Faith coach keeps up the competition
BELGIUM — Steve McCannon is all about challenges.
As the head coach of the Faith Academy girls cross country and track and field teams and the Highland Lakes Track Club, McCannon constantly motivates his athletes to do more than what they think they can.
So it comes as no surprise that while he was visiting his in-laws in Belgium on July 23, he decided to compete in the Antwerp Ironman 70.3.
He finished the event in 6 hours, 9 minutes after swimming 1.2 miles, biking another 56 miles and running 13.1 miles.
“I had never done those distances,” he said. “My goal for that race was to just finish. I was hoping to break six hours. But I couldn’t get the wetsuit off.”
The temperature was 70 degrees and windy for the bike ride.
“My time on the bike was 20 minutes off of what I normally do,” McCannon said. “The run was really good. That gives me an incentive to do it again.”
Because McCannon still competes, he’s much more relatable to his athletes.
“It helps with coaching because it keeps you on equal footing,” he said. “You talk the talk and walk the walk. I think it helps me be a better coach.”
McCannon said practices for the cross-country team will begin Aug. 15.