Justin Cogley

My Life of Extremes

By InnerVoice

June 30^th, 2017

life of Extremes

My life is one of the extremes. Leaving the world of figure skating was hard; it was a sport I loved. I skated for Disney on Ice and travelled the world doing it. When I was in Asia, I was inspired daily by the life, culture, markets and foods all of these experiences have helped me. The last year I spent on the road I was in Europe and spent most of my time exploring my palate as much as I was exploring the sights. Most of the people I worked with were young and would spend all their money on Diesel clothes, but I would go to Michelin star restaurants by myself and spend my money there. It was fascinating to me.

I went from being a professional figure skater into culinary school and started the next chapter of my life - it was the complete opposite lifestyle and was a huge transition. Imagine going from being 100 percent into fitness and health, and jump into the world of eating and tasting all day. After culinary school I went to work in Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and went deep into building my career - I went hard for 10 years until….I hit a wall.

forever changed

It felt like I was in a dream and woke up 10 years later. I had gained so much weight, I spent 24/7 thinking about work, I was out late at night and missing day life, I didn’t exercise anymore, I didn’t recognize the person I saw in the mirror, I couldn’t keep up or relate to my family; basically I was missing everything in life that mattered. That is when I won an entry into the 2014 Big Sur Marathon at the local treadmill store. Chris, the owner of the store, was my biggest encourager at the time and him pushing me helped me change my life.

I had to train in the middle of the night, after work. My schedule was so off from the past ten years and running hurt. One month before the race everyone told me I couldn’t do it. Well, I did do it and the rest is history. First, it was the marathon, then I went into finishing 3 Ironman’s and then into long distance trail races all within a two year timeframe. My life is FOREVER changed and never going back.

Now I wish to inspire, inspire, inspire!

“I didn’t know anything when I started. Not a clue. I remember showing up to a group bike ride with a mountain bike helmet and a t shirt.”

it's never too late

I have amazing friends that are supportive and strong - I can tell them anything and they will be very real with me. My family, of course, has been supportive and they have a better version of me now. I am also meeting amazing friends and some very inspiring people through the race scene. I love to be involved in an environment that encourages everyone to go above and beyond what they believe they can do.

I try to inspire everyone to balance their lives and stay healthy and fit. I give cooking classes that feature healthy recipes and answer questions from my chef friends about finding time to train. It goes both ways. Also, I love surprising the local running store, The Treadmill, with breakfast at their group runs.

If I can leave people with one thing it’s to encourage them that it is never too late.

every day is a blessing

When things get tough that’s when I pray, think of family, and stories of other inspiring people. I think of everything that I am thankful for and focus on that. Life always gets hard, that is part of life and there’s no point in going to dark places that will not help you stay focused on success. I pray, dream and get inspired. It is the hardest times that sometimes help me see the clearest.

Life can be tough, there are not enough hours in the day to do all I want to do. I do what I can and start again the following day. I used to spend at least 14 to 16 hours a day in the kitchen and it’s taught me to really use every minute of every day. I set goals for each day and do the best I can to accomplish them. If it doesn’t happen I try again the next day and make sure I am thankful for each day I get to try.

“I am thankful for every day that I can compete. I think life is mentally hard and running is my escape.”

don't look back

I have had lots of setbacks, I’ve been betrayed and shocked by so many people in my life. I think that sport has given me the opportunity to look at things from a different perspective and realise that life is hard. Without getting into nasty details, I focus on the positives of what I’m doing and never look back. I just think of how I can make a difference now. I am forgiving and loving and believe there is no point in focusing on the past. I have stories that would shock you but I don’t like negative drama. I move forward and talk about the things that matter now.

If I can give people one piece of advice it’s to not look back. You run forwards not backwards! Who cares if you have a bad day, week or month, there is always tomorrow so get up and go for it. Running is a mind game. If you train, you can do it. Find people in your life that believe in you, you trust and will push you forward.

I am not a quitter I am determined to support my family and succeed. Even in the hardest point of a race stopping is not an option. All the time spent training and away from family quitting is not an option. So I personally actually have taken the quitting card off the table.

adventure

I promised to take my wife to Italy and my son to Australia so we shall see how that lines up with races in my future. I love the sense of adventure from the ultra marathons, travel and, of course, add a culinary element.