Lindon man sets world triathlon record for charity

Like many Americans, James Lawrence's life was turned upside down in late 2008 when the housing market crashed.

The ensuing financial crisis and anemic economy crippled the mortgage business he and his wife had built since he moved to Utah 12 years ago.

"We ended up losing our mortgage business, and I thought, 'This is the best time to take a risk like this,'" the Lindon father of five said of starting another business — one that focuses on personal health and wellness. Three years before he lost his business, his wife gave him a gift that would eventually change his life — and the lives of thousands of others. It would also lead to him breaking two world records — one for the number of half Ironman distance triathlons (2010) and the other he achieved this past weekend for the number of full Ironman distance triathlons completed in a year.

But, he isn't just accumulating finishes so he can adorn his house with finisher's medals or see his name in record books. Lawrence, who is known as the Iron Cowboy because he runs in a cowboy hat so his family will always be able to pick him out of the crowd, is swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles to raise money for In Our Own Quiet Way (quietway.org) a non-profit that helps develop clean water for Kenyans.

His effort to shatter the world record for the most Ironman Triathlons in a year, which was 20, really began when his wife convinced him to jog with her.

"I started out just doing fun runs with my wife," he said. "And I guess I was just pathetic enough that she signed me up for a marathon without telling me. I started with the Salt Lake Marathon. That's where my endurance career started."

It was not an auspicious beginning.

The couple knew nothing about distance running, so they did a little Internet research and showed up at the start line in cheap running shoes and basketball shorts.

"We were thinking we were all that and a bag of chips," he laughed. "It was a real humbling experience…I actually hated it."

In fact, the couple went to an mixed martial arts event at the EnergySolutions Arena that night and his knees swelled so severely that he had to be carried out.

It wasn't until the physical pain subsided that he began to wonder what he did wrong and what might happen if he learned to train correctly. "After the initial pain was gone, that's when I started having the ego battle," he said. "The emotional wounds were still there. I thought, 'I can do better.' And that's when I really started to learn more."