Goldman Sachs Analyst Bets Colleagues He Can Complete Ironman Race With No Training

For the ignoramuses among us, an Ironman is a triathlon that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. Many who enter such races are forced to drop out and those who do end up finishing typically train for the event 6 to 9 months ahead of time, and have competed in triathlons of other distances for years prior. On a lark, Goldman analyst Brian Kuritzky, who had never participated in such an event, to say nothing of the fact that he had no experience in biking or swimming, decided three weeks ago that he would enter the Great Floridian triathlon in Clermont, Florida, and bet his co-workers he could finish in under 16 hours, sans training.

Kurtizky finished in 15.5 hours and as a result, over 100 of his colleagues forked over $1 each for every minute under the 16 hours, with all of the money going to charity that benefits breast cancer research, which is great. But let's get back to how the hell this kid did it.

With his demanding job as a securities analyst at Goldman Sachs, he had only a few hours a week to dedicate to soccer practices, with extended games on the weekends. Aside from some research on nutrition and a few laps in a local swimming pool, Kuritzky had done zero training for the event.

Some research on nutrition and a few laps in the pool, okay. Plus, the golden scrots which apparently we can now deduce are motorized and a lucky Speedo, loaned from a friend.

Running An Ultra-Distance Triathlon For Charity [WSJ]
First-Time Triathlete Bets On Himself [CNN Money]