible. I started training seriously with a team right when I took this job, and its no coincidence. My work was really starting to crowd in and take over everything in my life. By committing to train with a triathlon team I was committing to two hours every weekday to be with them.

Conch shells and opening bells:

Crossing that nish line in Kona was one of the truly great accomplishments of my life. At work we launched a fund, and I had the opportunity to ring the opening bell on Wall Street. It was incredible! Those two thingsother than having kids, getting married, the real personal thingsstack up against each other as two of the greatest accomplishments for me. Personal sustainability: Being a role model is not just about your professional life. Its really important for people to understand that in order to be successful at work, they need to have at least some semblance of balance. Part of that is being healthy. At Deutsche Bank we focus a lot on sustainabilitynot only with regard to the environment, but also when it comes to health and tness and being successful in all facets of your life. Just keep moving: Resilience and the ability to overcome adversity are really important. In triathlon, especially

Stacy Creamer

Vice President and Publisher of Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster A publisher with a keen interest in sports, Stacy Creamer had the foresight to sign Lance Armstrong prior to his rst Tour de France win. Shes published three of Armstrongs books, the autobiographies of swimmer Dara Torres and climber Ed Viesturs and multiple celebrity memoirs. Originally a runner, Creamer, 51, has amassed

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Party with a purpose: My training life has always doubled as my social life. People at work think that Ive joined the Marines or a cult, but it doesnt feel like that for me. It really feels like every day theres almost a party, except that were training really hard. One of my best friends trains for Ironmans completely on his own. You couldnt pay me to do that. Client entertainment: I published Rick Springelds memoir this past fall. He got a gig playing Times Square for New Years Eve, so he invited us and we went to dinner with him afterward. At one point Stuart glanced at his watch. Rick said something like, Youre not having a good time? Actually he has a race to do, I explained. Tonight. Rick hadnt run in eight years, but he decided he wanted to do the race, too. He had no clothes, nothing. Long story short, Stuart ran home, got Kieran and clothes for Rick and we all wound up running the Midnight Run in Central Park together. Im trying to get him to do a triathlon next.

Theres a whole group of Wall Street people and its growingwho would rather go for a run with their client or vendor than go for cocktails.
As a senior executive at his family-run nance rm, a frequently called-upon nancial expert for major networks and media outlets and a father of two young boys, Jason Weisberg doesnt have a ton of free time. But in between the NYSEs opening and closing bells, midday when Wall Street hums along without much need for human touch, Weisberg crafts his passion project, Advitam Sports, a high-end multisport tness retreat company he founded with his coach, retired triathlon pro Torbjrn Sindballe. A former Americas Cup sailor, Weisberg, 42, entered his fth Ironman this summer.

Jason Weisberg

Jason Weisberg

Senior Vice President, Seaport Securities and CEO (Chief Experience Ocer), Advitam Sports

Riding the rat race: Ive begun biking from Westchester into Manhattan. Its 35 miles each way and 1900 feet of altitude change. Its mostly rail trail, but when I transition from Westchester to the Bronx it gets a little hairywhite knuckle-type stu. Some days I take the train in, then ride home and do a 5K transition run back to the car at the train station. I swim once in a while. I spend the most

amount of time on the discipline where Ill spend the most time in the race. Return to me: I had spent ve years entertaining clients and getting overweight. I got away from being myself. So I started on the elliptical. Then I started riding, then I did Team in Training. Seagrams vs. sweat: The practice side of Seaport ends at 4 p.m. Then the client cultivation and entertainment side begins. The job never really ends. But more and more, people want to do less drinking. Theyre more intrigued by doing sports-related stu. Theres a whole group of Wall Street peopleand its growingwho would rather go for a run with their client or vendor than go for cocktails. The o button: Downtime for me is the escape from technology. For everything that technology has simplied, we could use a little less eciency in my opinion. When I can, I get in a run and I dont even look at my watch. No heart monitor, no phone. I run out and back and Im just in it.

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