One-Armed Inspirational Speaker and Mt. Everest Summiter Gary Guller, Completes Ironman 70.3 Kohala HI Triathlon 2012

Kailua Kona, HI, July 26, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Gary successfully completed the Ironman 70.3 Kohala Coast, Hawaii. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. Athletes started the day with a swim in the blue waters of Hapuna Beach State Park along the Kohala Coast of the Big Island. There was a small craft advisory with choppy waters making the swim much more difficult. "The swim portion was my biggest concern, my fear of not making the cut off time and being eliminated from the race, plagued me to the point I just about talked myself into accepting that this was soon to happen," says Guller. Guller completed (one armed breast stroke) the swim portion in 58 minutes, well before the cut off at 1hr 15 minutes.

Guller then took on the challenging 56 mile bike course on the legendary Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway. "The wind was brutal, to say the least, heading uphill to Hawi, but little did I know how my stability would be affected on the speedy descent. Holy crap, the last time I remember my right arm being so tired, (climbing the Lhotse face of my Everest expedition) trying to keep my bike up, and sometimes at an angle, from crashing as the wind gusted at me from all directions." A number of competitors and spectators from the island cheered Guller onwards - it was great motivation to keep this one-armed athlete pushing to the end of the bike course.

The day finished with a 13.1 mile run through paradise. Guller had only three hours to complete the run and final portion. "I say to myself whatever you do Guller, do not stop, keep moving, run down any hill and never stop. The sun was very intense with a large turnout of motivating and encouraging volunteers, and I gotta say, the other athletes, just saying the most wonderful things to me as I trotted along. 2 hours 45 minutes later, rounded the corner, and voila. I see my wife Joni Clough, I see friends, I hear my number, I look to the clock. I just completed my first Ironman 70.3. One of the most memorable days of my life," says Guller.

Back in 2003, Gary Guller was leader of the largest ever cross-disability group to reach Mt Everest Base Camp, at 17,500 feet. After setting this record, he went on to scale the peak, reaching the summit on May 23, 2003, and becoming the first person with one arm to summit Mt. Everest. Later the next year, Gary lead an expedition to the summit of the world’s sixth highest mountain, Mt. Cho Oyu, located in Tibet.

In April 2010, Gary completed the grueling Marathon des Sables in Morocco. The MdS is a 6 day, 153 plus miles (250km) endurance race across the Sahara Desert - “The hardest stage race in the World” (CNN World News).

Gary Guller is both a world-renowned, record-setting mountaineer and a professional motivational speaker and executive coach, trusted by the world’s top organizations and corporations.

Gary is always looking for new challenges that push his abilities to what most folks think is impossible. By doing this, Gary uses his extraordinary experiences to share with his audiences the importance of equality, determination, team-work and integrity, and how these traits lead to personal and professional success. Gary shows how acceptance of diversity and diversity of thought will serve a globally integrated world economy in a positive way. An inspirational speaker, he encourages audiences to look deep into themselves, motivating them to set goals to maximize their potential, placing fear and doubts aside to achieve success in business and life.