James Lawrence had his body checked. Every genetic test available — 21 in total — was performed on him, only to discover, as he wrote in his memoir, "Iron Hope," that there was nothing to discover.
There was no genetic mutation. No bionic parts. And, if the test results are to be believed, no bite from a radioactive spider.
And yet Lawrence has performed feats of seemingly superhuman endurance and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity in the process. In 2021, for example, he completed 100 triathlons in 100 days. That is, he swam 2.4 miles, bicycled 112 miles, and then ran a full marathon of 26.2 miles every day for 100 consecutive days.
And, no, that is not a misprint.
Tap Your Roots Like James Lawrence
Growing up in Alberta, Canada, it did not seem as if a passel of Guinness records were in Lawrence's future. He planned to become a firefighter like his father.
But as he told IBD, reality intruded. "I realized how many accidents and emergency medicals are involved, and I realized I don't do well with blood."
Instead, he moved to the U.S. in 2000, found work as a mortgage lender, and eventually opened his own firm. Ironically, his success as a mortgage lender — a job he hated — spurred him to a career as a world-class athlete — a "job" he loves.
Five years into this relatively sedentary life, his wife, Sunny, noticed that the former high school wrestling champ had developed some flab around his middle. She signed him up for a four-mile run at which he admits he embarrassed himself. So he set about making himself better.
Take Small Steps
"I found a simple couch-to-marathon program online and just did the best I could," he said. "Nobody succeeds by going from zero to 100 overnight. You must take small steps first. You succeed by putting in preparation work. That's how you create momentum."
The momentum he created running marathons ultimately propelled him toward triathlons. Starting slowly with short-course events — a half-mile swim, a 12.4-mile bike ride, and a 3.1-mile run — he gradually built up to the point where he began winning medals in his age group. By 2008, he completed his first full-course triathlon. Lawrence is 49 years old now.
It wasn't easy. That first time he almost quit. But Lawrence willed himself to finish. He understood that "the beginning of a journey will suck. Still, I loved the challenge. Loved the triathlon, loved the diversity of swim, bike, run, and I loved the community," he said.
Ironically, 2008 was also the year the Great Recession struck, and the mortgage business dried up. The situation became so bad for the Lawrence family that he applied for food stamps. But ever the optimist, Lawrence saw only opportunity.
"I'd hit rock bottom. I had nowhere to go but up."
Lawrence: Tap Into Purpose
That upward journey began when his father-in-law, who ran a nonprofit that raised money to build water retention systems in Kenya, offered him a job as a fundraiser. Lawrence knew that athletic events are often a way charities raise money. And he thought he might be able to do something like that with triathlons.
He called the Guinness people and was told the record for full-distance triathlons in a year was 20. He'd only run one at the time, so he quickly realized he had to lower his sights. When he discovered there was no record for half triathlons, "it made sense to start there." He completed 22 half triathlons in 2010 and became an official Guinness record holder.
Two years later, he broke another record — 30 full-distance triathlons in a year. And then another record — 50 triathlons in 50 days in 50 states.
Not surprisingly, his achievements led athletes to come to him for coaching and corporations for inspirational speeches. Life was good, until Covid shut everything down. And it gave him time to think about new challenges.
He believes "We're never standing still. We're either stepping forward or slipping backward." He felt he needed a new "goal that absolutely sent my mind reeling."
Sharpen Your Goals
He felt he'd lost his edge, and "failed to preserve the hunger that got (me) to that level. It's that hunger that keeps you sharp and brings about transformation."
That goal was 100 triathlons in 100 days. First, "at the start of every endeavor, you assemble your best team. Surround yourself with experts in fields that aren't your strengths. Let people excel at what they are great at. Let go of control; allow people to do their jobs," he said.
There are problematic moments on the road to completing any difficult task. Lawrence believes a strong leader "lets your inner circle see you at your best and worst ... to let those closest to you see how you are doing. A great support person will tell you like it is," he said.
Aaron Hopkinson is head coach for Lawrence's team. "When I was getting into triathlons, I trained a lot with people that James was coaching. That's how I knew about him. Then James started coaching me and I was doing a lot of my training with him, and that's how I got involved."
Getting involved is putting it mildly. In the Conquer 100, "I was in charge of the bike portion and rode the 112 miles with him every day on the bike," Hopkinson said.
Be Resilient Like Lawrence
Hopkinson said "James' greatest strength is obviously his mindset and being super resilient. When he commits to something and says he's going to do something, he will figure out a way to complete it no matter what and not let anything hold him back."
But Lawrence's power also comes from his desire to "set a great example ... show (people) how to dream and finish what you start and never give up," Hopkinson said. Or as Lawrence himself puts it, "Leaders lead from the front. You set the example."
Lawrence understands that "whatever your goal is, the beginning of your journey will suck." But he adds, each success increases your confidence and builds toward more success.
The one thing that can derail any project is negativity — and he ignores it whether it's generated from those around him or internally.
"Imagine you have $10,000 in the bank and someone steals $50. Would you throw away the remaining $9,050? Of course not, but we do that with valuable moments. Every day is 24 hours, 1,440 minutes," he said. "Someone says something negative to you or you get one bad text — the entire incident may take only one minute — yet it's easy to allow that one lousy minute to affect your entire day."
Lawrence has a solution that sounds trite: think happy thoughts. "It starts with just having a positive memory in your memory bank and envisioning that," he said. "For me, it's easy. I've got five kids and a loving wife and so I've got a lot in my bank. As soon as you make that shift, everything changes."
Now Lawrence has an added memory for his bank. That Conquer 100 effort raised $1 million for Operation Underground Railroad, an organization that combats human trafficking.
James Lawrence's Keys
- Endurance athlete who holds multiple Guinness records.
- Overcame: Becoming overwhelmed by the size of his goal.
- Lesson: "Break a to-do list down to small steps. Then you need to do only one thing. When I coach triathletes, I always say one stroke, one pedal, one step. That's all you need to do. Wear horse blinders and focus on doing one thing at this moment. Don't worry about tomorrow."
