Triathlons are the domain of buff athletes who train full time, right? Not exactly. Lots of busy local business people will be running, cycling and swimming in the Los Angeles Triathlon coming up Sept. 7.
Among those registered: Michael Johnson, Herbalife Ltd.’s chief executive; David Kutzer, senior vice president of real estate firm the Staubach Co.; Rich Guzman, president of personal training company LA R.O.X. Inc.; David Cefali, president of structural engineering company Cefali Inc.; Dr. Jeffrey Weisz, the medical director of Kaiser Permanente; Brad Hamlin, a senior vice president with Morgan Stanley; Daniel Hart, the chief financial officer of Cyclesports, and Sean McCollough, the president of Delta Graphics.
Mauricio Leon de la Barra, a real estate lawyer, started competing in triathlons after challenging his friend to enter a race eight years ago. “I was talking about my marathon experience with some friends, and one of my friends started saying ‘Marathons are hard, but what is really hard is a triathlon,’ ” Leon de la Barra said.
Cook or Die
Growing up, Talia Lesak felt too many of her meals came from the microwave. So, along with fellow entrepreneur Brittany Lovett, Lesak founded EatDrinkOrDie.com, a video- and recipe-sharing site for celebrity chefs and amateur cooks. The site launched Aug. 21.
Lesak, 37, said her generation strayed too far from making homemade meals and that she hopes the Web site will help reverse the trend.
Why the ominous-sounding name? EatDrink
OrDie.com is part of the Or Die Networks Group. The company made a splash last year with the comedy site FunnyOrDie.com, co-created by actor Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay.
“We want to do for cooking what FunnyOrDie did for comedy,” Lesak, 37, said.
Chopsticks With Feeling
A simple pair of chopsticks may be the most prized souvenir of the 2008 Olympic Games for Anita DeFrantz.
DeFrantz, a vice president of the International Olympic Committee, explained that she was participating in a panel in Beijing when a Chinese athlete became emotional when talking about her difficulties training.
“She got choked up, so I gave her my handkerchief,” said DeFrantz of Santa Monica. Two days later, DeFrantz returned to her hotel room to find the handkerchief along with a pair of chopsticks with the Beijing Olympics logo.
“It was a lovely gesture,” she said.
Staff reporters Alexa Hyland, Charles Proctor and David Nusbaum contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
