Winning Ways

Date: 31.03.20
Winning Ways
For some, it’s the challenge of attempting something they never thought they’d accomplish. For others, it’s something they just happened into and now can’t imagine never having started. - Mike O'Brien

No matter how it begins, preparing to complete a marathon, triathlon, or any other major physical challenge can be a daunting pursuit. It takes strategy, dedication and adaptation to excel in these events, as demonstrated by four Trelleborg employees who have achieved exceptional results.

Striving for Continued Growth

Though the athletes are from different countries, their athletic paths have followed similar routes. Asa Bergholm, Marc Flageole, Keith Kruelskie and Martin Krüger all started small. Each began with a running class, fun run, or something similar, but quickly expanded to long-distance endurance races.

After completing his first event, Martin says he had an urge to keep going, to find out what he was capable of accomplishing.

 

He says, “I just want to know what is possible if I really focus and give everything. And honestly, I want to accomplish something very special that not everyone can do.”

Keith says “I started with shorter-distance sprint events, typically a 500-yard swim, 12-mile bike, and a 3.1-mile (5k) run. As time went on and I expanded my abilities, I started completing longer events, eventually working my way to the Ironman.”

In 1997, Marc realized he needed a lifestyle change. “I was not always as active as I am now. Back then I was a packand-a-half a day smoker and was not at a healthy weight.

I needed to change,” says Marc. He began a routine of working out three times a week and later incorporated running. Just more than a year later, he completed his first 10k; eight months after that, his first marathon; and in August of 2001 his first Ironman triathlon, which qualified him for the World Championships. 

Planning & Experience

Preparing for race-day success, according to Asa, begins long before the race. Asa says, “It’s essential to set achievable goals and to not only focus on enjoying the race, but also the training leading into it. It’s important to have a good mix of sports and training, both in terms of distance and muscle focus. It’s vital to focus on more than just one aspect in which to grow your abilities.” 

During Keith’s first Ironman event, on an incredibly hot day in Texas in May of 2015, his legs began to severely cramp 90 miles into the bike portion. Keith says, “I limped in on the bike and headed out on my run. After a mile, my hamstring started to pull and locked up. I quickly tried to hydrate, drink Gatorade and eat pretzels, but it was too late.” 

He hobbled through the rest of the race, running the last two miles on sheer will power and pretzel salt. That day he learned that having a plan for electrolytes and practicing electrolyte management during training were critical to race-day success.

He now goes into every race with a salt and nutrition plan that he adjusts based on race conditions. As Keith says, “It pays to be prepared. And sometimes, it just pays to eat some pretzels!”

Expect the Unexpected

Even with experience and proper planning, it’s impossible to anticipate all obstacles that may arise. 

During the 2011 Ironman in St-George, Utah, Marc encountered a major challenge when one-minute into the 2.4-mile swim, a zipper malfunction caused his wet suit to remain open. Besides losing insulation from the 58 °F water, this greatly increased his drag and made the swim much more difficult. Relying on experience, Marc overcame the unforeseen setback. “I managed to finish the swim because I stayed calm and trusted I would make up some time on the bike and run, which I did. I was still able to place seventh in my age group and qualify for the World Championships,” says Marc.


He says, “I just want to know what is possible if I really focus and give everything. And honestly, I want to accomplish something very special that not everyone can do.”

Keith says “I started with shorter-distance sprint events, typically a 500-yard swim, 12-mile bike, and a 3.1-mile (5k) run. As time went on and I expanded my abilities, I started completing longer events, eventually working my way to the Ironman.”

In 1997, Marc realized he needed a lifestyle change. “I was not always as active as I am now. Back then I was a packand-a-half a day smoker and was not at a healthy weight.

I needed to change,” says Marc. He began a routine of working out three times a week and later incorporated running. Just more than a year later, he completed his first 10k; eight months after that, his first marathon; and in August of 2001 his first Ironman triathlon, which qualified him for the World Championships. 

He says, “I just want to know what is possible if I really focus and give everything. And honestly, I want to accomplish something very special that not everyone can do.”

Keith says “I started with shorter-distance sprint events, typically a 500-yard swim, 12-mile bike, and a 3.1-mile (5k) run. As time went on and I expanded my abilities, I started completing longer events, eventually working my way to the Ironman.”

In 1997, Marc realized he needed a lifestyle change. “I was not always as active as I am now. Back then I was a packand-a-half a day smoker and was not at a healthy weight.

I needed to change,” says Marc. He began a routine of working out three times a week and later incorporated running. Just more than a year later, he completed his first 10k; eight months after that, his first marathon; and in August of 2001 his first Ironman triathlon, which qualified him for the World Championships. 

WORK AND PLAY

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions employees undergo training to improve existing skills and learn new ones, develop and implement project plans, and adjust to changing environments and unexpected obstacles. In many ways, this on-the-job experience mirrors the training and execution of endurance athletes. In both cases, we are in this for the long haul and dedicated to excellence.

FIRST RACE: Sprint triathlon in 2014

RACES COMPLETED: 65 events, including 2019 Ironman-Germany

FAVORITE EVENT: 2019 Ironman-Germany, held in Kraichgau, Ubstadt-Weiher in June of 2019 

FUTURE RACES: Five triathlons, two half marathons, and one full marathon in 2020. Martin is most looking forward to the Olympic distance Chiemsee Triathlon held in Bavaria.

MARTIN KRÜGER, Area Sales Manager, Industrial, Stuttgart, Germany

FIRST RACE: 10k run in 1998

RACES COMPLETED: Marc has completed 25-30 races a year for the past 22 years, including 27 Ironman races. He has been invited to the Ironman World Championships 12 times.

BEST RESULT: Placed first in his age group at Ironman Canada 2010. Placed fourth in his age group at the Ironman World Championships 70.3 in 2014.FU

TURE EVENTS: Marc’s 2020 race calendar is full, including the Boston Marathon, the Pentathlon des Neiges in Quebec City, and the Ironman World Championships, held in Hawaii in October.

MARC FLAGEOLE, Application Engineer, Montreal, Canada

FIRST RACE: Half marathon in 2013

RACES COMPLETED: Many smaller races, The Swedish Classic, seven half marathons, three full marathons, and a half Ironman.

BEST RESULT: Third place amongst all women at the 2019 Jönköping Marathon, though her best time of three hours and twentyeight minutes was at the same event in 2018.

FUTURE RACES: Asa is currently training for the 2020 Stockholm Marathon.

ASA BERGHOLM, Office Manager, Jönköping, Sweden

FIRST RACE: Sprint triathlon in 2012

RACES COMPLETED: Many sprint events, six full Ironman and ten half Ironman races.

BEST RESULT: In Arizona-2016 and Boulder-2019, Keith finished within two minutes of qualifying for the Ironman World Championships.

FUTURE RACES: 2020 Ironman in St George, Utah (US) and Half Ironman World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand.

KEITH KRUELSKIE, Application Engineer, Colorado, United States

Continual Progress 

Asa, Keith, Marc, and Martin all prove that through dedication and persistence, there is no limit to what can be achieved. They all agree that upon crossing the finish line, feelings of gratitude, joy, pride, and a desire to accomplish more overcame them. Martin says, “With discipline and preparation, you can achieve anything. Borders are only in your mind and are constantly expanding as your abilities improve.” As these athletes have demonstrated, crossing the finish line is never the end; it’s only proof of what’s possible and helps to fuel the drive to accomplish more.