I am truly honored to be here with Zdeno Chara, or “Zee,” former captain of the Boston Bruins, Stanley Cup champion, six-time NHL All-Star, three-time Olympian, and now an Ironman.
🔉 Listen to Audio Excerpt:
Zee, you went from 25 years in the NHL, including 14 years with the Boston Bruins leading them to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2011, to running marathons and now racing Ironman distance events. What inspired you to go from a professional hockey player to becoming an endurance athlete?
Zdeno Chara: I have always enjoyed it; being an endurance athlete. The mental aspect of endurance sports is that I welcome challenges. I really enjoy finding out more about myself and pushing the limits, but most of all, I love being engaged physically in exercise. Biking, running, not so much swimming. These sports have always been a huge part of my preparation for hockey season, and I really enjoy them. So, once I retired, I maintained the fitness and just kept adding and exceeding the volume. Then I met a few people who really made a difference with my training, guiding me and helping me to get ready for marathons; Dave McGillivray (race director for the Boston Marathon and Founder and President of DMSE Sports), whom you’ve interviewed here as well and Becca Pizzi who has been running her entire life as well as coaching having now finished over 90+ marathons.
Once I started doing marathons, a natural progression for me was getting into triathlon, which I’ve also really enjoyed. I love the sport. Mentally, it’s all about seeing how much I can push myself and what’s possible. Physically, I love being engaged in that physical grind and, in a sort of way, the pain too. But I really, really love it.
As a six-foot-nine former defenseman, you’re not exactly built like a typical marathoner. How have you adapted your training to suit your larger physique?
Zdeno Chara: Yeah, that’s a great question. It’s been challenging. There’s no doubt that when you go to the races or you’re just out running, you typically don’t see other seven-footers running next to you. I’ve lost some weight, trying to adapt to running more. I think when you run a lot, naturally you’re going to lose that muscle mass that you had for hockey. Your body’s going through a transformation, and it’s just natural that you’re going to lose some muscles that you really don’t need any more and gain some of the fibers or fitness for what you’re doing. So, I think it’s just natural; you must be patient. It takes time and you need to stick with it, be consistent. As much as some people think it’s uncomfortable, you must be willing to feel comfortable in those maybe, slightly uncomfortable parts of the sports, but there are no limits.
“Well, I don’t think it will ever be as epic as hoisting the Stanley Cup. This is all very different. I really enjoy the process of getting ready for the races. My goal is not to win the races. My goal is not to do this because of the trophies or medals or prize money. I really enjoy just being part of the community and running with people and, like I said, just finding more and learning more about myself and about the sport.”
You’ve completed eight marathons so far, including two Boston marathons as well as two Ironman’s. How does the thrill of crossing a marathon finish line or finishing an Ironman, compare to skating around with the Stanley Cup hoisted above your head?
Zdeno Chara: Well, I don’t think it will ever be as epic as hoisting the Stanley Cup. This is all very different. I really enjoy the process of getting ready for the races. My goal is not to win the races. My goal is not to do this because of the trophies or medals or prize money. I really enjoy just being part of the community and running with people and, like I said, just finding more and learning more about myself and about the sport. The feelings are similar, but you are so much more focused on winning in hockey.
When you’re crossing the finish line, you just love that joy that you were able to do it and that you had a good feeling about it. You were confident you had a good race, you had some ups and downs possibly, but you were able to get over the downs and enjoy those ups. I really think it’s more about enjoying that feeling, that training paid off, everything went as you were hoping for. And then it’s, “Let’s do another one.”
Your second full Ironman triathlon was in Sweden this year. What was the most challenging part of that 140.6-mile journey?
Zdeno Chara: My first full distance Ironman was the Ironman in Germany this past Summer. It was four weeks prior to Sweden, at Challenge Roth, but it was not the branded “Ironman,” it was under a different company brand; though the same overall distance. But I was so humble going into the first one. I didn’t know what to really expect. You do all the training, you do all the preparation, but on that morning or the race day, you still have those doubts and questions and anticipations, and you are nervous. You’re in the water, you’re waiting for that gun to go off and just thinking, how am I going to do this? But once the race starts, everything goes away and you just kind of start feeling that, okay, this is just a day that you practiced for. You’ve done so much work. I tell myself to just enjoy it and just keep up with what you can do.
Don’t try to do something that you’ve never done before. Be yourself, do your own race, and know that there will be some unexpected parts; There always are, whether that’s weather-wise, or technical issues. For example, you might lose, I don’t know, two, or three gels because somebody bumps into you on the run or something. It’s always something that you have to figure out during a race.
You never know what it’s going to be because it’s never perfect. And that’s kind of exciting because every time, every race you learn something about yourself and it’s never as good as you think it’s going to be. It’s never as bad as you think it’s going to be. But it’s a hell of a feeling when you’re crossing the finish line of your first Ironman.
You’re known for your incredible fitness and work ethic. How has your approach to training changed from preparing for NHL seasons to now training for endurance events?
Zdeno Chara: It hasn’t. I’m still doing the same system I’ve done for all my life, being dedicated and disciplined to my schedule. Daily, weekly, monthly, you’ve got to be so consistent. You cannot cheat it, you cannot try thinking, okay, I’ve skipped two, three days here, I’m going to make it up. It just doesn’t work that way. You can compensate a little bit, but for me personally, I like to be very specific.
I pay a lot of attention to the details and being organized, being committed. I really like that. When I say I’m going to run at 10, I’m going to run at 10, and it doesn’t matter if it’s 95 degrees or if it’s 20 below, if it’s rainy or hailing, I’m doing that session. So, for me, it’s something that I’m maybe a little bit stubborn about, but it’s always worked for me.
The only change I’ve really made is that I’ve shifted from hockey to running, biking, and swimming, but the same philosophy and system I’ve had, that’s worked for me for over 30 years in professional sport, I’m now applying the same way with the other sports.
You’ve gone from team captain to solo athlete. What do you miss most about the camaraderie of hockey and how have you found the community in endurance sports?
Zdeno Chara: Well, no question, you’re missing relationships, the friendships that you created along the way. You had some teammates for a shorter period of time, but you had some teammates for pretty much most of your career and the bonds and conversations, getting to know families, children, really getting to know the people inside out and creating strong bonds and trust. Those are the ones that you probably miss the most on top of all the fun stuff that was happening in locker rooms, during practices, traveling days. So those are all great memories. But at the same time, you must move on. We all must eventually one day stop and move on. And that’s now an opportunity for making new friends.
So, I’ve made a lot of new friends with this sport, and it’s still great. You just have so much to talk about because they’re asking you about all the hockey questions, and you just start asking them about all the other things that you kind of never had a chance to talk about with people.
You’re set to compete in the Ironman World Championships in Kona this October. What are your goals for the race and how are you preparing for the unique challenges of the Hawaiian course?
Zdeno Chara:My goal is to finish, and I say that for any race, even the marathons or other events. I try to PR, but the most important thing for me is to finish. Of course, you have some goals, you have some visions and beliefs that you can reach a certain pace or speeds. But at the same time, like I said, you must be so humble and so willing to adjust your race plan based on what’s happening during that day. So, I’m not so much locked on time, more than finishing strong and having that really great feeling crossing the finish line, that you’ve done the best you could under the circumstances that are presented. And if it’s going to be your PR, great. If it’s not, then I’m not going to hang my head and be sad about it.
You have to fight, and sometimes even the training doesn’t guarantee you that you’re going to have a great race. It just sometimes doesn’t work that way. So for me, it’s just about finishing strong.
As someone who’s excelled in two very different sports, what advice would you give to athletes looking to transition to new challenges later in their careers?
Zdeno Chara:I think most importantly, don’t limit yourself. I think a lot of times people think like, oh, you’ve done one sport, and you should now just take care of your body and rest and not do much. But I think that if you feel good, and if you believe and you love it, I think you should go for it. You should go for different sports maybe, or different hobbies. It doesn’t mean you have to do “Ironmans.” But I think you should stay active, you should stay involved and have fun with it. You gotta obviously love it. I love what I do, and it’s badass. It’s hard. It’s not easy.
You’re gonna have some really tough days and tough moments, and a lot of those self-conversations happening during training and races. Why are you doing this? Oh my God, this is so hard. But at the same time, that’s just the way it is. If it would be easy, everyone would do it. It’s* supposed to be hard, and that’s why the feeling, the reward crossing, it’s just so satisfying.
You’ve been involved with The Hoyt Foundation and the Thomas E. Smith Foundation, raising money for them. How did you get involved with them and why are they so important?
Zdeno Chara: I got to know Rick and Dick Hoyt very early on when I was playing with the Bruins. Such an inspiring story. I mean, I was just amazed by the fight Dick and Rick put up to open the barriers, the channels for so many handicapped people, people with disabilities, paralysis. I think he never gave up on that goal to race with people and be looked at as the same as everybody else. And so, they made such an impact, such a positive impact on people and sport. I just enjoyed it, I loved meeting them, I loved hanging out with them, and it’s just something that I wanted to give back and be involved with. And no better way than honoring them by running for them, for their foundation, raising money, raising awareness and really paying back, I guess, for everything they’ve done over their careers and life for the community, for the sport, for the people.
As a parent of three young children, how has life after hockey changed for you in terms of their lives? Are they all athletes or are they growing into other passions?
Zdeno Chara: Yeah, life has shifted a little bit, obviously. It’s something that the focus was mainly, when I was playing, I think the family was more focused or was kind of around what I was doing, how I needed to be ready for a season, and training camps and games. And when I was done, everything shifted now towards the kids a lot more, deservedly because they’re getting older, they need that attention, and I’m happy to give it to them and be involved with them. They are all active. They do sports, and we encourage them to do sports. I love that they do sports.
Sports teaches you so much about life, about discipline, about leadership, about anything in life that you need to be a good human being. But mostly we are focusing on raising good people, whether they’re going to choose to continue to do sports or not, that’s secondary. But the sports are definitely helping raise kids in the right way with good values.
You recently partnered with CGM Sports Platform for youth and hockey athletes. Can you talk a bit about how you became involved and what this means to you?
Zdeno Chara: We met at the Harvard Innovation Labs, and I got approached by them. We just had conversations, and they presented the plan, and I thought it would be a great idea to be involved and give them some advice on how to help young people who are entering college or doing sports, helping them to be coached better, to be under better guidance and leadership. Hopefully, that can make a really positive impact on how they grow and how they become better athletes, better students, better people. So that’s what I’ve seen a lot of positives and a lot of good that can be done through CGM.
Looking ahead, do you have any dream endurance events or challenges you’d like to tackle? Perhaps an ultra-marathon or a multi-day adventure race?
Zdeno Chara: As of right now, I’m fine with what I’m doing, running marathons, racing Ironmans. I’ve done one ultra. It was good, it was fun, but I think that was kind of it. I realized that I like to stick with something that I want to be consistent with. Ultras are great, but they are really, really, hard and they’re just not for me. It would really be more planning. For example, I can do one here and probably another one in a few months. With marathons and Ironmans, I’ve done maybe back-to-back, you know, two in seven days, two Ironmans in one and a half months. So, I feel I can be a lot more consistent with races than I would be with ultras or really long 2, 3, 4-day races.
Last question. If you could give your younger self some advice, what would it be?
Zdeno Chara: Never give up. Keep going after your dreams. Stay humble. Be kind, work hard and treat everybody the same and be good to people. I mean, I try to live by that every day. That’s what we teach our kids. You enter the room, you say “hello,” you ask for something, you say “please.” When you get it, say “thank you.” And when you leave, you make sure you say “goodbye.” I mean, those are really simple four words, but they mean so much.
