Athlete Profile: Arnie Lachner

Over the spring you got to meet several of our pro-ambassadors here on their blog, as well as a couple of our awesome age group athletes. These next few weeks you're going to get to meet a lot of our Team RWB Age Group athletes. Today, we introduce you to Arnie Lachner.  Arnie has already been a HUGE force and supporter behind Team RWB.  His efforts resulted in some great raffle prizes and silent auction items at the Team RWB Ironman Texas dinner.  He volunteered at IMTX, hosted one of our pro's (Jess Jacobs) and her family during the race, and more.  He has great ideas and even greater energy, and is an Army veteran as well! We're very proud to count Arnie among our ranks and are grateful for his service to the nation!

Name: Arnie Lachner
Age: 51

Occupation: Computer Programmer

Hometown: Houston, TX

                                                                                                                                                              

Team RWB Athletes Steve Burns (L) and Arnie Lachner (R) at the CapTex Tri on Memorial Day

     2011 Race Schedule:  

• USA Fit half marathon (5th in age group)
• Bill Crew Remission Run 5K (2nd in Age Group)
• Austin half marathon (24/306 in Age Group)
• Champions Triathlon (1st place!)
• Lonestar Sprint (2nd in Age Group)
• New Orleans 5150 (5th in Age Group)
• Capital of Texas (20/64)
• Lake Pflugerville Tri
• BridgeLand Tri
• AG National Championships
• Austin Tri
• Houston Tri
• Kerrvile Sprint
• Maybe some others, Austin 70.3 maybe....                                             

      Do you have Twitter or a website so fellow athletes can follow you? @alachner and of course you can follow me though I don’t know why you would want to! Also, check out my blog to follow my journey:  http://racewitharnie.blogspot.com/

Why Team RWB and supporting our military? I was in the US Army for 10 years during the cold war (1979 – 1989), most of that time as a paratrooper in the 82d Airborne Division. I was in the Army when it wasn’t cool.  We were second class citizens in town, fathers wouldn’t let us date their daughters, and nobody cared what sacrifices we made.  I don’t want that to happen to the young men and women serving today. I’ve spent a lot of time these past years thinking of my brothers in arms.  Perhaps there is something now I can do to give back.

Why Triathlon?  Ten years ago my doctor told me that if I didn’t get active I would regret it.  Two years ago my doctor said I was obese.  I started spinning at the gym, and then added a few short runs for diversity.  With my 50^th birthday just months away I thought a triathlon would be a great birthday present to me.  I recently bought a pair of shorts the same size as my 18 year old gymnast son!

Do you have a favorite race?  Not in the sense you are thinking.  My favorite race is a tie between the last one I did and the next one coming up!  That could all change this year if I meet my goal.

What is your best race memory?  Stopping for hugs with my family at 6 miles into the run last year at the Austin Longhorn HIM.

When you reach the point of the race where you have to dig down deep, what do use as personal motivation?  My father-in-law recently underwent surgery for bladder and prostate cancer.  Seeing what he went through makes my current struggles seem trivial.

What is your favorite leg of a triathlon and why?  It must be the run.  I can’t see what’s happening around me during the swim, and I know I get passed on the bike leg.  The run is where I make up my ground.

What is your favorite race distance, and why?  Easy – the Olympic distance!  A sprint is too short, you barely get warmed up and it is over.  While I raced in 3 HIM last year, I found them to be a bit of a suffer fest.  With the Olympic distance I can go out hard and it is over in about 2.5 hours.

Besides triathlon, what do you do for fun?  My wife and I love going to concerts.  I had to stop buying t-shirts because my closet is full of them!  We’re still waiting for Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin!

Any other fun tidbits you’d like the team to know? Anything?  The 10 years I spent in the Army were the best of times.  Racing in triathlons is a close second and could break away with some success this year.  

A fun Team RWB Fact--Arnie BEAT pro-ambassador Tim O'Donnell....IN A BIDDING WAR! Arnie took home the amazing Team RWB Tri painting at the Ironman Texas Dinner:

Tim congratulates Arnie on his win!

This beauty resides with Arnie in Houston, TX!