From Soeul, Korea on the way to Home Sweet Home

Todd Crandell's Diary Blog
Back in Soeul Korea and all I can say is Home Sweet Home. That is not just a good song by Motley Crue but what I am feeling right now as I am on my long journey home. I miss my family tremendously and can't wait to see them all.

I finished my 10th Ironman Triathlon and I am very thankful for that. This was the toughest Ironman I have done. A couple times during the event I thought about stopping but then I also thought of what I am trying to achieve by doing these grueling events and all that has been accomplished through Racing for Recovery and last but not least all of the people who have supported me personally on this adventure and I kept going to the finish. I look at the Ironman the same way I do at my sobriety and life as well, it is hard at times but if you want to achieve a goal there is nothing stopping you but yourself from achieving it.

Want to share an interesting story with you all. I was sitting on the beach catching some sun when a young man came up to me and asked if I was doing the Ironman. I said I was and he asked if he could put his bike case in our hotel during the race. I asked why he needed to do that and Jeremy (who is 19 years old) informed me that he came to Korea by himself and he was sleeping in a tent because he did not have enough money for a hotel and he did not want his stuff in a non-secure place while he was racing. Now mind you the past 2 nights it had rained really hard and I thought to myself there is no way this young man should be outside in a foreign country. I said go get all of your stuff you are staying with us. As we talked further he asked me about my tattoos and then said "wait a minute I saw you on Tv in Texas for the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman in June. Turns out he raced that event and remembered m! y story and Racing for Recovery. Small world eh? It was great to hang with him for several days and I have a ton of respect for this young man.

We also met some sisters from Canada Shelley and Sharlene. Shelley is a teacher in Korea (so I gave her a copy of ADDICT for the students) and Sharlene is a tremendous hockey player. I love hockey and played for years so we struck up a good conversation about Canada, hockey and life in general. She said she was at a crossroad in her life about not knowing if she should continue to play or find an indvidual sport to get involved with. They came out to the Ironman and Sharlene then stated that she thought she was ready to find something else to spend her time with other than hockey and that it was time for a change in her life.

The point I am making here is that it never fails when I travel to do these events, I meet people who have either helped myself and Racing for Recovery or I have helped them in some capacity and that is a pretty amazing thing.

I want to thank everyone from Ironman Korea for allowing me to do your great event and to my family and friends who supported me I say THANK YOU very much. It is so hard to travel this far and do a grueling event like this and just knowing I had you all back home with positive thoughts for me makes a world of difference so again I thank you for your support.

Ok we have a few more hours before our next flight so I am going to go grab a bite to eat.

Thank you,
Todd Crandell
Founder & Executive Director
Racing for Recovery