TriDot Podcast .239

Competing for a Cause: Fundraising Through Triathlon

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Intro: This is the TriDot podcast. TriDot uses yourtraining data and genetic profile, combined with predictive analytics andartificial intelligence to optimize your training, giving you better results inless time with fewer injuries. Our podcast is here to educate, inspire, andentertain. We’ll talk all things triathlon with expert coaches and specialguests. Join the conversation and let’s improve together.

 

Andrew Harley: Welcome to the TriDot podcast! Did you know that when you race –whetherit's a triathlon or a run-only event, or whatever else strikes your fancy thatyou add to the race calendar – you can race for a cause that is bigger thanyourself? We're going to talk about this today with two brand-new guests forthe TriDot podcast. Our first guest is Audra Tassone-Indeck. She has worked forthe IRONMAN group since 2009, and is the Executive Director for the IRONMANFoundation. Our second guest is TriDot Ambassador Tammy Dotson. Tammy is theCEO of Time to Shine Consulting Services, and is a very enthusiastic TriDotambassador who often raises money for a variety of causes when she heads to theraces. Audra, thanks so much for joining us today!

 

Audra Tassone-Indeck: Thank you for having me! Appreciate it!

 

Andrew:And Tammy, it's good to see you again. How are you doing?

 

Tammy Dotson: I am wonderful, Andrew. Thank you for having me!

 

Andrew:Well, I am Andrew, the Average Triathlete, Voice of the People and Captain ofthe Middle of the Pack. As always, we'll roll through our warmup question,settle in for our main set conversation, and then wind things down with ourcooldown.

 

Warm up theme: Time to warm up! Let’s get moving.

 

Andrew:  Part of going through the motions of abig-time race is doing a little shopping. Visiting the race expo to see whatvendors are there, and what you can buy, is all part of the race-weekend fund.So Audra, Tammy, as our podcast warmup question today, what is your favoriteitem that you've purchased in IRONMAN Village, or at just any other race expo?Tammy, what is this answer for you?

 

Tammy:I have to say it's the Normatec boots.

 

Andrew:Ohh, so you splurged?

 

Tammy:I held out as long as I could. But yeah, they got me. They got me.

 

Andrew:Well, and they get you with sales, right? Because you're like, “I'm not goingto pay 100% full price.” Then you go to the races and suddenly there's like a10% discount if you buy it on-site at the races, and all of a sudden you findyourself at home with your feet propped up in some Normatec boots. Which raceexpo, Tammy, did you buy your Normatec boots at?

 

Tammy:I actually finally bought them at the Boston Marathon.

 

Andrew:Audra, of all the races you've been to – and you work for IRONMAN, so I don'tknow if you're a sucker for the IRONMAN gear or not, maybe you get it bydefault – but what is your favorite thing you've ever bought at an IRONMAN orany race expo?

 

Audra:I'll purchase something from HOKA. Last time it was like a three-quarter lengthsweatshirt, and then as I went to go pay, the lululemon section always gets meand I always grab the socks that always come in the bright colors, every timethat I'm at the merchandise store.

 

Andrew:Yeah, I'm kind of like you, I get to go to the races a lot for TriDot. So thething I'll let myself buy when I'm at a race but not racing, is one of the racehats. Because to me that says like, “Oh, I was there,” but it doesn't say Iraced, right? I'm not trying to claim to be an athlete like in the Kona field,but I bought a Kona hat because I was there and I deserve it. So I'm kind ofsimilar in that way. I'm actually wearing one of the IRONMAN lululemon longsleeves right now. I asked for this for Christmas and I got it, thank you Mom.This answer for me, when it comes to the race expo, I think my favoriteshopping spree so far – I won't shout out an individual item, but for a longtime I held off on actually buying anything with the M-dot logo on it. I wouldbuy things, like if I did a half-IRONMAN, I'd buy the half-IRONMAN raceT-shirt. But I didn't want to buy something that implied that I might be anIronman until I finished a full-distance IRONMAN. So when I went and didIRONMAN Waco – long-time listeners to the podcast will know that was my firstIRONMAN – I went into IRONMAN Village, and I went into the shopping tent, and Ilet myself buy whatever the heck I wanted to that had an M-dot logo. Becausefinally I was getting some branding that represented the fact that I was aboutto be a full-distance IRONMAN properly for the first time. So that's thisanswer for me. We're going to throw this question out on Facebook like wealways do. We put this question out on Facebook to the I AM TriDot Facebook group,and we put this question out now on Instagram as an Instagram story. We willpose the question to you, from all the race expos you've been to, all the timesyou've dipped into IRONMAN Village, what is your favorite purchase you've evermade at the races? Can't wait to hear what you, our audience, has to say.

 

 

 

Main set theme: On to the main set. Going in 3…2…1…

 

Andrew:  TriDot Pool School is the best way fortriathletes to learn proper swim form, and it is now the Official Swim Programof IRONMAN.  The TriDot coaching teamspent years on the pool deck grafting functional freestyle, and it has alreadyhelped hundreds of triathletes improve their swim by an average of 12%. As soonas an athlete registers for TriDot Pool School, they are given a series ofdry-land exercises to help build crucial muscle memory long before thein-person weekend. The weekend workshop is an engaging blend of instruction,demonstrations, and drills with frequent breaks to rest and reflect. You'll begrouped with swimmers of a similar ability, and taught step-by-step how to turnyour muscle memory into full-stroke swimming that's smooth and fast. TriDotPool School is for everyone. We have had entry-level triathletes, back-of-the-,mid-packers, some elite age-groupers, and even a few pro triathletes inattendance. Ready to jump in? There are Pool Schools available all over thecountry and around the world. Head to tridot.com/pool-school and sign up today.

 

Asendurance athletes, we’re going to race. Some of us a few times a year, some ofus too many times a year, but we're all suckers for signing up for events. Sowhile we're at it, why not use that racing to help a good cause? With a littleforethought and a little planning, you can raise money and/or awareness towardsa good cause, and Audra and Tammy are here to help us do just that. So, Audra,Tammy, I kind of want to go back in time and hear about the first time youdecided to do this, because there had to be a first time for both the positionsyou're both in. What was the cause you were supporting, and what gave you theidea to fundraise through your racing in the first place? Tammy?

 

Tammy:Wow. You know, it is so funny how life just kind of circles back. You dothings, or you find yourself in places that you don't even really expect to. Somy first time was actually in 2006. I had just gone through a significantemotional event, and needed something to occupy my time and kind of divert itfrom the emotional event. So I came home one day, and in my mailbox was a lotof junk mail, but there was a flyer that said, “Do you love to travel? Wouldyou like to go to Hawaii? Would you like to make friends? Would you like tomeet new people? Would you like to do something that will impact somebodyelse's life in a positive way?”

 

Andrew:Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

 

Tammy:And I was just like, “Oh, yeah!” They said, “Okay, come to this informationsession,” and it was in St. Louis. I lived in Illinois at the time, and it wasin St. Louis on a weeknight, but it intrigued my curiosity enough that Idecided to go. So I went to the interest meeting, and it was about running amarathon as part of the American Stroke Association’s Train to End Stroke. Atthat time, I barely could run a 10K. So when you talk about running a marathonI was like, “That is insane!”

 

Andrew:Little bit of a jump.

 

Tammy:I was like, “Who does that?” Like it just didn't make any kind of rationalsense to me. But again, they got me with the sales. The guy was verypersuasive, and I ended up signing up. Now lo and behold, that marathon that Idid was Kona. At the time I didn't know anything about triathlon, I didn't knowanything about that being the World Championship, nothing. I didn't knowanything. But that entire process, they essentially gave us everything. Theytook us to get our feet measured, they gave us the tools that we needed to beable to fundraise. It was the camaraderie and the team-building, and the bondwith the other people that were doing this. They had everybody, from peoplethat had been running for a long time, to those of us for whom this was ourfirst marathon. It was very welcoming. But the biggest thing – and I still havemy jersey that we had –

 

Andrew:So cool.

 

Tammy:– but what was the most significant about this was that as I was doing thefundraising process, we didn't have social media. We didn't have a lot of thestuff that we have now, it was hard-core. They taught us how to write a letter,tell people what we were doing, and ask them to sponsor or donate. I literallydid like 500 letters, printed them all out, and we just went through the phonebook and mailed them to everybody. But what happened, in doing that, is theresponses that I got back, from people that I didn't even know. People startedsharing their stories about family members that had been affected by stroke,people that had died, people that had stroke but were recovering but wereparalyzed. So I started writing everybody's name on the back of my jersey, andI decided to run in memory of or in honor of those individuals. And I will tellyou, when you run for something bigger than yourself, the times that it gothard – the times that I wanted to quit, the times when that lava heat felt likeit was right on my legs and searing it – I think about the people that I'mdoing it for, and that gave me the push to really continue, to get through itand finish.

 

Andrew:Yeah, and very cool of you to show us that jersey. For those who are listeningto this, as you're driving in the car or something, Tammy's holding up forAudra and I the jersey that she wore during that race. What a cool token thatyou still have of your first marathon. When you say it was in Kona, was it KonaIronman World Championship day with all the triathletes out there? Or the sameKona course, different day?

 

Tammy:No, it was the same course, it was just the Kona Marathon, that’s all it wascalled. But it was the run course of the World Championships at the time. Ijust meant nothing to me, because I had no idea, no clue what IRONMAN was, whattriathlon was or anything like that.

 

Andrew:Yeah, you were running on holy ground and didn't even know it quite yet, butthat's so cool. Now Audra, I guess I'm making an assumption in your seat as theExecutive Director for the IRONMAN Foundation that you've done this before.Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. But have you? And if you have, do you recallyour first time you ever raised money for a cause through a race?

 

Audra:Yeah, absolutely. So very similar to Tammy, I had a life-changing event back in2003, and I made a choice to run a half-marathon for the local Humane Society.I didn't know anything about fundraising, but knew that I am very passionateabout animals, and I wanted to be able to give back. So very similar to Tammy,they trained us up on how to write the letter, and then we would print themout. And the same thing, I would give them to my family and friends, and justtalk about animal abuse, and “let's help”, and fostering and all of that, and Iwas able to raise a significant amount of money. So back then, I always knewthat I wanted to give back somehow, but didn't know what that meant. So workingwith the Humane Society, that kind of kicked off my career with IRONMAN, thenhere I am with being the Executive Director for the IRONMAN Foundation.

 

Andrew:Yeah, so you started with IRONMAN in 2009. You didn't start in this currentrole, you worked your way through a couple of different roles. You were a racedirector for a little bit, you oversaw a region for IRONMAN for a little bit,and now you’re in this role with IRONMAN Foundation. What was that journeylike, and I suppose where you’re at right now is kind of a dream job, right?

 

Audra:Yeah, I feel very, very fortunate. So I moved to the state of New Hampshirefrom Connecticut, and I was like, “Well, what am I going to do? Here I am in avery rural area.” So I hooked up with a local race director, his name is KeithJordan from Endorphin Sports, so I started working with him. He created theTimberman Triathlon, all these half-Iron events is what they were called at thetime. Then we became one of the first licensees for IRONMAN, and then justgradually, IRONMAN purchased the event, and then I was very lucky to start acareer with IRONMAN. And as you said, that was just race directing first. Irace-directed four events, and then moved into operations, then was anOperations Director, then became a Regional Director. So I've been with IRONMANalmost 15 years, and then COVID came and I was laid off. Then my boss, ShaneFacteau, reached out to me and he's like, “I need you to take over the IRONMANFoundation.” And I was like, “I have no nonprofit skills. I volunteer at theHumane Society, I can walk the dogs.” And he's like, “Well, you know how to getthings done.” It's been such an incredible journey. So fast forward, I believeI'm going into my fourth year with the Foundation, and it's been amazing. I'vemet so many wonderful people, and just continue to grow or give back, and justeducate people on racing for more, that definitely there is a bigger reason torace, and why not race for the IRONMAN Foundation? Selfishly, I want all of youto race for the IRONMAN Foundation.

 

Andrew:Yeah. Actually, I personally have wanted to do this episode for a long time. Ihave a cousin that lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area near me, and he's a bigtrail runner and he races for an organization called Venture, where every racehe does, the funds are going to some cause, through this Venture racingorganization. So it's been on my radar, I wanted to talk about it, and thenTammy and I had a great conversation a couple of years ago at the St. GeorgeAmbassador Camp, about some of the races that she's done raising money fordifferent causes. So when we partnered with IRONMAN, I was like, “Let's getIRONMAN Foundation on the show, let's get Tammy on the show, and let's talkabout this.” So I'm very excited for this one. And Tammy, I think every time Ifire up Facebook, there you are with a race-day picture from doing somedifferent race for some different cause. You're very passionate about doingthis. Can you tell us what are some of the races you've raced whilefundraising, and what are some of the different causes that you’ve supported?

 

Tammy:It started with the Train to End Stroke, but then I've also done races forMassachusetts Eye and Ear, as well as the Action Against Exploited Children,Ace, and so many others in between. Those were the large ones. I might betelling my age by saying this, but do you all remember – well, back when I wasyoung and was going to school, we used to have bowl-a-thons, where we had to goout and get sponsors to sponsor a penny a pin, or a dollar a pin, depending onhow bad or good you are for bowling. It was the same way with walkathons. Westarted having these walkathons where you had to go out and ask people tosponsor a certain amount of money per mile, or per 100 meters, or whatever itwas. So I started in my young ages doing this kind of fundraising, and whatI've realized is that it's okay to go out there and do something for you. Butwhen you're doing it for somebody else, it gives an entirely whole new meaningto it. It's like a whole different ball game, and a whole different feeling. Sowhat I try to do is make sure that whatever it is I'm partnering with, that Ihave a personal connection to it. So brain research, that was another one thatI did, and that one was very special to me. I actually reached out to theorganizer personally and shared my story with her, and I said, “I would love tobe able to be a part of your team, and here's why.” My oldest daughter ended uphaving to do emergency surgery and get a brain tumor removed. And I also sufferfrom multiple cavernomas, which are little lesions in the brain, and I had onebleed out. So it produces stroke symptoms, and I ended up having to get acraniotomy and have it removed. That was in 2020, right before COVID, because Igot out of the hospital right before they shut everything down. I was subsequentlyable to train – big shout-out to TriDot – utilizing TriDot after my brainsurgery, and completed my very first IRONMAN. So I try to make sure thatwhatever it is that I'm doing, that I have a personal connection to it.

 

Andrew:Yeah, very cool. I remember I was on-site at the first race when you competedin a 70.3, so we were all cheering for Tammy from afar when she was going forthat first IRONMAN, and very thrilled to see you accomplish it. Especiallyknowing – because we’re Facebook friends and you're very open on Facebook withwhat you're dealing with and what you're going through – for you to accomplishthat, and finish that dream with some of the health stuff that you had going onis just so huge, and we’re thrilled to have you here talking about fundraising.We’ve gotten both of your personal back stories and some of your experience, sonow we’re going to talk about and learn how to raise money through our races.And honestly, if you are racing an IRONMAN event – whether it's an IRONMAN 70.3or it's a full-distance race – the perfect way to do this is the IRONMANFoundation, and that's why Audra is on the episode. So to date, Audra, theIRONMAN Foundation has raised over $55 million for charitable causes. I'm goingto say that number again, $55 million for charitable causes through the IRONMANFoundation. Audra, just lay it out for us, how does racing through the IRONMANFoundation work for the athlete?

 

Audra:Sure, absolutely. And at the end of this year, we'll be at $60 million givingback to over 10,000 nonprofit organizations. We're really proud of that.

 

Andrew:Amazing.

 

Audra:So we have slots for all the North America events, including the WorldChampionship events. There's two ways to race for the Foundation. First, youcan be team IMF, where you pick either a full-distance or a 70.3, and you havea fundraising commitment for that. For the full distance, it's $3,700 and forthe 70.3 it's $1,850. And there's so many benefits that come with that,starting with getting a low bib number, so you're racked right near the pros ifthere's pros at that particular race. You get VIP passes, IRONMAN Foundationswag. You get to talk to myself and my team. There's so many benefits there. Wehave a great community where you have access to our Facebook pages, we hostwebinars, we have so many ambassadors. Then there's also something calledCommunity Fund, and that's where you pay an elevated race entry fee, and 50% ofthat comes back to the IRONMAN Foundation. Both that and Team IMF are taxdeductible, so that's a big bonus. With Community Fund the benefits are alittle bit limited, but there are two ways to race with the Foundation. Andalso we never turn away any donations. If anybody just wants to give a donationto the Foundation, that's always welcome too.

 

Andrew:Sure, yeah, that helps add up to that $55 million, going on $60 million forsure. Just doing a little research for this episode – I was familiar with theIRONMAN Foundation, I've seen the kits on course before. And just as a fan,when you're at the races and someone goes by in an IRONMAN Foundation kit,you  just cheer for them a little harder.You recognize they're out there doing something, doing some good in the world.But I didn't realize, Audra, how much IRONMAN Foundation gives outside of justthe monetary amount to causes. There's the Bike for Kids campaign, there's theswim lesson campaign, several races have service projects going on inconjunction with the race. Tell us about some of these other opportunities toget involved in, outside of specifically using your race to raise funds.

 

Audra:Absolutely. So we probably host anywhere from 10 to 13 service projects. Theteam was just in Oceanside, we did a swim clinic there. We partnered withChallenged Athletes Foundation, and we gave a $10,000 donation for the kids sothey can have swim lessons. Each swim lesson cost $12.57, so in 2022 we wereable to give back over 3,000 swim lessons. So definitely I would say go ontoour website, it lists where all the service projects are, and we always welcomeall the volunteers. Outside of that, we build bikes – we're doing a big bikebuild back in Lake Placid this year, so we're going to build about 100 bikes.We also have some retired pros that are doing some relay teams in Lake Placid,which is going to Andy Potts, Ben Hoffman, Rinnie Carfrae, Sika Henry, HeatherJackson, and then we auctioned off one leg of each of the relay team. So that'sanother way of getting involved with the Foundation. And a lot of people don'tknow this, but back during COVID, the Foundation gave back a million dollars towardsthe Kona community, to help feed the community. Because as we know, Kona is atourism area, and with COVID everything was shut down, so we were able to helpout along those lines. We've given back to many, many different types ofcampaigns. Again, definitely out our website, it will list everything.

 

Tammy:Audra, I know one thing that's near and dear to my heart with the IRONMANFoundation is the Race for Change.

 

Audra:Yes! Yes!

 

Tammy:I haven't been able to be a participant because I've already completed one, butI think that is an amazing program to be able to get more exposure, and to getmore diversity, out to people that may have barriers that are stopping themfrom doing the sport of triathlon, and giving them the opportunity to be ableto be part of the sport. So that one is very near and dear to my heart.

 

Audra:Thank you, I appreciate it. So for our Race for Change campaign, we're givingback a million dollars, and we're in like Phase 3 of it. The first two phases –again always with the same theme of helping kids, and swim lessons, and givingaway bikes – but what we're doing is breaking down those barriers, increasingdiversity in the world of triathlon. So this year we put out scholarships, andwe chose three athletes that are going to race together as a relay team, andthen they're going to do their own individual 70.3, and we'll provide all thegear and everything for it. It's been an amazing program. Sika Henry has been ahuge supporter, she's one of our ambassadors, along with Morgon Latimore andMarcus Fitts. It's been great, I definitely learned a lot, and I'm lookingforward to continuing the program. Thank you so much for mentioning that.

 

Andrew:Tammy, I think the first time I met you in person was at CLASH Daytona severalyears ago. It might have been Challenge Daytona at the time even. We werechatting after the race, and you made a comment about how there's not a lot ofpeople like you out at the races. For folks who are only hearing our voices,Tammy, you are an African American athlete. So just anecdotally, I feel likeI've seen that trending upwards in the last couple of years in a way that isreally positive. I feel like I've seen more tri clubs specifically for peoplefrom different racial backgrounds, to me it’s really cool. So Tammy, yes pleaseand thank you for bringing up that portion of the IRONMAN Foundation as well.Now Tammy, one thing I want you to talk about is – obviously as triathletes, alot of us listening to this podcast are doing IRONMAN events, so it makes senseto go through the IRONMAN Foundation. You've done this at all sorts ofdifferent races. Your very first one was a marathon, that wasn't an Ironmanevent. I believe you fundraised through the Boston Marathon, is that correct?

 

Tammy:I did.

 

Andrew:Boston is one you've done as a fundraiser, and I know you've done a variety ofdifferent types of races. Audra was able to speak specifically to how to getinvolved with IRONMAN Foundation, which is just go to ironmanfoundation.org – we'll put that in the show notes for today –go there and you can start learning all the information about how to racethrough IRONMAN Foundation. Tammy, how does your process work when you're doinga non-Ironman event? I know in some cases you've referenced you go out and findthe cause, you touch base with the cause, you find the race. Some racesprobably have infrastructure for this like IRONMAN does. Just tell us, from allthe different other options out there, how this usually works for you.

 

Tammy:It really became pertinent when I was doing my six-star journey with the WorldMarathon Majors. So we all know that it's very, very hard to get into Boston,and if you don't qualify, and if you don't do it with a tour group, really theonly other route is to fundraise. And I believe Boston has the highestfundraising amount that was out there. The year I did it, it was astronomical,it's the most I've ever, ever raised. So there's a list of charities, and mostof the time it boils down to what charity will take you, because it is still aselective and a competitive process. So for me, I've always promised myselfthat it would have to be something that I had a connection to, in some way,shape, or form. So I look through the list of charities that are available, andthe ones that still have availability with them, then you reach out and youapply, essentially. A lot of times you have to write an essay, I've hadinterviews. It is a very selective process from what I've seen, and you have tolay out to them your fundraising plan. They want to know that you have thecapability to be able to raise the funds. So I've had to lay out a verydetailed plan on, “This is what I plan to do in order to raise the funds.”

 

Andrew:Wow, very interesting, I didn't know that was part of it, for sure. Are thereraces – Audra, you might know this as well – are there races where an athletecould just like, “Hey, I signed up for my local 10K, and I want to use my local10K to raise funds for this food pantry down the street that I've heard of.”What would the process look like for an athlete just going totally grassroots,totally non-official, totally non-big race? Audra, I'll let you go first andthen maybe Tammy on this one. What might that process look like for an athletewho, from start to finish, has to take care of the financials, and has to takecare of the planning, and has to touch base probably with both the race and theorganization, and raise money through proper channels, and make sure it allgets donated just fine so you don't get audited or whatever. What would thatlook like at a local level, Audra?

 

Audra:At a local level, a lot of people first reach out to their friends and family,and when that's all tapped out – because many times we go back to what we'refamiliar with – I've seen people get incredibly creative, from having T-shirtsprinted up and setting up their own internet store, where individuals canpurchase these T-shirts and 75% of the proceeds go to the fundraising campaign.Then also they'll work with a lot of local restaurants, like let's say Uno'sPizzeria, and on that day 20% of those proceeds will go back to your campaign.I've seen everything from golf tournaments to tag sales for their fundraisingcommitment. It's just really going grass-roots and keeping an open mind. Thereis no off-limits. Again, people can get incredibly creative. I’ve actually seenan athlete paint ornaments for Christmas, and that was a donation. There's alot of different ways. Yeah.

 

Andrew:So at that point, you're just collecting the money yourself through any ofthose means necessary, and then at the end, just donating it all to the causethat you represent?

 

Audra:Exactly. Some organizations have a specific platform where you can set up acampaign and actually send donors to. But a lot of grass-roots don't have that,so that's where the money will come to the athlete, and the athlete will writethe check and send it over to the organization.

 

Andrew:Yeah, very interesting. I totally blanked on this until literally just rightnow in this moment having this conversation, but my wife is not an enduranceathlete. She does beach body workouts, so she gets in front of the TV andsubscribes to Beach Body. I think it's just called Body now, it's not calledBeach Body anymore, desiring a beach body isn't politically correct, and that'sokay. So she fires up Body and does a couple different workout programs thatshe likes. So she likes staying fit, but she is not interested in running,swimming, biking, endurance sports. But she did a 10K through an organization,one of her high school friends was raising money towards mental health. So mywife jumped into this 10K, and she started running around the neighborhood andgetting ready for it. I paced her through her virtual 10K. We had an amountthat we had to donate for her to take part of the 10K, and I think we got athank you card, I think we got a T-shirt for being a part of it. It was kind ofthe race itself, like essentially the race coordinator was collecting all thefunds and then donating them in that particular case. But I totally forgotabout that until right now having this conversation. That was an interestingone as well.

 

Tammy:Well, there's other opportunities. Nowadays, with Facebook and social media, itmakes it so easy to actually do fundraising. If you notice, a lot of people,like during their birthday they'll say, “I'm doing a fundraiser.” You couldessentially fire up a Facebook or Instagram campaign to raise money forwhatever cause that you want to do. Then do the event that you're going to do,and then have people donate to that through the social media channels.

 

Andrew:I will say this, because believe it or not – and people who listen to thepodcast don't believe this, but it's true – I am definitely an introvert. I donot like feeling like I'm imposing on other people. I would make a horriblesalesman. I respect people that have sales skills, because that is not me. Iwill not push something on somebody, I abhor the idea of approaching somebodyand asking for a donation or money or whatever. It's just not in mypersonality. There are people who are gifted at that, and I admire that skillset. So help us out. I'm sure there's some athletes like me, and I'm sure thatthere are some athletes who are extroverts and don't mind doing it, but need apoint in the right direction. What are some strategies and some differentmethodologies to going out and making the ask, asking people to donate towardsyour cause? Tammy?

 

Tammy:Yeah, so Andrew, can I tell you? I don't like it either.

 

Andrew:Okay!

 

Tammy:I absolutely do not like asking people to donate. So what I've had to do isactually change that mindset. It was a mindset shift, where I'm not asking themto give me money. They're not giving me money, but I'm asking them to support acause. So when you look at it from the different perspective, it's themsupporting a cause. And most of the time people will support the cause becausethey see the passion that you have for it, and they want to support you. That'show that ends up working. That's why I want to make sure that it's somethingI'm personally attached to and that I have a passion for, because then thatpassion is what shows. And people want to support people that are supportingtheir passion. That was one of the things that I had to do, kind of a mindsetshift, change from the thinking of, “I'm not selling something to somebody.” Imight be bothering people because I do have to come and keep asking you –

 

Andrew:And honestly, the people that are probably bothered by that ask are scroogesanyway, right? I will get a couple athletes per year that hit me up, and theHarley household has a certain budget, so I'll help who I can. But after I'vehelped who I can, it's, “Hey, so sorry.” But I never mind, I'm never botheredby it, it's just like, “Hey, I can't right now, sorry.” That's kind of theworst, the people who are genuinely bothered by it. Just cut them out of yourcircles anyway, right Tammy?

 

Tammy:Well, I've realized that, when you talk about strategies, just posting it onsocial media is nothing. You literally have to make the personal ask. When I'vereached out and personally asked somebody, that's when it makes a difference.And yes, everybody understands that. Same with me, I have a limit. I've workedit into my budget where I have a specific amount per month that I can give tofundraisers and charities, and once it's gone, it's gone. But if I can just sayanything to the airwaves and whoever's listening, please, please, please do notjust ghost somebody. I think that is the hardest thing to deal with, is whenyou ask somebody – and you can clearly see that they've read it if you sent amessage – but to have no response whatsoever. People can take it personally.You can just say, “I would love to support, but I can't right now,” or, “Iwould love to support, however I have other priorities,” or something. Just notleaving somebody unread or ghosting them.

 

Andrew:Yeah, that's a great perspective. Kind of the other side of it, when you arethe one who's asked. Audra, for IRONMAN Foundation, I know you referenced thatyou guys like to arm your athletes with tools and resources to help them learnhow to do this. What do you tell athletes when it comes to actually making thatask and raising the funds?

 

Audra:We have a whole toolkit that will help guide you, and we host webinars and givetips and tricks. But what it really comes down to is when you're talking tothat individual about donating, it's about showing how passionate you are forthe cause. That really makes a huge difference, because you have to remember,these individuals are getting hit up by everybody. So it's just really beingtrue to yourself and expressing why this is so important to you, and nine outof ten times that works. I mean, I've never seen anybody fail, racing for theFoundation. Obviously if there's job losses and things like that, but yeah,it's just really talking about what you truly believe in.

 

Tammy:I also let them know what the money that they're donating is being utilizedfor. So a lot of mine that I race for are for health causes, such as cancer,lupus, multiple sclerosis, stroke, heart disease, Sjögren's disease, autoimmunedisorders. All of those are things that I'm personally tied to and have apassion for. And I let people know, there's no cure for these things. How manytimes have you known somebody, or do you know somebody that's been affected byAlzheimer's? Don't you wish that they could find a cure for Alzheimer's, or away to be able to handle individuals affected with it? So I let them know,“This is what the money is going towards. It's going towards research, it'sgoing towards quality of life for patients. It's going to whatever thatorganization deems the charity money goes towards.” I let people know that. Andmake it personal, tie it something that they can see themselves being a partof.

 

Audra:What I've also what I've noticed too, a lot of times if you go back to justbeing very old-school – now this is where I'm showing my age – where youactually print something off and you come with a packet, where it's an actualvisual, instead of something that's digital. Because we're on our computers andour phones all the time, but if you just take a step back go, “Here you go, Iprinted this off.” And talk them through it. Then it's like, “Oh, okay!”There's a little bit more of an emotional attachment, because you actually wentthe extra step, making the effort of using your printer, or bringing it to aprinter to get set up.

 

Andrew:Yeah, Audra, in about 20 years you might have to update the presentation deckto teach people how to pitch to Gen Z. Maybe make a TikTok pitching your causeinstead of instead of actual printed brochures

 

Tammy:Yeah, gotta be a TikTok.

 

Andrew:But that's a problem for a few decades from now, that's for sure. Now I amcurious about this, for athletes who are fully on board and very interested indoing this  –again, through IRONMANFoundation you can just race for Team IRONMAN Foundation and the money goestowards a variety of causes that IRONMAN Foundation gives to. But throughIRONMAN, you can also race for a cause that you choose. And obviously you cando what Tammy is talking about in doing a grassroots race or a one-off race orsomething. For somebody who wants to go out and maybe find a local cause todonate to, what advice do you guys have for making sure the organization or thecause you're raising funds for is a quality one? Where the funds are actuallygoing to help people and instead of paying some bills – you know there's someof that behind the scenes in nonprofits. What advice do you have for actuallyfinding a qualified organization that's doing good in the world, where yourmoney and your efforts will go to good use? Audra, do you have any advicethere?

 

Audra:Yeah, the first thing I would say is definitely do your research, do a Googlesearch. But there's also something called GuideStar, and if you go on guidestar.org it rates the nonprofits, where they fall, ifthey're legitimate. And the higher the rating is, then you know you're in goodhands there.

 

Andrew:Very good. Tammy, anything to add there or does that cover it?

 

Tammy:Yeah, do your research. We do a lot of referrals. We go by referrals to peoplethat have raced for other charities and had a good or bad experience. Withinthe community we'll say, “Hey, this is a really good one you should check thisone out.” But you have your big ones that are out there all the time. I don'tknow if they still do it, but Team in Training for leukemia used to be reallygood, really big.

 

Andrew:Yeah, still a thing. Yep.

 

Tammy:And then Ronald McDonald, and then we all know St. Jude. So you have your largeones that have a presence at pretty much all the places. What I tell peoplethough, is to look at that overhead. Check to see how much money is going tothe cause, versus how much is going to overhead. When I was in the military, wehad what's called the Combined Federal Campaign every year, and there was abook of all the charities that you could donate to, and it told you right therehow much their overhead was and things like that. I still have my CFC campaignbooklet, so I always will look in there and say, “Oh, I want to look into thischarity,” and then go to their website, and do the research and things likethat.

 

Audra:So their overhead should be 30% or under. That's the rule of thumb for anon-profit.

 

Andrew:Yeah, very helpful. I would have had no idea right when I saw that number, I'dbe like, “Oh, is this good or bad?” That's why we had this podcast for today.Two more questions. I want to hear about this one, when it's all said and done– you get through your race, you get the medal, you take a picture, you post itto Instagram, “Yay for me, I did my race” – is there anything on the back endof the race that we should do? Obviously there's the actual transferring of thefunds to the organization, but should we do any follow-up communication withthe organization? Should we do anything to thank our supporters perhaps? Whatshould we consider on the backside of the event itself? Tammy?

 

Tammy:Definitely thank your supporters. Now I'm going to be the biggest hypocriteright now when I say this, because after all of my races, I actually made apersonalized card, with pictures of me from the race and things like that, tothank each of my supporters, and unfortunately never sent the cards out. That'sthe hypocritical part of me, but definitely you want to thank your supporters,and a nice handwritten thank-you card goes a long way.

 

Andrew:Yeah. And for the record, Tammy, that's my kind of energy right there, ishaving a good intention and just not quite seeing it through the mailbox. I'mwith you. Audra, anything to add there on how you coach your athletes tointeract with the supporters on the backside?

 

Audra:Yeah, same as Tammy, just thanking all your donors. But the other thing is, theperson that you're working with through the nonprofit is asking for photos.Let's just say it was swim lessons for kids, if they can send over somepictures of the kids that were in the swim lessons, things along those lines.Just any kind of documentation, because whenever you see a visual, it makes youfeel good that your money is going towards what you believe in.

 

Andrew:Yeah, it absolutely does. We will land the plane on this conversation with thisone today. I hope our folks have heard this and feel definitely educated on howto go to ironmanfoundation.org and get plugged in with Audra and her team. Anddefinitely go become friends with Tammy on Facebook so you can see whatevercause she's supporting in her next race. But as folks are thinking about doingthis, I'm curious. This does add to your workload, your prep load heading intoa race. We're already thinking through the training, we're already thinkingabout nutrition, we're already thinking about what running shoes we're going torun in and all these logistics like what hotel we're booking. There's already alot to a big race weekend, and this does add one more thing you have tonavigate, one more thing you have to focus on. There is a toll that is there.Tell us, just as athletes, what's the payoff here? What does it do for you, theathlete, when you're out on the race course? Does it do anything to heightenour experience? I'll go Audra here, and then Tammy. So Audra, what would yousay on what this does for you, the athlete?

 

Audra:Absolutely, knowing that you're out there – there can be times during the racewhere it gets hard, where you're having these conversations in your head like,“Why am I doing this? This hurts!” And you go back to, “The reason why I'mdoing this is because I'm racing for this cause.” I've seen people, like whatTammy did, write the names on their kit, or down their hands, their arms. Andyou look back and you're like, “Oh, mile 10 is for Johnny,” or, “Mile 11 is forthis.” It's knowing that you're doing something bigger than actually racing,which is hard, but you're racing for more.

 

Andrew:I love it. Tammy, what would you say here to somebody thinking about doing thison what it adds to your experience?

 

Tammy:A couple things. If you are with a good charity, they help out quite a bit witha lot of the things that you mentioned. They help out with where you're goingto stay at a hotel. Depending on the character of the charity and how much theyput into supporting those that are supporting them, they can have room blocksat certain hotels so that everybody is staying together. They have a welcomereception where you get to meet everybody, and you get to meet like thepresident of the nonprofit, things like that. And a lot of the times they havea section along the route, what they call the cheer section, where your familymembers and everybody can go so they have a dedicated place for them to go to.A lot of times there will be a tent set up afterwards. So they do provide a lotof support to try to help out during the race day. But when it's all said anddone, it's always better to give than to receive. When you do something that'sbigger than you, I always think about the people that can't do it. I have severalfriends that are suffering from MS, and wish that they could run, and wish thatthey could swim, and wish that they could bike. There's people that have beeninjured on active duty, that their life is just not the same. So I always thinkabout those that are not here, those that are here but can't, and the fact thatdespite everything that might be going on, I still have the ability to give ofmyself in this capacity for somebody else.

 

Cool down theme: Great set everyone! Let’s cool down.

 

Vanessa Ronksley: Hey everyone! It's Cooldown time, and I'mVanessa, your Average Triathlete with Elite-Level Enthusiasm! Today, impartingus with the Coach Cooldown Tip is Jen Reinhart. Jen is a full-time triathloncoach, and coaches master swimming at a local fitness center. Jen startedswimming at the age of four, and swam for Purdue University for several yearsin college. Triathlon came into her life in 1984, and since then she hascompleted a whopping 29 IRONMANs, and recently locked in her ticket to race inKona for the eighth time. Jen is certified through USA Cycling, U.S. MastersSwimming, Jen is a USAT Level 2 Endurance Coach, she is certified throughIRONMAN U, and is a TriDot Founding Masters Coach. Jen has coached all levelsof athletes, from beginners to elite age-groupers, and loves working withpeople who are new to the sport all the way through to those racing IRONMANdistances. Welcome to the cooldown, Jen!

 

Jen Reinhart: Thanks, Vanessa. It's so great to be here today. I can't wait to seewhat you have to ask me.

 

Vanessa:All right. Well, before you were a full-time triathlon coach, you worked as achemical engineer, and you were awarded three patents for manufacturing nuclearfuel. Tell me about the one that was your favorite to design and create.

 

Jen:Actually, that would be the one before I got the patents on the nuclear fuel.What took me to that was my job prior. It was up in upstate New York, and I wason a startup team where it was just exciting, because getting picked to be onthe startup team means you're special, and you're special enough that you getto work like from 10:00 p.m. at night till 10:00 a.m. in the morning.

 

Vanessa:Yeah, that sounds really special.

 

Jen:It was. And you know, for a 23-year-old, I had worked as an engineer for maybea year and I got picked to be on the startup team, which means I got to do allkinds of neat things like take special courses on the state-of-the-art controlsystems that were back then, which in 1983 or so it was a lot different than itis now. But that led into my other job where I got the patents withmanufacturing of nuclear fuel, which led into all of my jobs kind of juststrung together from those experiences. It was great.

 

Jen:I'm really honored to be here with you today, and I'm actually guessing thatthe team aspect of designing those products, to help you during that patentprocess, kind of coincides with what we're going to talk about today with thetip, which is related to building a team. So I'm really looking forward tohearing what you have to say about building a triathlon team.

 

Jen:You're right, those experiences as a young engineer really carry on into myadult life and my passion for coaching. When you're working with a good team,things go smoother, everyone grows, and it's a much more impactfulparticipation for everyone involved. With triathlon, part of what I've beenthrough as a coach, and then there's part of what I've been through as anathlete, we all have things that come that knock us back and we have to pickourselves up again and figure out how to move on. As an athlete, I've had acouple devastating injuries that required me to find a good team of orthopedicsurgeons, physical therapists, massage therapists, because I wasn't ready togive up my passion of triathlon. But past that individual aspect of it, I thinkmost of us are doing triathlon – there's always that reason for good health, wehear that a lot – but for the camaraderie that we have with other athletes.It's an individual sport, but it's such a team sport. I think TriDot has reallymade that grow so much in the last few years with the ambassadors, with I AMTriDot. At the races there's just so much more enthusiasm, meeting newteammates that you haven't met before, going to Ambassador Camp, all those arevery special situations that I think just motivate all of us to continue in thesport. Each year it's like, “Well, what race am I going to do?” And it's like,“Well, who wants to do what race?” I would rather go with six of my TriDotteammates, even if they're not teammates that are here in Austin, than to go bymyself. That feeling of building your team, having a good coach if you're verygoal oriented, is sometimes one of the best things to do to help build yourteam around you as an individual. I've had lots of good coaches in my historyof triathlon that have really helped me grow, but also made the sport be thatmuch more important to me. But it comes down to race day, I hate race day. Ihate getting up in the morning, I am not an early morning person. But once I'mup, the excitement of seeing all of my friends, getting to the finish line sothat I can enjoy the accomplishment that we have all just had happen, that'swhat brings me back day in, day out. Being at the finish line, hanging out withall of my TriDot friends, and all my friends that aren't TriDots too, but it'sjust that community of like-minded people that keep me coming back to thesport, keep me building my team. It used to be you had a few athletes thatlived in the town where you were and you were teammates, but now we haveteammates across the globe and it's just such a wonderful thing.

 

Outro:Thanks for joining us. Make sure to subscribe and share the TriDot podcast withyour triathlon crew. For more great tri content and community, connect with uson Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Ready to optimize your training? Head totridot.com and start your free trial today! TriDot – the obvious and automaticchoice for triathlon training.

 

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