An avid athlete, Will Turner, Virginia Tech ’80, decided to mark his 60th birthday in 2018 by completing 60 Ironman triathlons in one year. Starting in January, Turner averaged a race every six days. By early October, he had surpassed the Guinness World Record of 44 Ironmans in one year. Less than three months later, with a hometown crowd of friends and family cheering him on, Turner finished his 60th race in Richmond, Virginia, on Dec. 28, 2018.

Aside from the usual biking, swimming and running, the quest also required a bit of creativity on Turner’s part: He had to develop his own solo events since there are fewer than 60 official Ironman races in the U.S.