Mark Allen

Mark Allen was named “Triathlete of the Year” 6 times and after retiring in 1996 was called “The World’s Fittest Man” by Outside magazine.

In a 7-year journey from defeat to ultimate victory at the Ironman Triathlon, Mark tackled a multitude of difficult questions faced by people every day as they aim to achieve their personal and professional best. Mark’s inspirational presentations, accompanied by compelling race footage, incorporate strategies for dealing with change and unexpected challenge, how to come back when success seems impossible, and the importance of doing the work required to become a champion

The Ironman Triathlon held on the Big Island of Hawaii is the most difficult one-day sporting event in the world.  It starts with a 2.4-mile ocean swim, followed by 112 miles of cycling, and then finishes with a 26.2-mile marathon.  For most of the 1500 men and women who compete in the Ironman crossing the finish line amounts to a victory.

Mark Allen had a different destiny.  His first 6 attempts, all losses, were casualties of everything from flat tires to internal bleeding.  Yet, each defeat served to galvanize his commitment to fulfilling his dream of becoming the Ironman Champion.  Finally on his 7th attempt Mark won, beating Dave Scott in triathlon’s greatest race ever.

Mark went on to win a total of 6 Ironman titles in 6 attempts. His final victory came at the age of 37, making him the oldest champion ever in this incredibly challenging event!

Mark completed a 15-year career in the world of elite athletics with a 90% top-three finish record, going undefeated in 20 races over a three year span from 1988-1990.  He was named “Triathlete of the Year” 6 times and after retiring in 1996 was called “The World’s Fittest Man” by Outside magazine.

Still living the principles that enabled him to turn adversity into success, Mark has been awarded the highest ranking any speaker ever receives from Northwestern Financial Network for a keynote address he gave to their advisors.  Mark works for NBC Sports as an expert analyst each year at the Ironman and provided commentary at the Sydney Olympics for triathlon’s debut at the Games.

Mark is the author of the successful book on lifestyle fitness titled Workouts for Working People.  His second book Fit Body, Fit Soul was co-authored with Brant Secunda.

Mark Allen talks about:

Mark talks about the many questions that he tackled in his 7 year jounry from defeat to ultimate victory in the Ironman triathlon…..How can we create certainty in an uncertain environment?  Will we let defeat stop us or will we use it as feedback for change that will bring about ultimate victory? Where will we draw strength from when we want to quit? Are we the person our dreams demand us to be to achieve them?