Bridget Shanley: Destroying the 500M Row and Doubling Donations Is How I Will Honor Everett's Legacy
April 18, 2019
The D10 Athlete Profile explores what brings competitors to The D10 playing field...and what they bring away from it. Bridget Shanley
Assistant Vice President, Cantor Fitzgerald
The D10 NYC
Fundraising goal: Team Twinkie (10K)
2019 Marquee event: 500M Row (because I hate myself and like the pain -- Bridget)
What is your primary motivator for competing in The D10 events?
The swell of pride and flood of adrenaline when you break through that mental barrier to push your body to its absolute limit. Couple that with the knowledge that every rep and second faster contributes to saving a childs life – each D10 event elicits the most euphoric high.
This year will be incredibly challenging on a personal level, as Everett Watson was one of my closest friends and greatest coaches throughout my past two years training for The D10. Everett had the ability to bring out the best in everyone around him. He consistently pushed me to be a better person both on and off the field, and was a true teammate in every sense. Absolutely destroying the 500M Row and doubling those donations is the best way I know to honor the incredible legacy he has left.
How much of your motivation for participating in The D10 stems from its charitable mission?
As part of a team, winning isn’t personal – you win for your teammates, your school, your city. At The D10, we win for the kids. The D10 athletes become part of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center beyond the fundrasing contributions. We meet with the doctors, the researchers, and even the kids and families. While the charitable mission initially drew me to the event, the involvement beyond the fundraising is what gives my training purpose and lights a fire within me as I step on the field to compete.
How did you first get involved in The D10?
When I moved back to New York City from Chicago, I had friends competing and I went to watch. Within five minutes of getting to the stadium, I was already planning on competing the next year.
Bridget Shanley is a D10 Boss -- competing in 2019 on Team Twinkie
How has The D10 been different from your collegiate or high school sports experiences in terms of training and motivation?
In college and high school, you show up to practice or training because you have to. And if you are late or lazy, your coach and your team are on your ass. You have that external motivation.
The majority of my D10 training is on my own, scheduled around work and other life obligations like sleep. No one cares if I’m late or if I phone it in on the rower. All of my motivation has to be internal.
In what ways has your participation in The D10 affected or enhanced your performance at work?
My participation in The D10 has caused me to enter each part of my day with a specific intention. Each hour serves a purpose – work, train, eat, recover, maybe socialize, eat ice cream. Because no part of my day takes priority over another, I must focus on my input in order to maximize the output within the finite time I have for each part. This necessity has forced me to utilize my “free” time to develop my mental game. Commutes are spent reading or meditating, and I troll fellow athletes on Insta while foam rolling.
Have you made new lasting friendships, or strengthened your professional network, as a result of your D10 experience?
The D10 introduced me to my family. My core group of friends is predominately D10 athletes or individuals I met through a D10 athlete or event. When you take a bunch of smart, ambitious, athletic, philanthropic individuals and lock them in a red lit room at 6am on a Thursday in NoMad, beat them to a pulp with drop downs and gallops, and the only thing keeping them going is each other, they’re going to be close.
If you love Bridget's inspiring thoughts, her passion for supporting MSKCC, or merely Twinkies, be sure to donate to her team cause at this year's The D10 NYC.