Vanessa Foltinger: Your Training Regimen Reflects Your Higher Level Of Purpose
May 22, 2019
The D10 Athlete Profile explores what brings competitors to The D10 playing field...and what they bring away from it. Vanessa Foltinger
Associate, JP Morgan
The D10 NYC
Fundraising goal: Team Nicole's Army (15K)
2019 Marquee event: 800M Run (Goal: 3:00)
What is your primary motivator for competing in The D10 events?
Competition combined with fundraising for a worthy cause immediately caught my attention. I wanted to be a part of The D10 since the first time I was told about it.
How much of your motivation for participating in The D10 stems from its charitable mission?
The D10’s charitable mission is highly impactful. After meeting Dave Maloney, listening to his story, learning about his motivation and how he founded The D10, I was quite inspired. Growing up in Spain, I was part of Rotary International. I wanted to continue my involvement and participation in charitable giving in New York.
How did you first get involved in The D10?
I heard about The D10 through other former student-athletes working on Wall Street. The idea of competition combined with fundraising to help fight pediatric cancer intrigued me from the first mention. As I heard and read the individual stories of the different participants, I realized that most of us had similar experiences transitioning from student-athletes to highly demanding jobs and face similar difficulties to keep improving our athletic performance. When your purpose is to compete at a high level and raise more money for such a deserving charity, your training regimen will reflect that higher level of purpose and impact.
Vanessa Foltinger starred on the hardcourt for Marquette University tennis.
How has The D10 been different from your collegiate or high school sports experiences in terms of training and motivation?
The work life/training life balance is very similar to college as I balance hours in the office with hours I spend in the gym, the track, and other activities. Strength training and speed work are also very similar to the training we did for tennis. However, I find the conditioning training for The D10 (Tonehouse training for example) even harder than the three-hour long tennis matches I played in college. These are tough sessions!
Collegiate sports taught me the gratifying feeling of winning for my team, coaches and the University. The D10 is different as it taught me how to win for a worthy cause.
In what ways has your participation in The D10 affected or enhanced your performance at work?
I found that being part of The D10 is a great conversation starter at work. Many of my colleagues are curious to hear about The D10's success, its benevolent mission, and about the event itself on June 8th.
Have you made new lasting friendships, or strengthened your professional network, as a result of your D10 experience?
One of my friends at work is now competing in The D10 as well. I maintain contact with friends who have left the company as well when we see each other at The D10 training and social events. It's an amazing network.
In her first year with The D10, Vanessa is committed to raising funds for pediatric cancer research. Help her with a performance-based donation to her results on June 8th after months and months of hardcore training.