How do sporty executives fit in rigorous athletic training alongside their jobs?
By Arianne Cohen
It’s 7:30 AM, and while the world groggily reaches for coffee,
Kelly Fillnow’s athletes are grinding through a 45-minute cycling workout. She spins along with them and watches them on a screen as they cycle through eight 45-second sprints at their top race outputs, standing on their pedals to hit the metrics and sweating profusely. Throughout, Fillnow offers advice on handling race-day anxieties. “It’s about getting them in the right state of mind,” she says. “The mental training is what gets them across the finish line.” Today’s class will be repeated at 6 PM that evening and 5:15 AM the next morning. There will be a 90-minute class this weekend.
It might seem like these athletes are gearing up for Los Angeles
in 2028. In fact, they’ll soon be sinking into office chairs to run companies and lead teams. For her part, Fillnow says she trains top-level executives, investment bankers, and entrepreneurs, among others. “They’re pretty ambitious,” says Fillnow, a former pro triathlete based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Welcome to the world of elite executive athletic training. While many executives boast about being serious athletes, be it in racquetball, mountain biking, swimming, or surfing, only a select number take it to a different level entirely—relying on world-class athletes and coaches to train for upcoming competitions. In Fillnow’s class, some will be competing in marathons and Ironmans (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run), while others are seeking to win world championships in their age groups or break personal bests. Most awake “in the 4s” each morning, glued to training apps with names like Velocity, which offers their coaches' classes, or Training Peaks, which syncs with GPS devices and offers color-coded progress reports: green for a completed workout, yellow for one that’s partially completed, and the dreaded red when the workout is skipped. “This crew wants everything green. They love the green,” says Fillnow.
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How do busy executives fit in the training? That’s the first
question I ask.”
“
An elite training habit quickly becomes a pricey line item on any budget. Rookies can expect to spend many thousands of dollars getting started with training and race gear, and to triple that figure in travel and hotel costs. Here are the top expenses:
Read more about
Closing Ceremonies
The Competitive Spirit
The Competitive Spirit
The (Tough) Economics of the Games
The (Tough) Economics of the Games
Race bike:
$5,000 to $8,000, or $10,000+ for a pro-level one
Wet suit:
$1,000
Racing shoes:
$250
Ironman
race:
Fees of $900 and up
basic training
plan:
$500 per year
It’s not your imagination: C-suiters tend to be particularly drawn to intensive endurance training, which dovetails with the type-A mentality
of elite executives who thrive on structures and routine. Different motivations drive them: One CFO who trains with Fillnow qualified for
the Boston Marathon and completed it in less than three hours, then transferred into triathlons and qualified for the Ironman World Championships, then got into gravel racing. His goal is to be the best
in his age group. Another trained 18 hours a week following a family tragedy, and competed in a full-length Ironman in Texas this spring.
How, you ask, do busy executives fit in the training? “That’s the first
question I ask,” says coach Jarrod Shoemaker, a duathlete and 2008 Games triathlete. An executive’s office might be located near a pool, he suggests. “I work backwards from there. It’s about fitting training into what they already do.” Clients text him notes on where they’re traveling next and he sends them workout schedules. While professional endurance athletes might train 20 to 30 hours per week, executives typically aim for 14 to 18 hours; those with cramped schedules might meet their goals in just 10 hours, with the aid of indoor bikes and strategic race choices.
How, you ask, do busy executives get their work done? Executives say
that they feel energized, positive and ready to work after morning trainings. And it’s easy to overlook the benefits of the training for leaders, such as camaraderie: As executives climb the corporate ladder, they may find themselves less able to confide in coworkers. Teams often compete together, and executives try to attend in-person training sessions whenever possible. Their mental training also applies to corporate life. Fillnow helps athletes manage their own compulsions to achieve. “Pressure is a privilege,” she says, and not something to resist.
A bit of anxiety means you care. “You give your very best for that day—and that’s a great day.”
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It’s 7:30 AM, and while the world groggily reaches for coffee, Kelly Fillnow’s athletes are grinding through a 45-minute cycling workout. She spins along with them and watches them on a screen as they cycle through eight 45-second sprints at their top race outputs, standing on their pedals to hit the metrics and sweating profusely. Throughout, Fillnow offers advice on handling race-day anxieties. “It’s about getting them in the right state of mind,” she says. “The mental training is what gets them across the finish line.” Today’s class will be repeated at
6 PM that evening and 5:15 AM the next morning. There will be a 90-minute class this weekend.
It might seem like these athletes are gearing up for Los Angeles in 2028. In fact, they’ll soon be sinking into office chairs to run companies and lead teams. For her part, Fillnow says she trains top-level executives, investment bankers, and entrepreneurs, among others. “They’re pretty ambitious,” says Fillnow, a former pro triathlete based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Welcome to the world of elite executive athletic training. While many executives boast about being serious athletes, be it in racquetball, mountain biking, swimming, or surfing, only a select number take it to a different level entirely—relying on Olympians or Olympic coaches to train for upcoming competitions. In Fillnow’s class, some will be competing in marathons
and Ironmans (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike,
and 26.2-mile run), while others are seeking to win world championships in their age groups
or break personal bests. Most awake “in the
4s” each morning, glued to training apps with names like Velocity, which offers their coaches' classes, or Training Peaks, which syncs with
GPS devices and offers color-coded progress reports: green for a completed workout, yellow for one that’s partially completed, and the dreaded red when the workout is skipped. “This crew wants everything green. They love the green,” says Fillnow.
The Competitive Spirit
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View Contents
Home
The (Tough) Economics of the Games
Winning It All—After Hours
The Competitive Spirit
Post Game-Day
Winning...with a Work-Life Balance?
Eye for a Star
Know Thyself
Leadership at the Top
Where Are They Now?
Snaring Medals...And Then, Consulting?
The Home Office, with Trophies in the Closet
World-Class Athletes on the Job
Every Four Years: The Challenge
of Staying Long-Term