Athlete of the Month

The Team Sheeper Athlete of the Month award is handed out to a member of the team on a monthly basis, 7 or 8 times a year. The AOM is someone who made a notable contribution to the team or did something remarkable. Selection is made by nomination and voting by the membership.

You can nominate anyone and the nomination period is usually during the first week or two of the month. Look for notification that nominations are being sought.  When nomination close, the voting starts and once all the votes are tallied, the new AOM is crowned.

Besides bragging rights for a month, our AOM gets some goodies from our gracious sponsors, such as free shoes from TRH, a massage from SMI, gift certificates from GoRide.

The Runner's High is proud to sponsor this month's athlete who embodies the spirit of Team Sheeper. We are about more than just improving athletic skills and performances.

John Thompson

October 2001 Athlete of the Month

Athlete of the Month John Thompson emerged in October as Team Sheeper's sole finisher of the 2001 Fearsome Foursome. Comprised of January's hilly 22 mile "Ultimate Run", February's extremely challenging 110 mile "Epic Ride", March's "Dastardly Duathlon" (2000m swim, 15 mile run, 2000m swim) and October's Old School Triathlon (1 mile swim, 15 mile ride and 15 mile run up Mt. Tam), the Fearsome Foursome was a challenge of endurance and staying power. "JT" is described by coach Tim Sheeper as consistent, highly motivated, driven, and focused on achieving his goals. Over the past few years, Tim has had the pleasure of watching JT develop his strength, endurance, confidence, and overall ability, turning himself into an athlete capable of Fearsome Foursome finisher status.

John became involved with Team Sheeper while training for Ironman Canada in 1999, as Tim helped a few of Team in Training's "Iron Team" group with their swimming skills. "Tim has a great way to motivate you and I decided I wanted to become more consistent in my training," he says. "I joined Team Sheeper, or the Beyond Barriers team at the time." John has spent the summer of 2001 preparing for November's Ironman Florida race and plans to return to Ironman Canada in 2002. JT's goals are to improve steadily over the next two years, concentrating on Ironman and Half Ironman distances in order to qualify for Hawaii in three years time. JT will take a "winter break" this year. "Before triathlon, I spent every weekend mountain biking and surfing," he says. "I am going to try to do more of this in November and December this year. I am even getting a new board!"

Director of Business Systems at Symmetricom, John manages the company's Oracle implementation. His previous positions include Director of Finance and Director of Operations at Symmetricom, which provides network synchronization solutions and maximizes broadband access over copper for the global communications market. Career aspirations include maintaining a healthy balance between work and having a life! JT says his current position affords him this opportunity, which is great!

The training is what he says he likes most about triathlons: "it gives me a sense of accomplishment each day and provides me with a natural high." John's two favorite Team Sheeper memories are the Dastardly Duathlon and the four-day "Tour de Sheeper". "The Tour was grueling, but what a great four days of riding!," he says. "Riding in Marin and climbing up Mt. Tam on the last day was incredible." The toughest overall workout, according to John, was the Epic Ride. "That was a challenge - starting the ride in the rain, asking myself: Are we really going to do this? Will Tim cancel? seeing a snowplow and snow on Skyline, and trying to warm up afterwards."

The Team Sheeper environment thus seems to be a good one for JT. In addition to the plethora of workouts provided, he has also found a group of friends. JT makes sure to tell us that Kristin Bauersfeld is his favorite person, who makes sure he keeps a focus outside of training. Though he hasn't found much time for additional hobbies, JT enjoys spending time with his six nieces and nephews, and has semi-adopted Kristin's dogs, Tangent and Abacus.

Team Sheeper is proud to have JT as a member. We congratulate him and wish him luck in Florida and in all of his future personal and triathlon endeavors.