Michael Tobin’s Balancing Act
Posted on 08/19/07 9:19 PM| by Jacqueline Windh
Michael Tobin’s Balancing Act
by Jacqueline Windh
Michael Tobin juggles the moment as he juggles his life – a few moments with newborn son Jack, a few words to wife Jenny, chatting with a nosy reporter on the phone… all as he packs up to leave for a five-day adventure race in China.
Michael entered the crazy world of AR relatively late, while in his mid-thirties. But rather than work his way up through the ranks, Michael (now 43) pretty much started out right at the top. And through the years, he has just stayed there. Since competing in his first adventure race in 2000, his impressive list of international AR wins includes EcoChallenge 2001, Raid World Cup 2004 and 2006, ARWS 2004 and 2007, as well as every edition of Primal Quest (Telluride 2002, Lake Tahoe 2003, San Juan Islands 2004, and Utah 2006). Some of his other titles include Xterra World Champion 2000 and 24-hour Orienteering World Champion 2004, as well as countless other victories in Xterra triathlon and duathlon.
Michael’s move straight into the world’s top AR team was no accident. He grew up in Sun Valley, Idaho, and both of his parents were into the skiing scene. By the time he was in his teens, Michael was already competing in alpine, nordic and freestyle skiing over winter, and in soccer and tennis in the summers. As part of his soccer training, he took part in a foot race up the ski mountain, which he won. “That’s when I realized that I had the potential as an endurance athlete.”
He competed through the 90s in duathlon. Meeting Jenny, an accomplished triathlete, was a turning point in his career. “She taught me to swim!” he says, and he moved into triathlons.
Moving into AR was a natural next step for Michael, so he and a few friends signed up for a race in China in 2000. “The next year, I received a phone call from Robyn Benincasa from team Eco Internet, asking me to fill in for Mike Kloser for a RAID race in Utah. Then I was asked to race at the World Champs in Switzerland and, later that year, EcoChallenge in New Zealand.” Over the years, Eco Internet morphed into today’s Team Nike, who rightfully call themselves “the world’s winningest adventure racing team.”
Michael feels fortunate to have raced with some of AR’s most legendary figures: Robyn Benincasa, Ian Adamson, Danelle Ballengee, Sara Ballantyne, Mike Kloser, Keith Murray, Steve Gurney, John Howard on support crew, Richard Ussher, and John Jacoby. He pauses after reciting the list. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve raced on the same team as John Jacoby – but we’ve sure worked together to get through some races.”
Athletic accomplishments aside, what strikes anyone who comes across Michael is that he is just a plain nice guy – even in the midst of grueling competition. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Michael Tobin,” says Primal Quest’s Director Don Mann. “Not only as a very accomplished world-class athlete, but as a person. Michael is a real gentleman, who never seems to lose his good nature or sense of humor while racing.”
Michael credits Jenny with much of his success. “My biggest plus is my wife. She’s the one doing the juggling. She knows I need to train to do what I do, and she cuts me a lot of slack. I definitely train less than I used to – but I am very efficient about it.” In addition to two-week old Jack, the couple has a three-year old daughter, Mikella.
In spite of his racing schedule, Michael manages to get a lot of family time. “I’m really lucky that I don’t have a full-time job, so I can be home and helping a lot. That might change, but I’ll take advantage of it while I can.” He also feels that the professional AR scene has “quieted down” a lot – instead of being off most weekends to compete in 24 hour races, he finds he is now traveling less, to just a few bigger, longer races each year.
“It’s still hard to be away from my family even for ten days. I think of those serious climbers, who are gone for months at a time. I don’t know how they do it.”
Michael says that, through the years, he has seen a lot of sports boom and then flatten and then come back again. “I feel that AR is doing really well, as far as the amount of races and the participation. Everyone talks about EcoChallenge – it really is a sorely missed event. I think that Primal Quest has the potential to be that premier event. It has lots of national visibility – it just needs the stability to rise to that legendary level.”
Michael will be back defending Team Nike’s title at PQ2008. “I love racing in the west. I’m really looking forward to that. I am rooting for the organization, it is just super that they are bringing it back and they should be commended.”
Don Mann is looking forward to seeing Michael back at PQ too. “It is a lot of fun to watch him and Team Nike coming into a CP, typically in first place. Michael will jokingly comment about how hard the competition is, but look as fresh as ever. It will be a real pleasure to witness them race at Primal Quest 2008 in defense of their hard-earned title.”
Photo by: Jacqueline Windh/windhphotos.com
