Mark Rucker's Journey: From Couch Potato to Triathlete

Mark after the 2012 Iron Horse Half Marathon

I've been thinking for some time to mix in some guest posts. I've been fortunate to get to know some amazing people through Twitter, DailyMile and the blogsosphere, that I want to share their stories as well.

Finally, I'm adding guest posts, and I could not think of a more perfect person to feature - Mark Rucker.

I met Mark through DailyMile and then got to meet him in person as we ran the Iron Horse Half Marathon in October of 2012 - his first half marathon. His upbeat, positive and encouraging personality you see online is exactly what you get when you meet him in real life.

Over the past couple years, Mark has been waging the Battle of the Bulge, and he is winning as he's gone from a couch potato to a soon-to-be Ironman! His story is so compelling, he was recently featured on CNN.com.

So without any further ado, here's Mark in his own words:

My Finish Line

Saucony has this great promotion going on right now called "Find Your Strong."

The concept of the program is pretty simple: what is your strong? What do you find your strength? What motivates you? In other words, where do you find your strong?

This is a pretty great promotion in and of itself. But since Dorothy Beal - a Twitter running friend, is one of the faces and voices behind the project, I'm an even bigger fan. Saucony didn't hype this promotion with a bunch of superstars and high-priced athletes. They used real runners from all walks of life and backgrounds. I highly recommend you check out Dorothy's blog and story.

But I'm getting a bit of subject here. (What? Me ramble? As if ...) This week's "Find Your Strong" asked for people to share photos of their finish line - where you finish your run. The photos range for the typical photo of someone's home to finish-line photos. Others are a different take such as a couch, a person's favorite post-run beverage and their kids.

Welcome to Runners Anonymous

"Hi, my name is Jay, and I am a runner!"

Whew! There. I admitted it to the whole world.

I, Jay Stancil, am a runner.

Never thought I would ever be saying something like that. Ever.