Life Changing Finishing Lines
Written by Craig Mauger of Courier Times
NEW CASTLE, Ind. — A decade ago, Steve Tomboni had a goal – complete his first Ironman, a long distance triathlon that covers about 150 miles – and cross the finish line with his daughter and wife who would be in the audience.
Sitting at a table inside the Henry County YMCA earlier this month, Tomboni talked about that goal and others he’s had in his life. He paused for a few seconds and pulled out his wallet. Then, he reached into the wallet and found a small photograph he still carries with him.
The picture showed he, his wife and his daughter holding hands and baring joyous faces crossing the Ironman finish line on Nov. 9, 2002.
“It’s good stuff,” said Tomboni, holding the photo.
Finish lines, like that one, define Tomboni’s life. He’s been a racer for 20 years and since 1993, he’s organized all types of athletic challenges from 5k run/walks to mini-marathons to Olympic-distance triathlons.
Tomboni co-owns Muncie Multi-Sport, which organizes events in East Central Indiana, including one in New Castle, with his wife, Tammy. The business’s slogan is “Life-Changing Finish Lines,” and Tomboni encourages people who want to get fit to first set physical goals for themselves – whether it be to walk a mile or to complete an Ironman race.
“You absolutely, positively have to have a goal,” Tomboni said.
“The secret to fitness is commitment,” he added. “You have to have a finish line that excites you.”
As he explained, goals of losing 100 pounds or 25 pounds often don’t work, and it doesn’t help to watch the scale every day.
A physical goal, doing some activity that motivates you and that you love, whether it be running or swimming, is the key, Tomboni said.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with age. It has nothing to do with athletic ability,” he said. “You’ve got to want to do it, period.”
Tomboni still remembers the date and the moment it all started.
It was Nov. 9, 1992, and he was surfing through TV channels. He came across a broadcast of an Ironman event and it blew him away. It inspired him. He decided he wanted to try the sport.
“I pulled out a pair of shoes from the closet and went and ran four miles in a nasty snow storm,” Tomboni remembered.
He was already a runner and a swimmer. He was also a lifelong member of the YMCA – he learned to swim in the Muncie YMCA pool. He started his bike training on stationary bikes at the YMCA.
Tomboni did a triathlon in Muncie in 1993 and he continued to train from there. He met other athletes who gave him guidance and helped inspire him to stay with it.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with age. It has nothing to do with athletic ability,” he said. “You’ve got to want to do it, period.”
“It’s an amazing group of people,” he said. “It’s a healthy lifestyle. It’s a lot of fun.”
Tomboni did more and more events and began organizing them.
He helped with the Muncie Endurathon and was the race director for the triathlon world championships in Muncie in 1996.
He taught classes on triathlons and met his wife in one of the classes at the YMCA in 2000. That same year, he started telling everyone he knew that he was going to do an Ironman. Tomboni said that telling your friends, family members and enemies that you have fitness goals helps you accomplish them.
And through his discussions about his Ironman in Florida, Tomboni got a group of about 10 of his friends to do it with him.
They signed up together in 2001 – at the time you had to sign up for an Ironman about a year early – and they trained together for months.
Then, on Nov. 9, 2002, Tomboni with his wife and daughter as his side, crossed the finish line at Ironman Florida.
The date of the race was exactly 10 years after Tomboni decided he wanted to do his first Ironman.
Having organized races and served as an executive director of a YMCA, Tomboni and his wife used their experiences to start Muncie Multi-Sport in 2009.
Today, the business has three full-time staff members and two part-timers. It also has about 120 volunteer captains.
Muncie Multi-Sport has events in five different cities: Muncie, Indianapolis, Yorktown, Richmond and New Castle.
The New Castle event, the Summit Lake Optimist Triathlon and 5k Walk/Run debuted last year. This year, it will take place on July 28.
Tomboni said most people want to get fit, they just don’t know where to start. They should find like-minded people, get a trainer and register for an event, like the Summit Lake race. He said beginners could start with a walk/run, which is included in the Summit Lake race. They can train for it. They can beat it.
As Tomboni explained, the point is that they “see what it feels like to get to that finish line.”
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