Category: Adventure
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The Race Before the Race — Triple Ironman France France, 1989–1991 Most athletes taper before a big race. Ted Epstein apparently preferred full-contact travel logistics. Six weeks before the Triple Ironman in France, Ted had everything planned with the precision of a military operation. Two racing bikes were packed into a giant custom cardboard crate…
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The Double Ironman — Racing Through Heat, Grief, and Grit Huntsville, Alabama — 1989–1992 Some races test your legs.Some test your lungs.And some test the deepest corners of your heart. Huntsville’s Double Ironman — known locally as the “90/90” for its brutal 90-degree heat and 90% humidity — was one of those races. For Ted,…
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Ted the Biker — Learning to Fly on Two Wheels By the time Ted decided to enter triathlons, he already had two of the three sports under control. He could run. He could swim (in his own very Ted-like way). But cycling? That was a different story. Ted hadn’t ridden a bike seriously since he…
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Swimming the Bering Strait — A Birthday Into History July 19, 1993 For his 58th birthday, Ted didn’t ask for a cake.He asked for the coldest, loneliest stretch of water on Earth. He wanted to swim the Bering Strait. Just a few years earlier, legendary cold-water swimmer Lynne Cox had stunned the world by crossing…
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When Even Ted Said “Maybe Not” — The English Channel & The Ice Waters of Siberia The Swim That Never Happened The English Channel — Dover, England Some adventures are conquered.Others are wisely declined. When Ted and Vivian traveled to Dover, England, they were invited to meet the longtime organizers of the legendary English Channel…
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Swimming Against the Tide — and the Pollution Hong Kong Island Swim, May 17, 1988 Ted didn’t just chase challenges.He chased meaning. While visiting Hong Kong in 1988, Ted set his sights on an ambitious goal: swimming around Hong Kong Island. But this wasn’t only about endurance — it was about awareness. The harbor’s pollution…
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Swimming — The Sport Ted Refused to Let Beat Him Ted Epstein had striking light blue eyes — the kind most people never noticed because they were usually hidden behind thick glasses. And those glasses were exactly why swimming terrified him. But triathlons don’t care about fears. When Ted signed up for a quarter triathlon…
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Stair Climbs — Turning Skyscrapers Into Mountains Ted didn’t always need a trail, a mountain range, or open sky to test himself. Sometimes, all he needed was a stairwell. Singapore, May 8, 1988 — A Vertical Marathon In 1988, the tallest hotel in Singapore was the Westin Stamford, and it hosted one of the most…
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Conquering Pikes Peak — Again and Again 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 Most people are satisfied to stand on top of a mountain once. Ted Epstein wasn’t most people. The Pikes Peak Ascent is not simply a race — it’s a vertical test of will. It begins in the charming town of…
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The Leadville 100 — A Test of Grit and Character (1988) Five years after his first attempt at the legendary Leadville 100, Ted was ready to take on the brutal 100-mile mountain race once again. This time, he wasn’t alone. A close friend had decided to try Leadville for the first time and asked Ted…