Triathlete completes 50 straight Ironman races

Thousands of people came out to congratulate James Lawrence as he finished his final 26.2 in Utah. (PHOTOGRAPH BY JESSAKAE PHOTOGRAPHY / WWW.JESSAKAE.COM)

During the course of the year at Runner's World, as we cover elite runners, back-of-the-packers, and everyone in between, a few stories strike a chord with readers. This month, we’re following up with the subjects of some of our most popular stories from 2015 to learn what they're up to now. Here, Runner’s World checks in with James Lawrence.

Less than five months ago, James Lawrence finished an endurance feat that seems unfeasible. Already a world-record holder for most Ironmans in a single year in 2012, this summer the triathlete finished 50 Ironman-distance events in all 50 states in 50 consecutive days. At the same time he raised $70,000-plus for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation while towing his wife and five kids along in an RV to join in on the adventure.

After his last Ironman on July 25 in his home state of Utah, Lawrence decided to finally pump the breaks and completely rest for six weeks. “I wanted to take the appropriate amount of time to ensure that nothing was lingering,” Lawrence said.

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Surprisingly, the only major pain that plagued Lawrence after his endurance challenge was in his pinky finger. “During the 50, my body was sending blood to my main organs and heart instead of my extremities to keep me alive,” he said. This caused Lawrence to experience ulnar nerve damage, causing numbness and tingling of the fingers.

Once Lawrence believed he was fully recovered—and he regained the functioning of his fingers—he slowly introduced swimming and cycling into his daily activities. He eventually began running again, and by December 1 felt “100 percent.”

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Though he’s not ready to swim 121 miles, bike 5,619 miles, and run 1,312 miles like he did during his summer feat, Lawrence has started to train full time. He has a structured regimen with the help of his coach, David Warden, to make sure he can come back strong for his first competition since the 50 Ironmans, which will be the Walt Disney World Marathon on January 10.

“I am just feeling comfortable enough now where I can aggressively train to become competitive again,” he said.

He will also compete in the Disneyland Half Marathon in May and will be taking his whole family with him.

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Lawrence said his wife and children have responded well to the media hype since his accomplishment. “Everybody is loving what has happened since accomplishing the 50 event,” he said. Lawrence’s 13-year-old daughter, Lucy, who ran the last 5K of every Ironman with her dad, has particularly followed in his footsteps.

“She started a running group at her school” he said. “She is actually planning on doing a Halloween half marathon with her sister, Lily (11), in October.”

The father of five may have rested his body, but he didn’t stop everything when his summer ended. Lawrence began traveling as a motivational speaker to promote health and fitness, speaking two to three times per week. Lawrence has addressed groups like the U.S. Navy in Rhode Island and YoungLiving in Texas, which was a crowd of more than 10,000 people. Additionally, Lawrence is coaching other Ironman triathletes.

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“There has been absolutely overwhelming support, not only locally but worldwide,” Lawrence said. “I get messages on a daily basis saying that we encouraged, empowered, and motivated someone.”

Lawrence has also taken the opportunity to become an advocate for RODS (Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome), an organization that places mentally challenged orphans in loving homes. His initiative is to focus on the kids’ activity levels and to get them moving in fun and healthy ways.

Now that he feels like he’s back in shape, Lawrence is planning on a future athletic goal. “I am now preparing for what I’m trying to do next,” he said. “I have something big in the works that will be announced by March.”

As for the RV that carried him and his family throughout the nation? “It’s long gone. It didn’t fare so well,” Lawrence said.

It would seem that between man and machine, Lawrence won the battle during his epic journey.

This article originally appeared on RunnersWorld.com.