TANYC's membership is filled with extraordinary people, all with great stories to tell. Our latest TANYC Topliner is Shane Larson because this weekend warrior triathlete believes in the power of TANYC.

Shane Larson had never considered doing a triathlon until a few years ago when he and four buddies, during a New Year's Eve party, bet $100 each on which one of them could complete one with the fastest time. That one bet quickly ballooned to more than a $2,000 pot with several side bets (who'd finish each leg first, best transition times, etc.).

What seemed like a great bet for Shane, a natural athlete, at the time (while he and his friends celebrated the New Year with whiskey shots and beer backs) the next day felt like money down the drain. Born and raised in land-locked Iowa, Shane had never learned to swim. Always one to face up to a challenge, however, he enrolled in swim lessons at the Carmine Rec Center in the West Village. Amongst the small children in Carmine's pool who seemed to have no problems learning to swim, Shane had a rough time in the water.

It wasn't that he hadn't been accustomed to strenuous physical activity. He began working as a young boy on his family's fully-functioning farm (which he still owns and operates along with his brothers) tilling fields, chopping wood and bailing hay. In high school, he played sports year-round: football (running back and free safety), basketball (guard), baseball (pitcher and first base), and track (100M dash). Through college, graduate school and in the years since, he's always spent time in the gym, usually lifting weights or playing basketball.

He may look like he sprang from the womb a top age-grouper, but his muscular build was a liability in learning how to swim. With only six percent body fat, he sinks like a brick when he gets in the water. His wetsuit quickly became his best friend.

Without knowing if he'd like triathlon, he purchased his first bike for less than $1,000 on eBay, a Trek road bike. He completed the Cranberry Classic Triathlon in Massachusetts the following summer. He didn't win the main bet, but came in a respectable 2 nd place among his friends and netted $100 from the side bets. "It was never about the money for me. But once I did it, I knew I was hooked forever." (He's since upgraded to a Cervelo P2.)

By day (and night and many weekends), Shane is a Partner at a hedge fund who is currently focused on restructuring the airline industry. He travels all over the world, but mostly to Europe on a monthly basis. When he's on the road, he has no time to train, so he trains whenever he can – usually only on weekends and on Tuesday evenings. He adjusts his work schedule so that he's home to attend TANYC's brick series, which he swears by.

"The bricks give me the closest simulation to actual race conditions and make me stay on track with my training regimen. Plus they're great opportunities to meet other people who know and understand what I'm going through. I honestly don't know if I'd have done as well as I did this summer without the brick workouts."

Never a lover of distance running, Shane's longest race so far is Olympic distance, but if he can find the time to train, he'll think about a 70.3 or IM.

As much as he's fallen in love with the sport the past few years, there have been times when he's asked himself, "Why do I put myself through this?" Two years in a row, both times within days of finishing the NYC Triathlon, he was diagnosed with intestinal parasites. His worst race was exactly one week after NYC when the parasite caused him to DNF a sprint tri in Connecticut.

When we asked him if he'd do New York City again, he smiled and said, "I wouldn't bet on it."