Self Magazine's Lucy Danziger Featured in Clearwater Show

Sunday's coverage of the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship features Self Publisher Lucy Danziger

Lucy Danziger, who manages to balance both the pressures of life as the editor-in-chief of Self Magazine with the day to day challenges of being a mother and wife, will be featured during this Sunday's coverage of the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3, presented by Ford, which appears on NBC at 4PM Eastern.

“I was honored that I made it to worlds,” Danziger said during an interview earlier this week. “It was the capstone of my triathlon career to date. Being at that level of competition was an incredible honor. The sad part was I was sort of injured and not able to run well.”
Danziger has become a high-profile spokesperson for the sport. After meeting Jennifer Lopez at a photo shoot a few years ago and convincing her that she could compete in a triathlon, she suddenly found herself as the movie star’s biggest cheerleader. Danziger raced alongside Lopez during her triathlon debut in California last year. She says that even for a star like Lopez, completing a triathlon can be a rewarding experience.

“One of the things you realize about the sport is that when people do it, they feel energized,” she says. “There’s no one else who will do it for you. You have to swim, you have to bike, you have to run. The accomplishment of achieving their goal – it’s empowering for everyone.”
Like so many triathletes, Danziger came to the sport from a running background.

“As a runner I had competed in the marathon in New York. I used to cross train on my bike for skiing, so I decided to get over my fear of open water swimming and do a triathlon.”

Danziger overcame that fear and gradually worked her way through the triathlon distances. After winning her age group in some shorter distance races, she decided to move up to the 70.3 distance. Since her race in Clearwater last year she’s started to train for Ironman Switzerland and will compete at the Eagleman 70.3 on Sunday. Now triathlon has become way to relieve stress, she says.

“I call (my long bike rides and runs) my tri-spa,” she says.

Danziger says that one of the keys to success for any budding triathlete is to have a specific goal.

“Having an upcoming race is very motivating,” she says. “I like the deadline of a magazine or getting ready for a race. Once you’ve signed up you feel like you need to train.”

Despite the fact that she lives in Manhattan, Danziger says that training in New York isn’t that difficult.

“New York is really user friendly for athletes,” she says. “Central Park, at 5:30 in the morning, is like a velodrome. There were so many triathlon teams out training (this morning) you’d have thought you were in Italy.”

You can learn more about Danziger during this weekend’s coverage of the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 – Danziger will be enjoying the coverage as she recovers from her Eagleman race. While she might enjoy celebrity status as the publisher of one of America’s most popular magazines, ultimately her story is compelling because she can relate to the women who she’s inspired into the sport and who read her magazine.

“The truth is I am fit, but I can relate to the average woman,” Danziger says. “I can relate to women who feel stressed, who don’t always eat the right things. The only difference is that I ended up getting into these long races because I find it stress relieving to do these long rides or runs.”

Don’t miss Sunday’s coverage of the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3, presented by Ford, on NBC from 4 – 5 PM EST.

You can reach Kevin Mackinnon at kevin@ironman.com