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Kristian sits down with Greg Schaefer, a 20 time Ironman finisher, former college basketball player, and Kona qualifier who was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson's at 48 and has no intention of being defined by it.

Greg takes us from his first Ironman in Nice to the Kona race where his body started "whispering before it screams," through the phone call on a family vacation that gave him his diagnosis, and the strange sense of relief that came with finally having answers. He talks openly about medication, balancing advocacy with not wanting Parkinson's to be his whole identity, and how he fought his way back to training. We also get into running the Boston Marathon as an adaptive athlete two years in a row, including a first ever negative split on a sore Achilles, and what he's looking forward to at Kona this year.

In this episode:

- Racing Ironman Nice while recovering from surgery

- From college basketball to 20 Ironman finishes

- The Kona race where his body started sending warning signs

- The phone call that brought his Young Onset Parkinson's diagnosis

- Why he felt a sense of relief, and what the disease actually is

- Not wanting to be defined by Parkinson's

- Getting back to training and racing after diagnosis

- Running Boston twice as an adaptive athlete

- Raising over $100,000 for the Ironman Foundation

- Why Kona is the Super Bowl of the sport

Content note: this episode includes an open discussion of a serious medical diagnosis and living with a neurological disease. Please take care while listening.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and why this conversation stayed with Kristian

01:26 Kristian's own training update

11:08 A quick word on Saysky and the TMP15 code

11:59 Welcome to Greg

12:26 Racing Ironman Nice after hernia surgery and a torn ankle

16:19 Greg's introduction: 21 Ironmans, business, and family

18:44 Letting go of the basketball dream

29:15 How he got into Ironman

36:10 How his perspective changed over time

37:24 Kona 2019 and the first signs something was off

40:03 Kona: the race where his body "whispered"

42:33 The phone call: diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson's

43:35 Feeling relieved as everything finally made sense

44:45 What Young Onset Parkinson's actually is

49:24 Medication and its trade offs

52:14 Not wanting to be defined by the disease

54:37 Getting back to training after the diagnosis

58:17 Running the Boston Marathon as an adaptive athlete

1:00:27 Qualifying with a downhill marathon in Vegas

1:02:23 Boston again: a negative split on a sore Achilles

1:16:48 Kristian's first Ironman and what Kona is really like

1:20:49 Kona, the Super Bowl of the sport

1:22:35 Raising over $100,000 for the Ironman Foundation

1:23:04 Closing thoughts and good luck at Kona

Greg's website: https://gregoryschaefer.com

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Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary: https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns

Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs

Music from Musicbed: MB01XPYH8ZYENVAMB0133EV2TCQFZY