Market:  New York

Athlete:  Conor Hafner (AllianceBernstein)

2016 will mark my 4th consecutive Decathlon.  When I first arrived in 2013, I had this sense of bravado that I can compete with the best athletes on Wall Street, but that was quickly put to rest after seeing the amazing talent around me.  When I returned in 2014, I reset expectations. I aimed for a top-5 finish in the 30-39 age group. I had finished 9th in my age bracket in 2014, so a stretch goal of 5th didn't seem unreasonable. I trained incredibly hard, but come game day, things went terribly wrong. I didn't reach my goal. In fact, I did drastically worse than 2013. I placed 13th in my age group and accumulated a significantly lower number of points. I slogged through the day feeling worse and worse as each event passed. I felt like all my hard work was for nil. I had let myself down. Worse, I felt like I was letting my family and friends down as they cheered for me in the stands. After the day was over my family headed to a nearby restaurant to grab lunch and celebrate. 

At the moment I didn't feel like celebrating at all. 

The following Monday I sent a recap email to my family, friends and coworkers sharing my disappointing results. The responses I got back floored me. Dozens of emails flooded in with everyone saying how proud they were. They told me I had done something that most people wouldn't put themselves though and raised a lot of money for an amazing cause. I took time to reflect on the positive messages and realized how right they were. My results in the competition were secondary to the real reason why I was there. 

When I registered in 2015, my only goals were to enjoy myself and raise even more money P.O.E.T.I.C. When the day ended, I was surprised to see I placed 6th in the 30-39 category. I was narrowly behind the 5th place competitor and my goal from two years ago. During the day I cared more about how my competitors were doing. I wanted them to meet their goals and cheered as loud as I could.  I embraced the camaraderie.  That part is special.  I remembered why we were competing. I went into the office the next day and crafted my recap email.  

This time, instead of talking about my athletic failures, the email focused on what mattered; the generosity of those who helped me raise over $10k for pediatric cancer research. I'll be returning for the 4th time to compete in The Decathlon. Once again, I aim to achieve a top-5 age-group finish, but I know in my mind I’m there for a greater purpose. I am proud of all the hard work I put in at the gym, but I'm more proud to just be a part of an event that helps raise much needed funds for incredible folks at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Bring it,
Conor