No triathlete has gained the recognition or success that Mark Allen has. After competing and losing in the Ironman Triathlon Championships six times, he emerged victorious in 1989, winning the most difficult one-day sporting event in the world.
It would be the first of six Ironman victories for Allen, the last coming in 1995 at age thirty-seven, making him the oldest champion ever. He has also excelled at the Olympic distance, winning the sport's inaugural World Championships in 1989 in Avignon, France, by more than a minute. He went undefeated in ten trips to the Nice International Championships, and from 1988–1990 he put together a winning streak of twenty races.
Over the course of his racing career, which ended in 1996, he maintained a ninety percent average in top-three finishes. He was named Triathlete of the Year six times by Triathlete magazine, and in 1997 Outside magazine tabbed him the World's Fittest Man.
Recognizing the Ironman to be a test of one’s resolve as much as one’s body, Mark credits his string of six Ironman victories to Brant Secunda, who is a shaman, healer and ceremonial leader in the Huichol Indian tradition from Mexico. It was Mark’s studies with Brant, which he continues today, that enabled Mark to be ready to pass Ironman’s test of body and soul.
His work with Brant Secunda also lead to the creation of Fit Body Fit Soul, a series of seminars that Allen and Secunda co-teach in the United States and Europe. In these retreats Mark and Brant integrate the themes of body, heart and spirit and share many of the practices for developing the power of one’s body and soul that enabled Allen to win the Ironman, giving the participants a template for health, balance and well-being that they can use in all areas of life.
Mark also brings his stories of Ironman success alive in the business setting providing insight into what it takes go beyond challenges in an every changing world. He shares his keys to Ironman success to help others become champions in their personal and professional lives.
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