Lester has competed in Ultraman triathlons.

The American, whose right arm is completely paralyzed as result of being hit by a car as a young boy, will compete in the event on March 12. He will race in a 3km swim, a 200km bike ride and a 20km run.

Lester said, “I can’t wait to get to Abu Dhabi because everyone I know who went there last year for the very first race has told me it was phenomenal. I want to see for myself what all the fuss is about.”

Although doctors recently discovered muscle movement in his injured arm, the 36-year-old swims with only his left, using his legs far more than his fellow competitors. On the bike, he uses Velcro to keep his right arm attached to a bar.

“Of all the 1,500 who will flock to Abu Dhabi in March, this is one man who surely stands out from the crowd,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, Events Manager of ADTA. “Jason will be an inspiration to many – those taking part and the hundreds who will line the route to cheer him and other competitors on.”
Jason says he has been in intense training for the Abu Dhabi event and feels confident of putting on a sterling performance.

Jason has raced in the last three Ironman World Championship and will take part in an incredible event in Hawaii later this year; five Ironman races, on five consecutive days on five different islands.

“That is going to be a really fun event,” Lester said. “As I say, I like a challenge.”

Click here to see images from last year’s Abu Dhabi International triathlon.

In addition to competing in the TriRock event, Lester will also be making an appearance at a local multisport shop.  To meet Lester, head to Nytro Multisport in Encinitas, Calif. on Friday September 10 from 5-6:30 pm.

Ironman hall-of-famer and editor in chief of Competitor Magazine Bob Babbitt will be running the Q&A with Jason. Refreshments will be served.

Nytro Multisport
940 S Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024
760.632.0006

Jason’s Athletic Accomplishments

ESPY Award Winner – Best Male Athlete with a Disability, 2009(1st male triathlete to win an ESPY award)
ULTRAMAN Canada, 2008 (4th place overall in the run), 2009 (14th place overall)
ULTRAMAN Hawaii World Championships, 2008 (24th overall)
IRONMAN Arizona, 2007, 2008
IRONMAN Hawaii World Championships, 2008 (1st place in category)
IRONMAN Western Australia, 2007
70.3 Boise, 2009
70.3 Honolulu, 2009 (3rd in age group, and qualified for Ironman World Championships)
Ultramarathon – Hilo to Volcano, 2008 (9th place overall)
UItramarathon – Western States 100, 2009 (pacer)
ITU Triathlon World Championships, 2007 (6th place), 2008 (2nd in category)
International Triathlon San Diego, 2007
The Nautica New York City Triathlon, 2007 (2nd in category)
Duathlon – Pac Crest Endurance, 2008 (3rd in age group)
USAT (USA Triathlon) PC Athlete of the Year, 2008
USAT (USA Triathlon) PC Athlete of the Year Finalist, 2007
Scottsdale Duathlon, 2005, (1st in age group, 2nd overall)

Click here to learn more about Jason Lester.

All proceeds go to support the Never Stop Foundation.

Click here to view the aucton on Ebay.

Click here to learn more about Jason Lester and the Epic5.

After completing their fourth Ironman triathlon just before 5:00 a.m. on Monday on Maui, Jason Lester and Richard Roll went to bed. Their intention was to sleep for a few hours, catch an early afternoon flight to Kona, and immediately start their fifth and final Ironman-distance triathlon on the same course used for the Ironman World Championships each October.

“But a lot of people want to come out and support us,” Lester said on Monday afternoon after landing in Kona. So he and Roll decided to wait until Tuesday morning to embark on the final leg of their ultra-distance odyssey. “The local media wanted to cover it, and it would have been kind of rude of us to just go like, ‘Yeah, we are going to start at 2 o’clock in the afternoon today, and by the way we are going through the night again.’”

Roll and Lester hope the additional attention that comes from swimming, running and riding in the light of day will draw more notice to the Never Stop Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping kids realize their full potential through sports and raising funds for a new performance center in Kailua, Kona.

After 448 miles of riding, 9.6 miles of swimming and 105 miles of running, Lester says neither he nor Roll have suffered any alarming physical problems. “I feel good. There were some concerns with some body parts. You know, ankles and knees are getting sore and you are wondering what’s next? But you pull yourself out of it. You go through a lot of peaks and valleys.”

“The body is absolutely amazing,” Lester continues. “Rich and I got off the bike yesterday and we were just staring at each other like zombies. If one person had of been like, ‘You know what guys, let’s just bag this and go to the hotel,’ we probably would have followed that lead. But we just sat on the back of our minivan, got our nutrition back in check and the body just started coming back around. We’ve really learned a lot about our mental game and how our body works.”

Expanding upon the head tricks required to put one foot in front of the other when it’s  3:30 a.m. and 18-hours into your fourth Ironman marathon, Lester says he’s cracked “about 500 times.” But he adds “you try to talk yourself out of it. You start reasoning with yourself. Why are we out here? Why are we doing this?”

As far as the highlights, Lester says while “seeing the beauty of what each island offers…hills galore, wind, heat, rain, storms” has been spectacular, the natural spectacle is eclipsed by the warmth of the people coming out on every island to support them as crew members, roadside fans, and even a seven year old boy who ran with them for five miles on Maui. “I am absolutely blown away by how the people have come together to support us and make sure we get to the finish line each day. It’s selfless, and that’s got to be the highlight.”

On the other end of the cheer spectrum, Roll admits that getting through the day four marathon was grim. “We finished the bike last night, and the idea of running a marathon was almost unfathomable. That was probably our darkest moment. I don’t know how we got through that. We were really at our ends after that bike.”

That said, Roll adds that the lonesome Maui night had its moments of magic. Farmers were burning cane fields at 3:00 a.m. and “the sky was glowing with fire all around us. There was so much ash we had to turn around and go the other way. That was pretty wild.”

Roll says that while his 44-year old body is holding up well, “The biggest thing we are combating on the bike is that our butts are just worn out. We are having trouble sitting down, so we have to pedal and stand up and that slowed us down quite a bit. But we got through it. I think that Maui was the hardest. I’m proud that we got through it—there were some dark moments for sure.”

“Sleep deprivation is my biggest issue. I just have a hard time going on no sleep. The fact that we are going to be able to go to bed tonight and wake up and do it—we’re going to feel like brand-new people.”

“That’s the idea really,” the whippet-thin vegan enthuses. “To be able to be fresh enough where we can engage with people who want to come out on the course with us and be able to enjoy it rather than just be a zombie through the night.”

You can contribute to the EPIC5 cause at neverstopfoundation.org and follow the final Kona stage of the 12 mile swim, 560 mile bike and 131 mile run event at epic5.com/live and competitor.com

Lester and Roll washed the sleep out of their eyes with a 10:00 a.m., 2.4 mile ocean swim at southern Maui’s Kamaole beach

From the start, the going wasn’t easy. Due to strong currents, Roll finished his swim in about 1:15, 20 minutes slower than his usual swim splits. And Lester, who swims with one arm because one was disabled in a childhood bike wreck, took an hour and a half to complete his swim.

After swimming eight times around a triangle-shaped swim course, Roll, a competitive swimmer at Stanford in the 1980s, said it was the most difficult of their four swim legs so far.

Things didn’t lighten up after the bike transition. Like the previous day on Molokai, stiff breezes taxed the already-weary riders. It was “extremely windy,” crew member Molly Kline said from the riders’ support vehicle.  “Great side winds, head winds. They did get a little bit of tail wind, but definitely a tough bike.”

With the late swim start and grinding winds putting the brakes on their cycling progress, Lester and Roll’s support crew purchased bike lights from a local bike shop to keep the riders safe as they rode into the dark of Sunday night.

Even though they faced a long night of riding and running, Roll and Lester’s spirits were upbeat. “They are psyched that this is their fourth one,” Kline said. “They are proud that they have made it this far and they are doing well.”

That said,  Kline noted that “their bodies are becoming more of a challenge.” Both are suffering from chafing and foot blisters. The triathletes are also finding that their daily island transitions are forcing them to loose recovery sleep, which then compounds the physical deterioration from back-to-back Ironman events.

Nonetheless, neither has suffered any major physical issues. “The first few days are pretty golden as far as their bodies holding up,” Kline noted. “But it’s a little more rough as the days go by.”

After starting their their marathon at 11:00 p.m., Roll Twittered, “One foot in front of the other is the task at hand.” Running into the after-midnight hours, he and Lester saw plenty of Maui’s nocturnal wildlife on their way to a finish that was serenaded by Maui’s crowing roosters at 5:00 a.m.

The final triathlon takes place at Ironman’s spiritual and physical heart, Kona, Hawaii. Roll and Lester expect to start on their final Ironman at noon Monday and finish near dawn the next day.

Follow the final all-nighter EPIC5 at www.epic5.com/live and Competitor.com.

By Mark Johnson

Before the event, Lester, who pre-rode all the bike courses, said “I can tell you right now that Kauai and Molokai are the most brutal sections that I’ve been to.” Citing the island’s mountainous profile and exposure to raking trade winds, Lester and Roll expected Molokai to be especially tough because it’s the third Ironman they faced, and might wreak havoc with their mental state.

While the largely undeveloped Molokai delivered both hills and wind, it did not crack the athletes, who started at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning with a 2.4-mile ocean swim. They transitioned to their bikes by 8:30 a.m. and by 10 a.m. were 20 miles into the ride and facing some of the windiest conditions yet in their five-Ironman adventure.

With northeast headwinds gusting up to 30 mph and temperatures at 80 degrees long before the sun was high in the sky, the first 45 miles of the bike leg tested Roll and Lester. However, after the turnaround at the northern edge of the 260-square mile island that harkens back to the idyllic, unstressed, and untrammeled Islands of the 1950s, the riders flew home with a strong tailwind assist.

At 5:20 p.m. the vegan athletes finished the 112-mile bike leg and took time to shower and rehydrate with coconut water before transitioning to the run at 6:00 p.m. Temperatures finally began to cool with the drawing Molokai dusk.

Running with a few locals including a track team and even a six-year old keiki, Lester and Roll finished the marathon shortly before midnight. Molokai didn’t crack them, and the triathletes finished in good spirits.

Molokai is “untouched and wild,” Roll had one of his support crew Twitter to fans. He added that a deer ran along side him for 200 yards as he passed through the rustic countryside in the night.

On Sunday Roll and Lester will catch an 8:30 a.m. flight to Maui to tackle their fourth Ironman-distance triathlon. You can follow the event and contribute to the EPIC5 beneficiary the Never Stop Foundation at www.epic5.com/live. Coverage will also continue at Competitor.com

By Mark Johnson

The two ultra-triathletes finished their second triathlon in the middle of the night because of logistical delays and bike parts that went missing when they flew from Kauai to Oahu the previous day. They did not start their marathon until 7:30 p.m.. After finishing the over five-hour run, which followed the Honolulu Marathon course, Roll Twittered “Holy ridiculousness. Too tired to elaborate.”

When the sun came up hours later, Roll and Lester decided that, instead of pushing themselves to collapse, they would postpone their third Ironman for a day. They slept in on Oahu and took a later flight across the 25-mile Kaiwi Channel to Molokai. There, they checked in to a coffee house plantation and spend Saturday recharging with meals that included quinoa, vegan fettucine alfredo, squash and fresh whole grain breads.

According to Molly Kline, a Zoot Sports employee and EPIC5 sponsor who has been following and assisting the event, the two athletes decided to push their third triathlon out a day because “they are out there to enjoy it, not really race it, so they might as well take the extra rest time and rest up a bit.”

Roll and Lester will still do five triathlons. “They just wanted to take that day to regroup.”

The transition from Oahu to Molokai will be dramatic. EPIC5 crew member Rex Vlcek noted that traffic on the densely populated Oahu slowed the athletes‘ progress on both the bike and run legs. Without a single stoplight on the 38 by 10 mile island that rises nearly 5000 feet high above the Pacific, Molokai offers rural, traffic-free bliss.

After completing Ironman three today on the former leper colony island, EPIC5 will carry on with the fourth Ironman on Maui on Sunday and wrap up a day later than originally planned on Kona.

Follow the event at Competitor.com and epic5.com/live

Written by: Mark Johnson

In the rush to make their previous day’s flight, Lester and Roll’s seat tube clamp bolts went missing. Support crew member Molly Kline said that after Lester and Roll completed the first day’s marathon at 5:30 pm, “we literally had 10 to 15 minutes to break down the bikes.” And because Lester is using a cardboard bike box, his ride had to be completely dismantled to get it on the plane.

Before the race, Lester noted that the logistics of organizing a five-Ironman event on as many islands was more daunting than the act of training for the event. This has proven true during the race as well. “We had six of us packing their bags and trying to get them on [their plane],” Kline recalls of the first day’s scramble. “We needed more cars so we could get all their packages to the airport. The race is the easiest part I think!”

But Roll, Lester and their crew rolled with these wrinkles in their first-time event; by 8:00 am the athletes were slicing through the bathtub-warm ocean off Waikiki Beach. At the time their intention was to push off the bike leg until after the marathon to buy their crew time to find a bike shop with the missing seat clamp parts. The on-the-fly leg swap wasn’t necessary. By the time Roll and Lester had the 2.4-mile swim in the bag, Honolulu’s The Bike Shop had come to the rescue with the needed parts. After fueling up on avocado sandwiches, Roll and Lester were on their bikes by 10:45 am.

Under partly-cloudy skies, 85-degree air temperatures and 15-20 mph winds, the two triathletes rode up the east coast of the island to the world famous surfing beaches of Oahu’s North Shore. From Haleiwa they spun back south through the middle of the island, finishing their eight-hour, 112-mile ride in Honolulu’s Ala Moana Park.

By 7:30 pm they were out on the Honolulu marathon course accompanied by 12 local runners. Without a plane to catch until the next morning, sleep would come easy after day two of five days of Ironmans.

Follow EPIC5 day three at Epic5.com/live and Competitor.com

Lester and Roll took their run-to-swim transition at a civilized pace, taking plenty of time to refuel. Roll even took a moment to pick up a phone and Tweet “We just finished a leisurely marathon. Time for a dip in Hanalei Bay – who’s in?”

While Hanalai Bay looks idyllic, beneath the surface treadmill currents turned the swim into more of a challenge than expected. Roll and Lester made the swim the second tri leg to avoid swimming in the pre-dawn dark, and “the swim was a bit rough,” team crew member and Zoots Sports sponsor Molly Kline explained. “Really bad current. It was rough for Jason. He got caught.” Lester, who swims with one arm because he lost use of one limb in a childhood bike accident, took about 45 minutes longer than expected to finish the swim.

Once back on the bike, misfortune turned its arrow on Roll, who with a third of the ride to go, suffered a broken shifter and was forced to ride single speed. Mechanic Jason Barth eventually came out from local bike shop Kauai Cycle, made a repair and Roll was back on the road with a full range of gears.

Apart from these challenges, the weather cooperated for the athletes. Clouds kept the temperatures in the mid-80s and winds, while stiff at times, stayed at a taxing but manageable 15 mph.

To stay fueled, Lester and Roll–both vegetarians–fed on avocado sandwiches, almond butter on sprout bread, sweet potatoes, plus Vega energy bars and sports drinks.

By late afternoon, Kline noted that the long day was taking its toll on the rider’s spirits—”It’s not as good as it was at the beginning of the day!” Yet as the dropping sun cast palm-tree shadows across the South Pacific landscape and the riders rode toward the end of their bike leg and an evening flight to stage two on Oahu, she also said the highlight of the day was the number of supporters who came out to encourage Roll and Lester. “There was a bunch of people out there swimming, some people running with them and some people biking. People are coming out to the side of the road from wherever they work and cheering them on. It’s a great community–that’s a highlight.”

Day two starts Thursday morning with the swim at Waikiki Beach. Follow the event at epic5.com/live and Competitor.com.

By Mark Johnson

The EPIC5 event was Lester’s idea, a Hawaii resident and ultra-distance triathlete who puts in more miles in a day than most of lay down in a week. In 2009 he completed the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and for good measure threw in Ultraman races (6.2 mile swim, 260 mile ride, 52 mile run) in Canada and Hawaii. The fact that Lester completes these daunting endurance events without the use of one arm–it was permanently disabled when he was 12 when a car hit him on his bike–so distinguished him that he earned a 2009 ESPN ESPY award.

Lester hooked up with Roll when he was looking for assistance with book and movie projects. Roll is a California entertainment lawyer, writer, and movie producer who met Lester at Ultraman Hawaii in 2008. “There was an instant bond,” Lester recalls of both their business relationship and their passion for ultra-distance events.  “I couldn’t think of another person I would want to enjoy this journey with.“

EPIC5 is similar to cycling’s Race Across America in that it is as much a test of mental perseverance as it is a measure of physical fitness. Roll agrees. “There is no getting around how difficult it’s going to be. Day three is going to be a deciding factor. I think both of us are going to really meet our maker on that day.” That day’s swim-bike-run will go down on Molokai, and Lester, who has pre-ridden every inch of the course on all five islands, says “Kauai and Molokai are the most brutal sections I’ve been to, not just because there’s hills, but there’s cross winds and there’s a heat factor.”

EPIC5 is different from events like RAAM and Ironman in that it’s not a competition: “Jason and I are not racing against each other,” Roll explains.  “We are inviting people to come out and ride and run with us. The whole idea is to engage the journey as opposed to being focused on the finish line.” And unlike RAAM cyclists, he adds, “we get to sleep at night.”

With Roll busy running his law practice and spending time with his wife and four kids, Lester was the organizing force behind the event. Lester says “the logistics of this has probably been the most challenging part of it all.” Along with mapping each day’s courses, organizing each day’s inter-island flights and ensuring their mountain of food and spare race equipment follows them, Lester had to organize support crews. “We have [a separate] crew on each island that have come together as a community to support us. And I think that’s the most epic part of this challenge is who has come together to support our vision.”

Lester also is grateful for assistance from sponsors including Zoot Sports and Specialized bicycles. “I’m excited to get this show on the road because it’s been day and night on my mind for almost two years now. Now is the time for it to happen.”

The athletes’ definition of the event as a rite of discovery rather than a race extends to the events‘ larger goals. Lester is raising funds for his Never Stop Foundation, which helps kids use athletics to realize their full human potential. Both Lester and Roll are also vegetarians. Roll says at 40 he made a “personal transformation from couch-based potato to vegan ultraman.” His own escape from the life of an overweight attorney stress-balling down the chute to heart-attack-land makes EPIC5 a platform for him to “promote healthy living and wellness and longevity.” “When this thing is over with,” Lester notes, “my only hope is one thing, and that’s for whoever got inspired by this would pass that on and inspire someone else.”

EPIC5 starts in Kauai, then moves to Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii. Follow the race on Competitor.com and at www.EPIC5.com/live

“We are so inspired by Jason and thrilled to formally welcome him to the ZOOT family,” says Elisette Carlson, Director of Marketing for Zoot. “He is the first-ever challenged athlete to qualify for the Ironman World Championships and first-ever male triathlete to win an ESPY Award. Alongside his talent as an athlete, Lester’s positive attitude, love for the sport and drive to motivate others through the Never Stop Foundation is admirable.”

Lester spent the last week of July and first days of August north of the border in Penticton, British Columbia, competing in the Ultraman Canada competition where he enjoyed success in the field of 25 men and women. With his 14th place finish, Lester became only the 25th person to ever complete both the Ultraman Canada and Hawaii events out of 300 competitors who have entered both races.

Press Release

Lester finished Ultraman Canada in a time of 30:48:25. Photo: Rick Kent

Over the last month, triathlete Jason Lester has won an ESPY and completed the Ultraman Canada Triathlon in a time of 30 hours, 48 minutes, 25 seconds. We take a look at how Lester got to where he is today.

Written by: Bethany Leach

Jason Lester’s journey to becoming an endurance athlete is impressive. Last month, he received the ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete with a Disability. He was also the first challenged athlete to ever qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona (other challenged athletes that compete are invited). And just a few days ago, he finished Ultraman Canada, which includes a 10K swim, 418.3K bike and 84.3K run. He’s now only the 25th athlete to ever complete both the Ultraman Canada and Hawaii Triathlons. But what makes his journey even more amazing is that he competes in these events—some of the most grueling events in the world—with a paralyzed right arm.

He started out by competing in Ironman races, but decided to apply to compete in Ultraman triathlons—race directors limit the races to only 36 participants from around the world. “We’re always trying to stretch our limits,” he said. “I thought, ‘there’s got to be something bigger than Ironman.’” After finishing 14th out of 25 in the race this week, he said, “It’s such an amazing event because it’s so intimate. It’s not about placing or PR’ing, but just trying to get everyone to the finish line.”

After being abandoned by his abusive and alcoholic mother at age three and separated from his older brother because of foster care, Lester went to live with his biological father who instilled in him a passion for sports. By 12 years old, Lester had developed into a skilled athlete living in Phoenix. In 1986, he was hit by a car and suffered 21 broken bones, a collapsed lung and injuries that paralyzed his right arm. Soon after his accident, Lester’s father died at age 39.

Inspired by his father, Lester became a star athlete in high school in running and biathlon events, ending up ranked second in the state of Arizona. Lester, who is now 35 and a resident of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, renewed his athletic passion when he witnessed the Ironman World Championship. The race energized him about triathlon and its athletes, so he started racing in Ironman and Ultraman races.

Lester also has made it one of his missions to dedicate his life to motivating others to overcome adversity through his work with the Never Stop Foundation. Lester’s foundation promotes bettering the lives of children and adults through athletics. He has also worked on creating the Adult Stem Cell Research Movement to build public awareness about technology that would improve the lives of people afflicted by spinal cord injuries and disease. “Triathlon is a very self-centered sport because we’re always trying to better our time,” Lester said. “But the past two years, my race focus has become totally different. It’s about motivating others. I have this gift of swimming, biking and running, and I want to use that gift to inspire other people. That’s what drives me.”

Lester will spend the next few months in Hawaii training to compete in the Ironman World Championship in October, and in November, he’ll try to complete the rare Ultraman double by finishing Ultraman Canada and Hawaii in the same year. “When you have your eye on the prize,” he said, “that’s what gets you up in the morning because it’s not about you anymore.”

Lester has one paralyzed arm and has completed in four Ironmans and two Ultramans. In the next five months, he will be competing in the Canada Ultraman, Hawaii Ironman World Championships (where he qualified w/the able body at Honu) and the Hawaii Ultraman World Championships.

To vote for Lester, visit ESPYS.tv. Remember, the voters decide who wins the ESPY.

Learn more about Lester in the video below:

You can learn more about Jason at Jasonplester.com.