Editor's Note: The following is a compilation of recap notes from athletes from Team Innerforce 2019. They are the best possible voice to tell you a bit of what happened through this amazing year. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our awesome partners for 2019: Rudy Project, X-Terra Wetsuits, First Endurance and AMP.

Who is Team Innerforce? by Travis Thome

Well, I’m about to give you a little insight into what Team Innerforce actually is. First, we need to go over a little background in case you’ve been living under a rock over the past year. This has been the inaugural year for Innerforce to have its own brand team. The team is full of runners, cyclists, and triathletes of all skill levels. We have world-class competitors and first-timers all under the same roof. 

Now I’ll be honest when applications opened up for this team we all thought it would be so cool to represent a brand that gave us a sweet discount on being able to customize our own gear. There are countless brands out there that offer up discounts on gear, but none that offer up professional-quality customizable apparel. Who wouldn’t want that? Plus, the name Innerforce. It makes sense, it sounds cool, and it’s not a household name. 

So the first few months started off as you would expect. Team members joined in on social media groups, began getting their first gear orders of team and custom gear, and training was getting intense as the competitive season was soon getting underway. The team was comprised of athletes from all over the country. No one actually knew each other. We all had one connection, being accepted onto this team and wanting to have a successful year. That success meant something different for everyone and as more and more people began posting some of their training progress and goals for the year, the team atmosphere began to grow.

Even though our only connection was competing in or training for endurance sports, and being a part of Team Innerforce, there was something bigger happening. As the competitive season got underway, the support began to grow. It was soon easy to see that this was a special group of people. Race weekends became the highlight of the week whether you were competing or not. I don’t know a single weekend where conversations about how people were doing or “did you see how they did?” was not flooding my inbox. It was truly amazing that I spent so much time checking to see how people were doing, tracking athletes, or talking with these ‘teammates’ throughout the week and even more on weekends. Yet, I have never physically met a single one in person.

Then there was one moment that really made me realize that we have something even more special than anyone on the outside would realize. We had a team member who suffered an accident that left them beat up and laid up. Without hesitation, the team stepped up to help put the family member at ease with some of the material items that were ruined during the accident. It was truly remarkable to see well over the majority of Team Innerforce step up to help aide this teammate. And yes, if you caught that, I said family member.  Because it was during this time, I realized that this was more than just another sports brand team. We became a family. 

It was at that moment that we knew that Innerforce had something very special. There had grown a solid core of individuals who had come together to create a community that was more than just saying “good job” after a race. It grew to check in on each other throughout the week and pushing one another to ensure they were taking care of business, whatever their business was. It wasn’t just about seeing results on the course. We wanted to see each other succeed in everything. There was genuine care flowing throughout the country. 

Just like any other family, there is a solid core of individuals that stepped up to really embrace being a part of Team Innerforce. There were a number of members who were active in racing but much quieter in letting the team know how things were going. Then were the few members who just kind of did their own thing.  All of these are still family members. They are all critical to the growth of this community that has been created by one brand. To much surprise, it has changed from a brand ambassador team, to a team who all support one brand, Innerforce. 

Now my job was to recap the season. The inaugural Team Innerforce 2019 season. I could go into all the amazing accomplishments that we have had on the course. From 50-mile trail runners, cyclists competing to qualify for world competition, to world qualifying triathletes, and everywhere in between and outside. But that is not what this is about. Sure, we are extremely proud of all those accomplishments. We will not hesitate to boast a little about what our team members have done and are doing. But there is more. We are a part of something bigger. 

This year Team Innerforce has come together to create more than a brand of professional quality apparel. We have come together to create a community. We are regular people, with extraordinary qualities. We support a brand that supports us. Products are being created and revamped based on our feedback regularly. This is a team that is completed supported and knows that Innerforce has our back. And guarantee, we will step toe to toe with any other team out there while looking fly as ever.

Signing up for my first 70.3 to “celebrate” the arrival of age 60 left me with 9 months to be as prepared as possible to compete with other women my age. Not such a hard thing I thought based on the time I had to prepare and having a multitude of resources to base my training on. I had met and encountered many individuals that worked full time like I and were able to fit their training schedules with some sacrifice. 

Winter came upon us hard here in Northern Michigan so lots of treadmill, lots of stationary biking, and lots of lanes swum at the pool 15 miles away. I was fortunate that I was accepted as a member of the Team Innerforce group. I was encouraged by these athletes from all walks of life that were building their fitness levels, challenging each other and inspiring many with sharing of their personal athletic and health journeys. What I didn’t expect on my way to my 70.3 was to take on another job this June that changed the course of my training for the entire summer. Our village campground manager was unable to run the 40 sites amid becoming extremely busy. So, I took this on as a “part-time” task while also running my insurance agency. I’m thankful I have a great business partner and people that run my agency very well in my absence! 

My training for triathlons now came in the form of running behind a self-propelled mower, lifting myriad items from picnic tables to buckets of cleaner for my bathroom detail a couple of times each day. The “part-time” was actually a full-time summer commitment. I got my swim time in at the lake and biked early Saturday and Sunday mornings. And, even though I competed in some smaller triathlons throughout the summer, I still felt somewhat unprepared for as big of an event as the Traverse City 70.3. Two weeks before the event, I went back and looked up what I had originally planned for preparation and wrote from my activity log what I did with the campground job. I had done more than what I would have if I had followed the old plan! 

42 women age 60-64 registered for Traverse City Ironman 70.3. Starting the race-35, 30 finished and I was 9th in my age group. What an amazing and incredible experience shared with so many.

My hope with this blog is to be one of the athletes that support anyone’s efforts to stay active, strive for physical goals via various events, and be an example that one can compete and train in a variety of ways no matter your age, where you live, or what you do!