Everything you need to know about Mike Trees’ Forest Gump-like life
There’s a saying – If you don’t know your history, then you are bound to repeat it.
While it’s a stretch, knowing and understanding other successful endurance athletes’ history might just prove to help you perform better in your life.
In this episode, we go into the archives and get to hear how Mike Trees got started in his 50-year endurance career (He just turned 60 years old and can still run a 17 min, 5k).
This is part one of a few, and we end it the episode right before he goes to University. If you’re feeling this we’ll be releasing more types of episodes in the future – let us know on Instagram or email talk@dlakecreates.com
If you’re a runner, new, old or someone who’s struggling to keep up with their fitness routine, Mike Trees’ story might just inspire you to keep going. Mike is a 60 plus-year-old endurance athlete who has been running and competing in triathlons for over 50 years. In a recent podcast interview, Mike shared some of the highlights of his long and successful career, as well as some of the challenges he faced along the way.
Starting Out
Mike’s parents were both amateur athletes who played mixed doubles at Wimbledon. They tried to get Mike interested in sports like badminton, tennis, table tennis, and dancing, but he didn’t show much interest until he joined a local running club at the age of nine and a half. Mike wasn’t a natural talent at running, but he enjoyed going to the club and jumping up and down in the high jump and long jump. He didn’t start taking running seriously until he was around 15 when his coach encouraged him to train every day and do some double runs.
Early Successes and Failures
One of Mike’s first races was an 800-meter race when he was nine and a half years old. He came in last place, but that experience motivated him to keep going and try to improve. By the time he was 16, he was running a 405 for a 1500-meter race, which is a good time for someone his age. He also came in 11th or 12th place in the English schools cross country championships. However, he then got glandular fever, which took him two years to recover from. When he got back into running, he struggled to keep up with the top runners and had to change his mindset to enjoy running and not worry about winning.
Perseverance and Achievements
Despite setbacks and challenges, Mike kept pushing himself to improve and achieve his goals. He qualified as a pro for Hawaii in his first ever Ironman triathlon in 1994, and he did it in under nine hours, which was his goal. He went on to become a professional triathlete, coach other athletes, and write about triathlon and running training. He’s even coached Olympic athletes. Now, at the age of 60, Mike is preparing for another Ironman triathlon and hoping to qualify for Hawaii again.
Lessons Learned
Mike’s story teaches us that success doesn’t come overnight, but through perseverance and hard work. It’s important to find joy in what you’re doing, to not be afraid of failure, and to keep pushing yourself to improve. Whether you’re a beginner runner or an experienced athlete, there will be challenges and setbacks along the way, but it’s how you respond to them that determines your success.
So, keep going, keep pushing yourself, and don’t give up on your goals. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll have a 50-year endurance career like Mike Trees.
What You Will Learn
- Where Mike is at right now in his fitness, training and racing
- How he got here and the early beginning
- Awesome story about his first race failure and what he learned
- And a lot more!
Episode Highlights and Timestamps
[02:47] What has been going on this training week
[04:55] Breaking down Mike’s history to where he is right now
[06:18] What keeps Mike going
[07:56] Stepping up for the first race
[11:45] Taking lessons from the first race
[16:17] Mike’s failure during his young age
[18:44] Mike at 60
[22:02] Cooldown: Would you rather train on time or distance?
Notable Quotables
Links
- How & Why I will run faster over the next 10 years – https://dlakecreates.com/run-one-percent-faster/
- Getting into fitness at age 50 and beyond- https://www.marksdailyapple.com/getting-into-fitness-at-age-50-and-beyond
- 6 top tips for running as you get older – https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20856915/6-tips-for-running-in-your-later-years/
- DLake/Daren Instagram – instagram.com/dlakecreates – Mike Trees – https://instagram.com/run.nrg
- Podcast Concept, Production and Marketing BY POD PASTE
NRG COACHING (MIKE TREES) – SPONSOR
This episode is brought to you by NRG – Coaching which is Mike Trees’ coaching service. Mike coaches beginners to pros and all levels in between.
No one is too fast and no one too slow. They just want a desire to learn and improve.
They focus on 1,500m to marathon running and triathlon training.
NRG Coaching is constantly overbooked, so Instagram and this new podcast venture, gives Mike and the rest of his NRG coaching team a way to reach out to more people.
Contact mike and his team NRG-COACHING.com for more info
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