Surprise: Triathletes are Ambitious Type A’s
By Steve Casimiro on December 19th, 2012
Marathoning and triathlon are on a huge upswing in participation: The number of U.S. marathon finishers increased from about 300,000 in 2000 to 525,000 in 2011, and roughly 2.5 million people participated in a triathlon in 2011, a huge leap from just under 1.5 million in 2008. And, organizers argue, runners and triathletes are successful rat-racers, not just joggers: Mary Wittenberg, CEO of the group that stages the New York City Marathon, told the New York Times that her average runner’s household income was $130,000. USA Triathlon says their average racer’s income is comparable: $126,000. And behind the numbers is a personality type, say sports psychologists, who argue that the dogged persistence (as well as an addiction to successfully seeing a hard effort through) are consistent with high achievers regardless of task. Successful people seem to crave success everywhere, even, as this piece notes, if the boardroom types weren’t originally gifted jocks in their younger years. Via Fortune.
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