Photo By Nava Kiss | Recruiter and Navy Diver First Class Cole Copley runs on a trail near the Navy...... read more read more
First, it was a sprint triathlon in the summer of 2003. Next, he found himself signing up for half Ironman triathlons, consisting of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and 13.1-mile run. Now, twenty years and countless races later, this Navy Diver is taking on perhaps his most daunting challenge yet: The Mamba 100, a 100-mile ultramarathon, which will take place in November in Memphis, Tennessee.
Navy Diver First Class Cole Copley wasn’t always a runner. In fact, he hadn’t even run a marathon before completing his first full Ironman in 2020. If you ask him, he’ll even laugh and tell you that “running is probably my weakness. But if you sign up for it, you can’t quit, especially after [someone writes about it]!”
“I had no idea what I was doing,” said Copley, reflecting on his first triathlon. “But I enjoyed it.”
Now, he’s looking to the future.
“Ironman Texas is my main goal to qualify for the Ironman world championships,” said Copley. “Running this much, I'm hoping to build that volume to improve my marathon time.”
However, it’s not just his time he’s looking to improve. He’s also looking to improve the lives of members of the special operations community through the Navy Special Operations Foundation, which supports struggling members of the SO community through scholarships and monetary donations.
“That means more to me than anything, knowing that if something were to happen, our community is…taking care of the family front,” said Copley. “My goal is to [run the race] in under 24 hours, so I was hoping to raise $24,000 - $1,000 for every hour I'm running.”
As a 17-year Navy diver, Copley is part of a humble community that often goes unseen in comparison to other high profile Navy SO careers. Now, as he enters the world of recruiting, his work will be rewarding and challenging in a new way. Copley plans to give high schoolers and young adults “the opportunity to see, through my eyes, a future that could be very unique to them that they might not know about.”
Copley said that commitment is essential when it comes to young students considering the dive community, or Special Operations in general.
“You can’t go in there second guessing yourself,” he said. “When things get hard and you’re not fully committed, that’s when people end up quitting. It’s not that you can’t do it, it’s that you're second guessing.”
Copley will be supported by his wife, family members, and fellow ultra runners as he trains for the Mamba 100. He will be recruiting out of Millington, Tennessee, and assisting with the Warrior Challenge Program, which prepares high schoolers and other young adults looking to join Navy Special Operations.
| Date Taken: | 07.24.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2023 10:40 |
| Story ID: | 449844 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 649 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Finding Meaning in Miles: How One Recruiter is Supporting Naval Special Operations through Ultra-running, by Nava Kiss, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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