TCNJ

43 Triple threat "Slacker dad" Harvey Gayer showed World Ironman 2016 who's boss. There are all sorts of small, seemingly insignificant accessories without which an Ironman triathlon goes from grueling endurance test to something like torture. For Harvey Gayer '90, on this most difficult of all stages, it was socks. "I forgot 'em, man," says Gayer, a little less than 24 hours after competing in his first Ironman World Championship in October. "It was a tough course, and I'm beat up all over, but my feet are the worst. I had to run the whole 26 without socks." That's 26.2 miles, of course, coming hot on the heels of a 112-mile bike ride and 2.4-mile ocean swim. The famously sun-blasted, wind-blown Ironman course on Hawaii's Big Island is unforgiving even for the properly attired; but for Gayer, who came back from a serious bike accident last year that left him with a fractured pelvis and unable to train for months, there was no thought of quitting. Quitting isn't what a guy nicknamed "Slayer" does. His finish at the world championship marked Gayer's seventh Ironman, an impressive feat for anyone, let alone a 48-year-old who was, not long ago, a self- described "Ironman couch potato." A clinical psychologist in Athens, Georgia, he was busy with life, work, and raising kids when he realized, "like a lot of us do, you're neglecting yourself. Next thing I knew, I was up to about 300 pounds." He's now immersed in the sport, both as a nationally competitive age-group triathlete and a local youth coach, finding motivation in memories of his sedentary, pre-triathlon life. He still thinks of himself as a "beer-drinking, doughnut-eating slacker dad" who doesn't belong among his ultra-fit, ultra-competitive crowd, but on the day after his most recent Ironman, at least, he figured he'd earned the right to splurge. "I'm eating donuts like crazy today, and I've had three or four slices of cold pizza," he says. "Man, you do one of these, you just tear food up." —Ryan Jones "The Slayer" Gayer finished the triathlon in 12 hours. Inset: Gayer about 10 years after graduation. THIS PAGE, FINISHERSPIX. INSET COURTESY HARVEY GAYER alumni@tcnj.edu Got time for us this spring? ALUMNI WEEKEND APRIL 26–30 PLEASE JOIN US! Last year, a record number of Lions — more than 1,000 — came together on campus. alumniweekend.tcnj.edu

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