Outdoor Cap is full of hard working individuals. These hard working employees always come in willing to grow and become a better employee. They come in day in and day out and give 100%. One employee in the company who comes into the office working hard and leaves to do something not many people on the planet do, is Chuck Cates.
Chuck Cates has been an employee at Outdoor Cap since 2014. In his childhood years, Chuck was always encouraged to get involved in sports and stay active. When he played for his Junior High football team, everyone on the team was required to run two miles. Running these two miles back in his childhood helped Chuck discover his love for being an endurance athlete. In Chucks final year of college, he completed his first triathlon where he swam 1/2 mile, biked 12.4 miles, and ran 3.1 miles. From that day, Chuck was hooked. That first triathlon he completed is nothing compared to the races he competes in now. On October 8th, 2022, Chuck competed in the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
The Ironman World Championship originated when a group of Navy guys were debating who the fittest athlete, swimmer, biker, and runner was in the group was. They swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles, and ran 26.2 miles. Those are the distances Chuck and other Ironman participants complete in these Ironman races. Even before the internet was around, Chuck would find magazines where he could read all about races all over the world. Now Chuck is someone who young endurance athletes may read about.
While competing in these races, Chuck has been able to travel to numerous beautiful places around North America. Its a big reason why Chuck continues to compete in these races. This year, the Ironman World Championship took place in the town of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. This was Chucks 24th Ironman race he has completed. Chuck was able to finish this race in 16 hours, 16 minutes, and 1 second. Chuck was one of only 386 people, from ages 55 to 59, to finish this race.
When Chuck was asked how Outdoor Cap has supported him through his fitness journey, Chuck only had good things to say, "Outdoor Cap has been supportive of me since my earliest days here back in 2014, and I don’t have adequate words to describe my deep gratitude for all they have done to support me. From providing me with sponsorship to help pay the expense of custom apparel, to assisting me financially with travel, to providing me with customized active headwear, to being fortunate to have understanding managers who have allowed flexibility with my work schedule. They have allowed me to coach a running team to train for the Bentonville Half Marathon the past three years, which we will start up again at the beginning of 2023. And with that, the relationships I have been so blessed to build are just priceless. It’s so rewarding to me to see employees from all departments of Outdoor Cap and as for the most part, entry level runners, evolve through weeks of consistent training, and watch them embrace the value in achieving hard things…together. Maybe 10 years or so ago, it became very important to me to be a good ambassador of sport, and I feel equally responsible to be a good ambassador of Outdoor Cap. I am blessed."
Chuck's story is an extraordinary one but he is just one among over 400 OC employees with diverse backgrounds and experiences who all have their own unique story to tell.
Resources:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach/cates#about
