The First Thirty by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson (and expanded version, The Silhouette Man ) tells the story of a person's efforts to make a difference in the world outside his window and the first thirty lessons learned along the way. The book was honored as NSDLC 2007 Multicultural Relations Book of the Year. Greg Forbes Siegman is the real-life person upon whom the two books are based.

For Greg, the desire to compete in (and complete) a race was a deeply held dream.  For more on his interest in Health/Fitness - and the four operations on his feet that repeatedly delayed his dream to be part of a race - click here)

Serious Disclaimer:  If you have an interest in taking part in a Triathlon (or any other kind of race), it is strongly recommended you set aside time for formal training and consult with a physician before you begin.

After signing up for the Triathlon, Greg made a list of goals for the trip.  They included: (1) finishing the race (2) not getting hurt (3) meeting -- and learning about -- lots of interesting people (4) seeing how many people, places, companies and schools he could get to come on board and be part of the experience in ways, big and small, despite having just two weeks to do it (and despite them having completely justifiable reasons  to say no (like, only having two weeks notice  to set up a speech - or-  not wanting to back a Triathlete with no experience and no formal training and just two weeks to get ready).  In short, the goal was to find ways to make things work instead of falling back on all the reasons why they can't...and turn one person's goal into a big group effort.

Before Greg could train, he had to line up the things he would need to train -- starting with what he would wear.

For other needs like a hat, backpack to store his gear during the race, and water bottles, Greg's primary concern was quality of the products and quality of the service.  So, he visited, Running Away Multisport .

Greg then began thinking about what he would wear before the race and en route to it. His friend (a graduate of University of Wisconsin) gave him some shirts so he could begin to get in a Wisconsin mindset (where the race would be taking place).

The next step was Motivation.  First, Greg reached out to friends and asked them to recommend motivational music he could put on his system, to listen to while he trained.  (Already had the soundtrack to Rocky, of course!)

The next issue was Diet. To ensure he was eating and drinking the right things in the days leading up to the race, Greg teamed up with Barb Fine, RD, LDN (Past President, Chicago Dietetic Association).

The next step was Research - learning as much as he could about triathlons in the limited time he had to do it. This occurred in four stages:

1) His friend -- who won her age category in her first ever triathlon -- provided him a book on triathlons.

3) Greg had his intern look up information on triathlons for him - including a list of everything he needed to remember to bring with him, and

4) he asked all kinds of questions any time he met anyone who knew anything about health and fitness

The next step was to start taking certain precautions to try and decrease the likelihood of injury. One afternoon, Cycle Smithy - a top bike shop in Chicago - was kind enough to give him a crash course in how to ride a road bike.

In preparing for the Triathlon, Greg knew it was also important to prepare for its aftermath.  Given his lack of race experience and formal training, he knew it would be important to give his body the proper care after the race.  So, he made sure he was stocked up on a few of the many great products by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company.  like NEOSPORIN®, BENGAY® , and Band-Aid® Brand Adhesive Bandages

At this point, there was only a couple days left for Greg to actually start training for the Triathlon.  (And to complicate things, he did not have a bike or boat - and would not be getting them until he was in Wisconsin for the race).

On Thursday morning, two days before the race, Greg drove a couple hours to Madison, Wisconsin where he was a guest speaker at an assembly for 650 middle school students and their teachers. (The woman standing next to him was the staff member doing Sign Language). He talked about community service, making a difference in the ‘world outside your window’ and the power of the Ripple Effect.

After the event, Greg visited Machinery Row Bicycles where he was given a bike helmet and fitted for a Trek Madone 5.2 road bike in advance of the triathlon on Saturday.

While in Madison, to ensure he was following the diet put together by Barb Fine, Greg picked up groceries at Sentry Metcalfe's .

On Friday morning, Greg drove a couple hours to another area of Wisconsin where he was a guest speaker at an assembly for a couple hundred high school juniors and seniors.

Following the event, he led a classroom workshop (left) for a couple dozen of the school’s student leaders (team captains, class officers and student council members.  (Instead of talking about 'traditional' forms of leadership, the group discussed things like Grandma's, rejection letters, milkshakes, dinner reservations and holding doors).

Work at a high school? Click here

In conjunction with the second session, Kickapoo Homes ordered copies of The First Thirty for each of the student leaders.

In advance of the trip, Greg arranged for someone to come with him to the triathlon. That night, the two of them attended a big spaghetti dinner (prepared by some of the super nice local community members who volunteer to help out with the Triathlon)

Kickapoo Valley Reserve Dam Challenge Triathlon  took place on Saturday morning.

As described on its website, "This challenging and scenic triathlon event includes a 7 mile paddle on the Kickapoo River (instead of a traditional half-mile swim), a 14 mile road bike, and a 3 mile cross country run.  All legs of the race take place within the 8659-acre Kickapoo Valley Reserve, which has some of the hilliest terrain in the Driftless Region of Southwestern Wisconsin."

Best of all, proceeds from the Triathlon benefit a meaningful cause -- the education program in the community where the event takes place :)

Greg's guest made signs to root him on.

A top student (and cross-country runner) from a nearby high school volunteered to be his helper for the day, making sure the water bottles were full and doing things like making sure all his other gear was ready to go during the transitions.

Funniest picture of the race (if you look closely): Moments before the triathlon began, as the other racers were preparing to start the 7 mile kayak, Greg was trying to figure out how to sit in the boat.

A few minutes before the race, Greg knew he still needed some more help -- and turned to his competitors.

The triathlon began with a 7 mile solo kayak. For Greg, the obstacle here was that he had no real idea what to expect.  He had never been on this river (or in a kayak) in his life before the race began.

The second leg of the race was the 14 mile road bike (including some very large hills).

For Greg, the obstacles here were three-fold:  he was now 90 minutes into the race and had not done any endurance training, he had never been on the course before so he didn't know what to expect, and he had only ridden a road bike twice in his life (once for thirty minutes, once for five minutes).

The third leg of the race was the 3 mile cross-country run. In this instance, there were three major obstacles: (1) he was now nearly three hours into the race and had done no endurance training, (2) he had never been on the course before so he didn't know what to expect, (3) he'd had four operations on his feet.

In all, he completed the race in 3 hours and 24 minutes and finished in 188th place overall (but still insisted on doing the traditional just-set-a-world-record-pose-with-the-shoes by the Finish Line) :)

A few days later, his results in the race came online -- and included a surprising silver lining that hopefully carries a positive message about not giving up. Leg by leg of the race, his results went up when, in theory, they should have gone down.

The first part of the race - kayaking - he had zero experience. and came in the top 230 finishers.  With  no real experience, and having done no endurance training, it seemed logical that he would fall further back in the pack during the road bike.  But it was the opposite -- he finished in the top 210 finishers for the second leg of the race.  From there, he went straight to the cross country run.  Given the previous problems with his feet and lack of endurance training, it seemed logical that he would definitely fall back in the pack at that point.  But it was the opposite.  He finished in the top 110 finishers for the 3rd leg of the race.  

Those products from Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company were definitely put to good use after the race.

Congratulations to EVERYONE who finished -- from the Youth Division to those who were facing personal challenges and overcoming them just by seeing the race through until the end to the Top Finishers (being honored, left).

The next day, Greg drove back to Madison, where he sat in the 'stacks' at the University of Wisconsin library and worked on a variety of articles he is currently writing for different magazines in the U.S. and Canada.

That night, he went to dinner with a group of people (only one of whom he had previously met).

Greg's nonprofit organization is called The 11-10-02 Foundation . It is now in its 10th year. One of The 11-10-02 Foundation’s Scholars goes to law school in Wisconsin. (and we're incredibly proud of him!)

He sat in class, listened to the lecture, followed the text with his 'classmates', took notes...

...and stayed after class to ask his 'professor' more questions about the topic.

That afternoon, Greg was a guest speaker for the residents at Coventry Village - a beautiful community for seniors. (The residents were wonderful!)

During the trip, Greg also implemented another chapter of The First Thirty Elevator Project. To learn about this Project, how it started, what it has turned into, and how you could be part of it, go to www.TheFirstThirty.com and click Elevator Project.

As always, his trip was filled with meetings with old friends - some planned, some by chance - and unexpected meetings and adventures with new ones. Here are pictures of some of the memorable people and places who crossed his path during the trip...

Coming Soon.

To return to Greg's website, visit www.GregForbes.com

Special thanks to everyone who believed I could cross the finish line -- and everyone who helped me do it.  Particular thanks to everyone I met in Wisconsin, the organizers of the Triathlon, the extremely kind volunteers, and my fellow competitors, the organizers of the events where I spoke (and the groups to whom I spoke), NIKE, Machinery Row Bicycles, Running Away Multisport, Sentry Foods (Metcalfe's), Barb Fine, T-Shirt Deli, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company, Kickapoo Homes, New Concord Inn, Ashley, Jonel, Marcy, Jeff, Chris, Derek, David, Cat, Luke, Roger, Joel, Aaron, Kelly, Julia, Josh, Robert, Paul, Sir, Patricia, Teresa, Hillary, Brooke, Jessica, Avery, AP, Sarah & Adam, Joe, Luis, Brittany, and my 'professor' and fellow 1L 'classmates'.