The Clementine Experiment

November 2006 - two young athletes worked tirelessly in a cold, dark conference room. It was a typical late night at Captain D’s and these athletes, as usual, were pouring over audit workpapers. Little did these two know, something bigger was happening all around them, something that would bond them, and others, together as teammates on one of the greatest endurance teams ever known.

It was at that point that The Clementine Experiment was conceived. It would not be until two years later that these athletes would realize what had happened.

The idea of running the upcoming 2007 Country Music Half Marathon in a 1:30, which was quit a stretch for these two “professional amateurs”, kept being tossed around the audit room back in 2006. April 2007 brought disappointment to each, yet built a foundation of motivation and drive like none other. Over the next two years, these two athletes would endure hours and hours of rigorous training, injuries, career changes, and even transform from runners to triathletes. Then, in November 2008, after miles and miles and hours and hours of training, one of these athletes declared that he was going to write a book about the experiences of going from an out-of-shape auditor to an age-group winning triathlete and (hopefully) an Ironman.

The two athletes started reminiscing about those longs nights in the audit room, the room where it all began, and how they used to discuss running. Book titles started being tossed around and then they both remembered one single important thing that they could not believe they had forgotten. Clementines. It was the sweet Spanish Clementine that had gotten them through those difficult times. It was the Clementine that given them the ability to work all those nights and train all those long miles. The book title was determined that instant: The Clementine Experiment.

The Clementine Experiment did not end there. Many friends were made along the last two years of mileage that were all part of The Clementine Experiment, part of what ultimately made this group of teammates what they are today. Team Clementine was created. Team Clementine is a group of amateur athletes who support each other in racing the most challenging endurance events they personally can. Team Clementine is a group of average men and women who work normal jobs by day, train like professional athletes by night, and race like machines on the weekend.

Anyone can juggle the many things that are thrown at them in life and become an “ironman” at anything they wish to pursue. This webpage will be used to track the experiences of Team Clementine throughout the next year, the progress towards becoming an ironman, and motivate others to lead a healthy, balanced, and active lifestyle.