When presented with an opportunity, take it!

"Expanding Diversity in Triathlon" Panelists

(left to right) María Teresa Guerrero, Tony Brown, Sika Henry, Sara Gross

I had the pleasure of being asked to speak at the 2017 Triathlon Business International (TBI) Conference. Thoughts…. Me? Are you sure you want ME? This is my lucky day!! Wait, can I even afford it? I immediately started adding up the costs of flying to Dallas, transportation, hotel stay, and so on. Because, come on, they aren’t paying me. I’m not Lance Armstrong (who did in fact speak at the conference), I am Sika Henry - an analyst for Ferguson Enterprises, a runner who happened to luck out and win two marathons, and an aspiring pro triathlete who wants to become the first African American woman to turn Pro. 

I spoke to my parents and a few close friends and asked their opinion. I weighed the benefits – great networking opportunity and a place to voice my thoughts on “Expanding Diversity in Triathlon” – and costs – I had just gotten back from a trip to the Dominican Republic, I also registered for Ironman 70.3 Eagleman (racing is expensive!), covered coaching fees, and don’t get me started on holiday gift spending. In the words of my Dad, “You only live once and you can’t take your money to the grave.” To Dallas I went….

6 Degrees of Separation

Now this might get a little confusing but here’s how it all came about. Max Fennell (first and only African American Pro Triathlete) introduced me to Sara Gross (2X Ironman Champion, President of TriEqual, and advocate for women in sports). I didn’t realize it at the time, but Sara is one of the founders of the Equally Inspiring Program – I was chosen to be part of the 2016 team which included free coaching. My coach, Suzanne Flannigan, swims regularly with Sara (they live in Canada). SMALL WORLD. To make things even more intertwined I found out that I would be speaking on a panel with Tony Brown, founder and president of the Black Triathletes Association – a group I’m a member of!

Meeting a 2X Ironman Champion

When I decided to commit to the conference I reached out to Sara to see if I’d be able to room with another athlete…I try to cut costs where I can. 

Sara: You can room with me.

Sika: Cool. OMG I get to room with HER.

Even though we chatted over the phone and texted back and forth leading up to the conference, I was a little nervous about rooming with 1) someone I didn't know and 2) a pro athlete/someone I consider “famous”. First impressions… wow she looks really young, like really really young. Does Ironman training reverse the aging process?? Maybe I should move up in distance. I also noticed that she was small, but not skinny. This is something that I'm always self conscious of. When I show up to big road races (i.e. marathons) I’m easily the heaviest chick on the starting line. This is not the case when it comes to triathlons. Everyone looks strong. You HAVE TO EAT to make it through 70.3 miles or 140.6 miles. Strong > Skinny

Sara and I clicked immediately. She was down to earth and let me pepper her with questions. We discussed everything from sponsorships to diversity in sports to "black hair". Once I unpacked we went straight to the welcome lunch and introduction. As soon as I walked into the large banquet room I immediately spotted Tony Brown…he wasn't hard to find….he was the ONLY black dude in the room ;-)

With Sara Gross and Tony Brown

The first day was great. One of the featured speakers was Melissa Stockwell - Olympic Paratriathlete Medalist and World Champion. She captured my heart. She was the essence of "seize the day". She lost her left leg at the age of 24 when a roadside bomb hit her vehicle in Baghdad. The fight in her is amazing. She was so unbelievably positive. She didn't let the events of that day define her. Instead, they made her stronger, fueled her dreams, and gave hope to others that might be in a similar situation.

 

The rest of the day was super busy. I went to a speed networking function, followed by a reception at ACTIVE Headquarters (so much fun), then Tony and I met a few members of the Black Triathletes Association for dinner...turning "Facebook relationships" into official friendships :-)

 

The next morning I woke up early so I could get my scheduled workout in before I had to speak. I'm in the middle of marathon training. As I chugged through mile after mile on the treadmill I went over some of the questions and my responses...then concluded that I would just wing it and speak from the heart. No robotic responses.

By the time I got to Day 2's venue Lance Armstrong was finishing up. I took a seat next to Tony, listened to a panel on the "Future of Triathlon" and anxiously waited for my turn. And by anxiously waited I mean I was sweating bullets, hands were shaking, heart was beating faster than usual.... similar to what I go through before a big race. I also can't hold my bladder so I excused myself and went out into the hall. Timing is crazy. I ended up running into Flaca (Maria Teresa) Guerrero, TV presenter, model, triathlete, AND the other panelist on our roster. She was super friendly, beautiful and down to earth. She immediately calmed my nerves. She was nervous TOO. I was experiencing stage fright and she was worried about her English (she's originally from Ecuador) :-)

With Flaca

My Story

One of the first things we were asked about was our introduction to the sport of triathlon. In the past I always gave a half-@ssed answer…. “I was going through a break up and needed a distraction so I signed up for a triathlon…blah blah blah.” That wasn’t even the half of it.

It was June 2013 and I was going through a DIVORCE. Depressed is an understatement. I was separated, on my own, no family nearby, living in hotels, financially starting over. It was devastating. My parents were my rock. They traveled back and forth, called frequently, but there’s only so much they could do.

When I went through my lowest period I decided I needed to do something on my bucket list. I needed a distraction. Something, anything to stress over… a healthy stress. I saw that there was a local triathlon. The Tidewater Sprint Triathlon  (500 meter swim, 10 mile bike ride, 5K run). I immediately registered. With no bike, no swim training, not even a triathlon suit, I made the commitment. I had two weeks to prepare and two weeks to stress out about something other than my divorce. I bought a mountain bike, got membership to my local Aquatic Center, bought a Triathlon book and began training.

Pretty much what I looked like at my first Triathlon

Two weeks later I did my first triathlon. I sucked hahaha. But it was soooooo much fun. I felt alive again. I was smiling again. I started making friends through the sport. And I noticed a huge change in my fitness. Before I found triathlon I struggled breaking 20 minutes in the 5K. Once I started regularly incorporating cycling and swimming into my weekly exercise regimen I immediately started running in the 18s. It was shocking, to say the least. 

So there it is. My story. I’m a little freaked out about sharing something personal in such a public way. But you know what, it’s life. The divorce might be the worst thing to ever happen to me but it’s also the best thing to ever happen to me.

I joked around with my Mom later that day... while I was up on the panel I told her I felt like Jack Dawson (Titanic) when he gave his speech at the "first class dinner" with Rose...

"I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen or who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count."

Awareness

A slide from Sara's Intro/Presentation

I've really grown to love the sport of triathlon in a short span of time. In some ways, that day in June 2013 saved my life. My mind was not in a good place. That one race pulled me out of a deep dark hole and changed my life. So, of course, when I see the demographic statistics (0.5% African Americans in triathlon, ~70% of African-American children cannot swim, African-American children drown at a rate nearly three times higher than white children) I become more passionate about increasing awareness and participation. 

I won't recap everything that was asked and said on the panel because I could write a few pages on it, but you can view the video in it's entirety HERE. I think one of the things Tony and I agreed on most was the fact that triathlon is pretty much an unheard of sport in the African American community. As I said on the panel "you can't do something you know nothing about." I think the first step to changing that 0.5% participation rate is to bring awareness to the swim-bike-run sport (which Tony has helped do by creating the Black Triathletes Association). Of course it's not a simple fix - there's expense, access to pools, learning how to swim, the "hair" factor (so much to say on this subject), etc. But I think even simple things like introducing the shorter race distances (sprint triathlon) instead of focusing on the long stuff (half and full ironman), featuring more minorities in triathlon-related ads/magazines, and investing in initiatives (i.e. free swim classes in underprivileged neighborhoods).

Photos from our session (credit: Paul Phillips / Competitive Image / @CompImagePhoto)

  

Amazing Opportunities
I made countless connections over the span of ~36 hours. It was wonderful meeting people in the triathlon community that were genuinely interested in not only my mission (to become the first African American woman to turn pro) but also deeply concerned with the lack of diversity within the sport. I'm looking forward to keeping the momentum going and I CAN'T WAIT to share exciting opportunities as they develop. 

Last but not least...

Virginia / Maryland Triathlon Series is one of my favorite triathlon race organizations!!

You know that sprint triathlon I did back in June 2013? My very first one. I happened to luck out! Greg Hawkins (founder/race director) and Don White (VP of Operations) of Virginia / Maryland Triathlon Series happened to be in the audience during my panel discussion. They believe in my mission and have been incredibly supportive. And now I get to represent VTS this triathlon season. I’m ecstatic and looking forward to the partnership.

That's all folks :-)