Years ago, few people conflated technical prowess with physical fitness. The archetypical techie of the early 90s, for instance, was Dennis Nedry, the portly computer programmer in Jurassic Park played by Wayne Knight, a.k.a. Seinfeld's Newman. In real life, tech titans like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs would never be mistaken for underwear models.
Twenty years later, though the image of the Red Bull-fueled, pizza-consuming, pencil-necked techie lives on, it's balanced by another strain: The tech Master of the Universe who is not only proficient in Objective-C, but can run a sub-3:30 marathon as well and regularly bikes hundreds of miles over the weekend.
Though endurance sports have grown overall in recent years, the idea of running to the point of physical exhaustion seems to hold a special appeal to Silicon Valley types. John F. Murray, a sports psychologist, says that anyone who engages in such activity in their off time is usually "very competitive and very compulsive." Such personalities may not be unique to the tech industry — you can find a fair share in high finance as well — but tech, with its culture of long hours and creative autonomy seems suited for the kind of guy who regularly runs races of 50 miles or more.
The following list demonstrates that the tech world is full of people who are not content to rule the virtual world, but want to make an impact on the physical one as well.
Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley raised more than $12,000 for Camp Interactive when he participated in the NYC Triathlon in June. Crowley, here pictured with fashion blogger Chelsa Skees, also ran the New York Marathon in 2010.
Silicon Valley luminary Dyson says she starts each day with a 50-minute swim session. Dyson does her routine "whenever the pool opens" and bases her hotel stays on the type of pool the hotel offers. (Her Flickr stream includes a gallery of such pools.) "I alternate backstroke and crawl, so that I'm usually facing the same way," Dyson says, adding "just did three glorious mornings in Aspen, watching the sky and clouds reconfigure themselves again and again over 50 minutes from pre-dawn to sun-up..."
How far does she go in 50 minutes? "I stopped counting (in favor of thinking) long ago, but I can do 50 meters in a minute when I'm really trying, so I estimate about 2 kilometers a day."
Scoff if you want, but in addition to claiming an early (and contested) role in the formation of Facebook, the Winklevoss Twins are also Olympic athletes, competing in the men's pair rowing event in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Tarde, a staff consultant at Ball Aerospace, is 53, but could out-bike many people in their 20s. So far this year he's already ridden the Kokopelli Trail mountain bike ride from Fruita to Moab, the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road ride, the 120-mile Triple Bypass road ride and the "B-Strong" Charity road ride. Tarde, the former squash champ of Colorado, is also gearing up for the Buffalo Bicycle Classic ride next month.
Laveson, the supply chain manager at Fitbit, is an ultramarathoner, who has run 50K (31-mile) races plus the Western States 100, which is 100 miles.
Feld (left), the managing director of the Foundry Group, considers himself a "slow" marathoner (pr: 4:05.) However, Feld is also "very determined" and recently added a 50-mile race (time: 11:57) to his resume.
The PayPal co-founder is an avid cyclist who told Men's Health last year that he needs a coach to tell him when to dial back: "My natural behavior is to push myself over the limit every day. He's numerically savvy, which is very important to me. He'll tell me to do 10 intervals at, say, 400-500 watts for three minutes, every five minutes. It's very helpful for me, because if I wasn't given this direction, I'll do this until I fall over on the bike, dead…."
Image courtesy of Flickr, Flawedartist
Balsillie, the former co-CEO of Research In Motion, is not only a huge hockey fan but is a devoted triathlete, who specializes in the Long Course ((1,000 meter swim, 18 mile bike and 4.5 mile run).
Image courtesy of Flickr, NanPalmero
The VP of Products at Rally Software has run six marathons and is working on qualifying for Boston (he's close.) On an average week, Olson runs 30-40 miles and ups that to between 50-70 in marathon season. He also recently tried yoga and has committed to practicing three times a week.
Blood, the CFO of Orbotix, is "not as fast as I used to be," but recently logged a 4:33 mile at high altitude. He's training for a marathon in December in which he hopes to post a time in the 2:30s.
McCann, the former Gist CEO and now VP of Product Strategy, focused on Contacts at RIM, was in the 1988 Olympic trials for swimming and was also a pro sailor with an America's Cup under his belt. McCann's marathon PR is 3:30 " though I am more like 4-4:30 now... I used to be a monster, now just trying to keep up."
Vartanian, who works for Project Management, Real Estate and Facilities at LinkedIn, ran a half marathon in 1:05:38, breaking an Armenian record. He has also run a marathon in 2:23.
Image courtesy of LinkedIn
In addition to being Microsoft's principal platform specialist, Gertz is an Olympic-level swimmer who swam a mile in 19:39. Gertz has also competed in the World Championships Half Ironman in Clearwater, Fla.
Facebook's director, direct sales operations is a world-class triathlete who has qualified for the International Triathlon Union (ITU)'s World Long Course championship as well as the Vegas 70.3 world championship and the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. He also started Facebook's triathlon team.
Another Facebooker, Marketing Communications Manager Jessica Shambora, has completed four half Ironmans and four marathons, including a pr of 3:34 at this year's Los Angeles Marathon.
A client partner at Facebook, Griewski just completed the Ironman U.S. Championships in New York, raising $10,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society to help fight blood cancer.
Engler, an associate professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, was also a competitive bodybuilder.
Callies, the director of Xbox Live Entertainment & Advertising, has competed in 28 Ironman Triathlons. Her best time was 11:45. She's also run a 3:08 marathon.
Pino is the six-time Colombian national record holder in the 100 meters, 200m and 400m in different age categories and raced in the 2000 Sydney Olympics on behalf of Colombia. Pino is now a senior interactive developer at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
Pino's coworker, Andy Pearson,vp interactive associate creative director at CP+B, is no slouch either. He got fourth place in the Grand Mesa, a 100-mile race with a time of 25:16 and is planning to run another 100 miler, the Mogollon Monster 100, next month.
Mocko, the product coordinator at Square, won the 2011 Napa Valley Marathon. th 6-foot-3, 170-lb. Mocko, who is bigger than most champion marathoners, benefited from his relatively large size by winning his weight in wine. Mocko also hopes to run in the 2016 Olympics.
Image courtesy of Flickr, PZAO
Smallwood, Facebook's head of measurements and insights, is a former professional cyclist who trained with Lance Armstrong.
An HR Executive for two Seattle startups --Jobster and Pure Networks -- Bergen is the Ultraman Canada champ of 2011. Ultraman is comprised of a three-day endurance race. Day 1 is a 6.2-mile swim with a 90-mile bike ride. Day 2 is a 175-mile bike ride. Day 3 is a double marathon (52.4 miles.) Bergen is also a 16-time Ironman Triathlon finisher and has run more than 30 marathons with a personal record of 2:47.
Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley raised more than $12,000 for Camp Interactive when he participated in the NYC Triathlon in June. Crowley, here pictured with fashion blogger Chelsa Skees, also ran the New York Marathon in 2010.
Silicon Valley luminary Dyson says she starts each day with a 50-minute swim session. Dyson does her routine "whenever the pool opens" and bases her hotel stays on the type of pool the hotel offers. (Her Flickr stream includes a gallery of such pools.) "I alternate backstroke and crawl, so that I'm usually facing the same way," Dyson says, adding "just did three glorious mornings in Aspen, watching the sky and clouds reconfigure themselves again and again over 50 minutes from pre-dawn to sun-up..."
How far does she go in 50 minutes? "I stopped counting (in favor of thinking) long ago, but I can do 50 meters in a minute when I'm really trying, so I estimate about 2 kilometers a day."
Scoff if you want, but in addition to claiming an early (and contested) role in the formation of Facebook, the Winklevoss Twins are also Olympic athletes, competing in the men's pair rowing event in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Apple's CEO is legendary for his intense work ethic, but Cook, a friend and fan of Lance Armstrong's, is also a workout fiend. According to a 2008 Fortune profile, Cook is "known for being the first in and last out of the office and for his grinding international travel schedule, and when he isn't working he tends to be in the gym, on a hiking trail, or riding his bike."
Mishchenko, a site reliability engineer at Google, placed 10th in his category at Lake Placid Ironman competition this July.
Morrissey, the editor-in-chief of Digiday (left), has run more than 20 marathons, with a personal best of 3:01. He has also run five ultramarathons, scoring a second-place finish in the Lake Waramaug 50-miler in April. In June Morrissey finished the 56-mile Comrades, dubbed the "ultimate human race," in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Comrades was recently called "absurdly difficult" in a Malcolm Gladwell New Yorker piece. "it took me 9:40," Morrissey says. "It hurt."
The CEO of Mint.com was a competitive bodybuilder in high school. These days, he likes to take four- to six-mile runs. To break up the monotony during those jaunts, he likes to stop and climb trees, according to a Wall Street Journal profile.
Tarde, a staff consultant at Ball Aerospace, is 53, but could out-bike many people in their 20s. So far this year he's already ridden the Kokopelli Trail mountain bike ride from Fruita to Moab, the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road ride, the 120-mile Triple Bypass road ride and the "B-Strong" Charity road ride. Tarde, the former squash champ of Colorado, is also gearing up for the Buffalo Bicycle Classic ride next month.
Laveson, the supply chain manager at Fitbit, is an ultramarathoner, who has run 50K (31-mile) races plus the Western States 100, which is 100 miles.
Feld (left), the managing director of the Foundry Group, considers himself a "slow" marathoner (pr: 4:05.) However, Feld is also "very determined" and recently added a 50-mile race (time: 11:57) to his resume.
The Google co-founder is a cycling buff who took to Google Plus last year to ask fans what kind of recumbent road bike he should buy. Brin, who is also an enthusiastic amateur diver, told Wired that he believes exercise will help him lower the odds of getting Parkinson's Disease, an ailment that Brin is genetically predisposed to.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Jurvetson.
Mueller, the senior product marketing manager at VMWare, was, at this writing, among a team of four men aiming to be the first to row across the Arctic Ocean. The 1,300-mile trip will take 30 days of non-stop rowing.
The PayPal co-founder is an avid cyclist who told Men's Health last year that he needs a coach to tell him when to dial back: "My natural behavior is to push myself over the limit every day. He's numerically savvy, which is very important to me. He'll tell me to do 10 intervals at, say, 400-500 watts for three minutes, every five minutes. It's very helpful for me, because if I wasn't given this direction, I'll do this until I fall over on the bike, dead…."
Image courtesy of Flickr, Flawedartist
Balsillie, the former co-CEO of Research In Motion, is not only a huge hockey fan but is a devoted triathlete, who specializes in the Long Course ((1,000 meter swim, 18 mile bike and 4.5 mile run).
Image courtesy of Flickr, NanPalmero
The VP of Products at Rally Software has run six marathons and is working on qualifying for Boston (he's close.) On an average week, Olson runs 30-40 miles and ups that to between 50-70 in marathon season. He also recently tried yoga and has committed to practicing three times a week.
Blood, the CFO of Orbotix, is "not as fast as I used to be," but recently logged a 4:33 mile at high altitude. He's training for a marathon in December in which he hopes to post a time in the 2:30s.
McCann, the former Gist CEO and now VP of Product Strategy, focused on Contacts at RIM, was in the 1988 Olympic trials for swimming and was also a pro sailor with an America's Cup under his belt. McCann's marathon PR is 3:30 " though I am more like 4-4:30 now... I used to be a monster, now just trying to keep up."
Vartanian, who works for Project Management, Real Estate and Facilities at LinkedIn, ran a half marathon in 1:05:38, breaking an Armenian record. He has also run a marathon in 2:23.
Image courtesy of LinkedIn
In addition to being Microsoft's principal platform specialist, Gertz is an Olympic-level swimmer who swam a mile in 19:39. Gertz has also competed in the World Championships Half Ironman in Clearwater, Fla.
Facebook's director, direct sales operations is a world-class triathlete who has qualified for the International Triathlon Union (ITU)'s World Long Course championship as well as the Vegas 70.3 world championship and the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. He also started Facebook's triathlon team.
Another Facebooker, Marketing Communications Manager Jessica Shambora, has completed four half Ironmans and four marathons, including a pr of 3:34 at this year's Los Angeles Marathon.
A client partner at Facebook, Griewski just completed the Ironman U.S. Championships in New York, raising $10,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society to help fight blood cancer.
Engler, an associate professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, was also a competitive bodybuilder.
Callies, the director of Xbox Live Entertainment & Advertising, has competed in 28 Ironman Triathlons. Her best time was 11:45. She's also run a 3:08 marathon.
Pino is the six-time Colombian national record holder in the 100 meters, 200m and 400m in different age categories and raced in the 2000 Sydney Olympics on behalf of Colombia. Pino is now a senior interactive developer at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
Pino's coworker, Andy Pearson,vp interactive associate creative director at CP+B, is no slouch either. He got fourth place in the Grand Mesa, a 100-mile race with a time of 25:16 and is planning to run another 100 miler, the Mogollon Monster 100, next month.
Mocko, the product coordinator at Square, won the 2011 Napa Valley Marathon. th 6-foot-3, 170-lb. Mocko, who is bigger than most champion marathoners, benefited from his relatively large size by winning his weight in wine. Mocko also hopes to run in the 2016 Olympics.
Image courtesy of Flickr, PZAO
Smallwood, Facebook's head of measurements and insights, is a former professional cyclist who trained with Lance Armstrong.
An HR Executive for two Seattle startups --Jobster and Pure Networks -- Bergen is the Ultraman Canada champ of 2011. Ultraman is comprised of a three-day endurance race. Day 1 is a 6.2-mile swim with a 90-mile bike ride. Day 2 is a 175-mile bike ride. Day 3 is a double marathon (52.4 miles.) Bergen is also a 16-time Ironman Triathlon finisher and has run more than 30 marathons with a personal record of 2:47.
Image courtesy of Linkedin
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