Marketing Automation, Ironman, and Everything in Between with Justin Harmon From Eide CDJR

Justin Harmon is the Marketing Director for Eide Chrysler based in Bismarck, North Dakota. He oversees the marketing of four stores and works with multiple vendors, holding them accountable for top performance. One of Justin’s specialties is leveraging video for monthly offers, community participation, and showcasing the dealership’s culture.

Justin was born and raised in North Dakota and enjoys the outdoors. He trains for long-distance endurance sports including Ironman triathlons. He also works part-time as a spin instructor.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• How Justin Harmon got started in the automotive space
• The importance of being creative and a good listener
• Justin talks about some of the marketing videos he’s made
• What Eide Chrysler has been doing to adapt to changing consumer trends caused by COVID-19
• The digital marketing and retailing strategies Justin has been using for Eide Chrysler
• Justin talks about his participation in Ironman triathlons

In this episode…

The current economic times have made it necessary for dealerships to embrace digital marketing and detail retailing to promote their businesses and products. To do this, marketers have to be creative in their outreach messages for attracting potential customers. They also have to pay attention and listen to their audience if they want to provide the best products and services to them.

For Justin Harmon, effective digital retailing can compare to preparing for a triathlon. You have to prepare well in advance and know what your goal is. You also need to evaluate and measure your performance to become better and achieve greater success.

In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, Ilana Shabtay interviews Justin Harmon, the Marketing Director for Eide Chrysler, about his dealership digital retailing strategies during the current COVID-19 pandemic. He also talks about the importance of being a good listener, his video marketing strategies, and his love for Ironman triathlons.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• AutoLeadStar
• Ilana Shabtay on LinkedIn
• Eide Chrysler
• Justin Harmon on LinkedIn
• Toastmasters International
• Ironman Triathlon
• Jesse Peterson on LinkedIn
• Clubhouse App

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by AutoLeadStar, a company that helps car dealerships engage quality customers on the web and convert them into car buyers.

Co-founded by Aharon Horwitz, Yishai Goldstein, and Eliav Moshe, AutoLeadStar’s state-of-the-art software automates a dealership’s entire marketing funnel and provides around-the-clock service for dealers.

AutoLeadStar’s innovative technology helps dealerships automate ads, connect with customers, and discover ROI and performance metrics. 

Visit their website at www.autoleadstar.com to learn more about their around-the-clock marketing service.

Episode Transcript

Intro 0:03

Welcome to InsideAuto Podcast where we feature everyone and anyone you’d want to talk to you in and out of the automotive industry.

Ilana Shabtay 0:15

Ilana Shabtay here, host of InsideAuto Podcast where we interview top dealers, GMs, marketers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders in and out of the automotive industry. And before we introduce today’s guest, this episode is sponsored by AutoLeadStar.com. The AutoLeadStar platform is built on a technology so powerful it allows you to market, sell, and service cars as you would in the real world at scale and online, making one to one matches between shoppers and inventory. AutoLeadStar is the only platform that is powered by scale, speed, and specificity to change the way dealers do marketing today. So today we have a very special guest, Justin Harmon. Justin, welcome. How are you doing today?

Justin Harmon 0:54

Very well. Thank you.

Ilana Shabtay 0:56

We are excited, but before we jump into all the amazing content that you’re going to bring to us, let me give you a quick intro here and your bio is pretty impressive. So I’ll try and keep it short but to the point. Justin is the Marketing Director for the Eide Automotive Group based in Bismarck, North Dakota. He oversees the marketing of four stores and works with multiple vendors holding them very much accountable for top performance, which we’ll talk about. One of Justin’s specialties is using video for monthly offers, community participation, and showing off the dealership’s culture. We’ll also discuss that.

Justin was born and raised in North Dakota. He also enjoys the outdoors, so he trains for long distance endurance sports including Ironman triathlons, which is insane. And he also works part time as a Spin Instructor. So that’s awesome. I’m a fellow spinner, so we need to talk about that towards the end of the podcast as well. Yes. And lastly, Justin is here today to tell us that if you train yourself today, it will lead to greater success tomorrow. Those are his words. We’ll talk about that as well. Justin, so thank you so much for your time.

Justin Harmon 2:04

Yes, thank you for having me.

Ilana Shabtay 2:05

Between marketing for stores spinning triathlons Ironman, thank you.

Justin Harmon 2:12

Yeah, yeah, easy to fit in. Yeah. And so no problem.

Ilana Shabtay 2:17

Awesome. Well, before we there’s so much we want to unpack. But before we even get into some of the digital stuff that I want to talk about, and specifically the marketing stuff that you’re doing at the dealership, how did you get into auto talk a little bit about your personal story.

Justin Harmon 2:31

So it’s actually kind of funny. So before I started working for it, I had a marketing company. And so I was had a business partner. And we’re specializing in digital marketing primarily, and doing some video content marketing as well. And started talking to Jesse Peterson, our dealer principal at 80, about offering our services to Chrysler at the time. And as time progressed, he gracefully decline our services. One meaning that, I know Yeah, when, when meeting I had with him. He just he just said this comment, and he said, I just wish I could hire someone to do this marketing stuff for me. And that comment just sunk in my head, just like concrete it. I just, I just can’t can’t stop thinking about it. And and then I just started to think, no, it seemed like a really good company. Wouldn’t be a what, what else? You know, what if I decided to work for them or work with them. And I was kind of at that Crossroads for myself professionally, of whether I wanted to continue on with the marketing company, or just to sell my shares of the company and move on and do something else. And so I spent some time just doing some soul searching talks, my old business partner, and I just said to him, you know, I think it’s time for me to move on. And then so we worked out my buyout agreements, and then no longer entrepreneur and business person. And so just basically looking for a job. So I typed up my resume and all that sort of stuff. And I just popped into Eide Chrysler where Jesse was at, and I, I was lucky enough to he’s such a busy man. And I was lucky enough to just catch him on the main floor, and I just asked him this. I have a few minutes of your time. And he said, Yeah, sure. What’s up, man, I just explained to him that I’m in the process of selling out of my shares of my old marketing company. And I reminded him of his comments a couple of weeks prior that he was looking to hire someone to do all this marketing stuff for him. And I just asked him, you know, I like the opportunity to come work with you as your marketing manager. And so we spoke in his office A few minutes later in my resume, and then had an interview. And during the interview, it was with him and Lamont Lamont, he was one of the other dealer principals. And during my interview, I actually produced a short video, you know, kind of showing off my capabilities and all this sort of stuff. And so I had my laptop prepped and all this, and you know, just did that, and I just wanted to be kind to you, it’s kind of hard to explain what you can do. But if you can actually show it on screen and on camera, that just kind of makes it more real. And, and I noticed Jesse, he just had this big smile on his face, you know, and, and because I think he, I think he knew right away that there was something there. And so he called me a few days later and offered me a position. And it’s been, it’s been to the races ever since, you know. And probably the most interesting thing about the position was what I initially thought I would be doing day one, as the marketing director to what I’m doing now is completely just out the window, the positions grown and evolved and changed to something much more, much more technical and much more elaborate, much more detailed than I ever possibly could have imagined. And it’s been a, it’s been a really fun, engaging and wonderful journey. And I feel very fortunate to be working for such a great company. That’s awesome.

Ilana Shabtay 6:28

I love that story. Because also that shows, first of all, remember what people say, because if you hadn’t remembered that, and you hadn’t used that, you would have just not maybe not even paid attention. And it’s interesting, I just got off topic a bit, but I just got, you know, I got a sales email from a software company that’s trying to sell to AutoLeadStar. And we did a demo with them a year ago. And in the email, where they said, you know, let’s revisit this, they took a line from the demo and said, Your words, not mine. And it was like our biggest pain point at the time. And it was so powerful. So I calculate that goes along the same lines of like, just you being really creative in your outreach and making sure that you’re also paying attention and listening.

Justin Harmon 7:15

Absolutely. You know, one of the things that I did several years ago was, I was part of a Toastmasters group. And so what that is, it’s a, it’s a local, it’s a local group that meets on a weekly basis, and you’re assigned a certain number of speeches. And each speech has a certain criteria, and profile that you have to fulfill the first first speeches just talking about yourself for you know, two to three minutes, you know, so anyone can pretty much talk about themselves. But as each speech progresses, it becomes more elaborate and more difficult. But one thing I learned was, you know, it does enhance public speaking skills or presentation skills, but one of the most important things I think is it teaches you to be a better listener, because while you’re not speaking, you’re listening to the other Toastmasters. And you have to evaluate their speeches, you have to count their oohs and ahhs, if they mispronounce something, you have to make notes of that. So it makes you very, very intensive as a listener. And I think that’s one thing that’s kind of missing, sort of in the business community is, while you’re trying to explain something, people will suddenly interrupt you with what they think is the answer. But then you’re, you’re not finishing what you’re explaining or what you’re trying to say about what the problem is. And that’s one thing I’ve noticed with, you know, some professionals in the business community, if I’m trying to explain what the problem is, they’ll interrupt me with an answer. And sometimes it is the right answer. But sometimes it’s not. And they go completely off track.

Ilana Shabtay 8:52

Yeah, that’s such a good point. I was actually just talking about this. And I don’t know if you’re familiar with Clubhouse. It’s new I don’t think it’s actually that new, but it’s pretty new in automotive. I feel like it took off in the last couple of months. And I spent way too much time there and I shouldn’t buy a room that recur. It’s a recurring room, and I like participating in it because it’s a woman in the automotive room. And they always have interesting topics about how you know, we can make women stronger and automotive. And last week they spoke about listening like it was how, you know, how do you find the balance between speaking up and not being scared and not having imposter syndrome versus actually listening? And often we kind of come to the conclusion that the more you listen, the more insightful you are, and probably the better solutions you’ll be able to bring because you actually have the full picture. So I definitely agree with that. But the other thing that you did that’s interesting in this interview process, was that you showed your skill right there. So it wasn’t just a question. get an answer. But you were like, hey, let me show you what I can actually do. And you created a video on spot. So that’s amazing. And I know that video we spoke about this a little bit in your bio, is something that you’re passionate about, and you’ve created some very funny videos for it. But also videos that show your really special culture there. So can you talk a little bit about that, I’m also interested in what their reach is like for you, your client base and your customers and how that’s played a role in your strategy.

Justin Harmon 10:29

So, you know, kind of one of the videos that in particular was the 62nd blooper reel. So that is actually one of my favorite videos. Here in the show notes too, so people can see it. One thing I really enjoy about Jesse, Jesse Peterson, our dealer principal, is that like me, he has a very good self-deprecating sense of humor, so he’s not afraid to make fun of himself. Yeah, and, and I, you know, I really try not to take myself too seriously. I like making jokes about myself and whatnot. And, but the funny story about that video is, you know, I was just playing around with that when I was just, I had all these extra cuts, and I was just piecemealing it together. And at the time, we were kind of brainstorming a Superbowl ad, you know, for that particular year. And I had some ideas, and I was just using this blooper reel as just a distraction, just to cleanse my brain, you know, and I like doing fun stuff, you know, just to kind of refresh my brain. So I came up with a better idea. And so I’m just playing around with it, and I got it. 99% done. And then I show it to Jesse, and he says, Wow, that’s awesome. That’s, that’s the Superbowl ad. And I just said, Really, he liked it so much, that ended up turning out to be our Superbowl ad for that particular year. And, and, and it just, it just fit really well. And, you know, in showing all the employees, you know, screw up during the, during each take, and all that sort of stuff, and mixing it together to make something really funny is, what is one of my favorite productions? And then, let’s see, I’m trying to think of which other video I sent you.

Ilana Shabtay 12:25

I was about culture? Actually, it was just,

Justin Harmon 12:27

yeah, yeah. Yeah, so. So with that one. We filmed on a Sunday, when the dealership is closed, I didn’t want to have people walking back and forth and being a distraction. With that particular one, I just asked a bunch of open-ended questions about the history of the dealership, and what it’s like to work there. And well, I’m a really big fan of that interview style format, because it just allows the person I’m filming at the time just to just to speak off the cuff. And one thing I like to do when I do that type of format, as I’ll, I’ll email the person I’m interviewing, you know, just a few of the questions, not all of them, just so that they can start thinking about some of their answers. And then during the interview process, you know, you can kind of pick out a lot of really good hidden gems out there. And you’ll learn about the history of the company in a much more detailed manner. And most importantly, I feel in a much story driven manner. I think as people we have a tendency to remember stories much better, as opposed to sell, sell, sell price, price price. And by email, by being able to share those stories about the IT culture and how we like to do business. I think it resonates with our audience much more effectively.

Ilana Shabtay 13:56

Yeah, I agree with that. I think finding the right narrative is one of the biggest struggles for companies today. Because there’s, it’s like, so sad that the markets are saturated. So your story is what’s going to define what I say. So finding that finding that narrative and sticking to it and making it exciting is exactly what we mean. So I think that video actually does a great job. And you could tell that the culture is really good at the dealership, and people enjoy working there, and you take care of your employees, which I think is important. So it is important for consumers to see that. And as we talked about consumers, we’re in this kind of, I wouldn’t say it’s post COVID yet, but we’re kind of getting there. Maybe I feel like I’ve had way more human interaction in the past month than I’ve had in the past two years or so. Or a year and a half. So, but now that we’re coming out of it, I think we’re learning a lot about Okay, there were the consumer trends that happened during COVID which is kind of the You know, the hyper form of what would happen if we were all at home. And now it’s transforming into the real way that consumers are going to come out of COVID and expect to shop, whether that’s for home car shoes, you know, those are a little bit different, obviously. But there’s definitely changes in every single market. So I know it is focusing a lot on transforming to fit these new cutting consumer trends. Can you share with us a little bit about what you’ve been doing and what’s been helpful. And then also even what the consumer trends are in North Dakota, because I know every market in the United States is, of course, different.

Justin Harmon 15:38

Sure, you know, last year, when COVID was kicking into gear we worked very diligently about trying to make the shopping process for a vehicle as streamlined as possible. And we do that very, very well, if the customer shows up to the store. But during COVID, there was a lot of hesitancy for our customers to show up at the store. And so we worked out processes where we could facilitate a majority of the car deal online or through email communication. And it forced us to evolve a lot faster than what we initially planned, because we knew this day was coming where we really would have to harness the power of online retail tools and more online forums and do as much as we possibly can through the digital landscape to facilitate that car deal. And with what was going on last year, that just put the gas down on that and forced us as managers and as an organization to do those things much more, much more quickly. And we were able to do that. And I think the other thing that we learned is to not underestimate the intelligence of the customer. When a customer is shopping for a vehicle, they pretty much know what it is they’re looking for, I mean, searching on your smartphone, or just going on your computer, you can find anything that you want out there. And as shoppers, you know, whether we’re shopping on Amazon, or any one any automotive website, we have a pretty strong idea of what it is we’re looking for, at that particular time. And so when we’re asking our customers to fill out a credit application, or go through the buying process, with a digital retailing tool, they understand that and they’re willing to do that they’re willing to go through that work. And then it’s just a matter of, you know, filling out the completing those remaining steps to facilitate that car deal. And the response has been very, very positive for our customers. You know, we’ve had several customers where they’ve done pretty much the entire car deal online, and then it’s just a matter of just taking that vehicle that they’re shopping for, for a test drive just to make sure it’s exactly what it is that they want. And then, you know, they complete the paperwork, and then they’re off. They’re out the door. And, and the trend, the trend is people will want that. I remember when I was a kid, being at the car dealership, with my parents for hours and hours. And I just remember God, this is so boring. You know, just sitting there just waiting, you know, can we go? Can we go? It’s not like that anymore. People’s time is valuable. We need to get these things done in a timely fashion. And that’s one thing that we really strive to know our motto, our tagline is time saving hassle free, fair price, we really genuinely want to save people’s time during the car buying process because everybody’s busy. You know, and that’s when people will want to spend several hours at the car dealership. I know I’m not one of them. I work

Ilana Shabtay 19:15

but do you feel like digital, the digital retail platform, at least at that part of the technology that you’re investing in? Do you feel like it’s there to help consumers feel good about coming in with less time at the desk knowing that it will be less time at the dealership or do you feel like it Okay, consumers are interested in this because they actually want end to end, you know, transaction on for car buying.

Justin Harmon 19:41

I think it’s both You know, I think I think cars customers, there’s certain customers that just want to complete the entire process online. And then you have certain customers where they just want to complete a part of the process online and then they want to finalize everything at the store. It’s kind of an Expect if I had to, if I had to say, I would say the younger car buyer is more inclined to complete the entire process online. And with your middle aged to older car buyer, they’ll complete the car prep car buying process partially. But, you know, you never know. I mean, you may have that person that’s, you know, 5060 years old, and they just do everything online, and then it’s just a matter of, Okay, I’m here to pick up my truck.

Ilana Shabtay 20:32

And it’s Wow, I don’t know if even though I fit into that category, I don’t think I can ever be that I got to come in, I got the guy, or the woman I got to drive the car.

Justin Harmon 20:47

But I’m the same way I am. I have a really tough time just buying a vehicle just without having a typical look at it or taking it on a test drive. But there are people out there where they feel comfortable and confident with buying a vehicle without even taking it for a spin. And if, if that’s what they want to do, we’re here to facilitate that for them.

Ilana Shabtay 21:10

Yeah, and then there’s, of course, the, you know, the people who just renew their lease to the next model. So my mother, for example, she’s always gonna get a Subaru Forester, I think that’s what she drives, and she’s just gonna, every three years, and she doesn’t have to test drive it, that’s all she wants. She’s like, the easiest thing in the world. So for that, too, I think having that interaction online is really crucial, because there’s a fair amount that probably do that. And so it’s just convenient for them.

Justin Harmon 21:36

Absolutely. And, we have, we have several customers that are like that, especially the least customers, you know, they know the vehicle in and out, they drive it, they understand it, they understand the technology. And, sometimes they know the ins and outs more than some of our sales people.

Ilana Shabtay 21:58

Don’t underestimate the intelligence of the customer.

Justin Harmon 22:00

Absolutely. I mean, there’s just so many, so many resources that people can go to research vehicles. And, and, and so when they show up to the store to renew their lease, you know, they, you know, they know what they want, you know, and it’s and and the thing is, you know, we have to make it easy for them. Because if we don’t, they’re going to move on to someone else and take their business elsewhere. And obviously, we don’t want that.

Ilana Shabtay 22:27

Yeah, of course. And so that’s great. So digital retailing is a big part of that. What else are you doing? Anything else that helps kind of just streamline your messaging makes it easy for you to turn things on and off. I think that’s really important. We learned that in COVID dealers that, you know, we’re doing everything manually, it was just, they were so behind to three months went by and they were still saying, you know, come by our car come by our car come in, versus the dealers that were able to streamline messaging without forgetting, you know, a channel, maybe I’m banging was running like this, and it goes really like this. But I think there’s something about using tech driven marketing. And obviously, I’m a big proponent of this. But in general, I do think there’s something about having, you know, plug and play technology for dealers to be able to, you know, target and convert consumers is also part of the process. And it’s not just having that, you know, ecommerce setup on site.

Justin Harmon 23:24

But I think one of the best things dealers can have, you know, for that particular foundation of making it easy to find, what you’re looking for is just having a strong website. So, all of our ID stores, we work with a third party, website, website vendor, and we spend a lot of time with the aesthetics of our website, making sure it’s easy to navigate, find what you’re looking for, because most car buyers, they know what it is they’re looking for. If a customer is looking for Ford F 150, you know, they they know what, whether it’s new or used, they know they have in their minds what what it is that they want and so that that whole customer path to finding, looking for what your what you want, and finding it and then submitting that lead form. Just like customer flow to make things as easy as possible. And then in terms of automation, you know, with you know, with what AutoLeadStar can do it, a good plug for your company is uh, you know, it really really does dial in some of the targeting. Whether it’s geographically or certain profile that we’re targeting, whether it’s SUV or truck customers, it does seem the AI seems to be very, very intelligent and strong. And so we started working with AutoLeadStar at the beginning of 2021. Here. And before that we worked with another paid search provider, and they were getting results for us. But I always felt like there was just something better. And then our principal, Jesse Peterson, mentioned AutoLeadStar to me from another dealer in his 20 group. And so, research the company hadn’t had a few calls with you guys. And, like I said, before we went live, you know, whenever I work with a new vendor, I always get nervous, because you never know what you’re going to get sometimes. And, in January, when January started in 2021, I could just see the results mid month, and I was just very, very impressed with the platform, just from those short, that short 15 day window, looking at the data. And that’s one thing that we do as a company is we really look at the data, see, see the amount of leads that are coming in from all of our marketing vendors, what type of lead form conversion rates, sales rates, we really, we’re very data driven company, because we want to see, we want to learn, and we want to see how our marketing dollars are being spent and how effective those marketing dollars are. And, and so, when I am seeing these results, you know, fast forward to today, it’s just been very, very impressive with what the platform can do. And one thing the guy mentioned was, you know, as the system learns, it’s going to become more and more effective, and it surely has, and it’s been, it’s worked very, very well for our stores. And I’m, I’m excited to see what else is in store for the future.

Ilana Shabtay 26:54

That’s great. Yeah, I think AutoLeadStar or not, and I love that, that we have a plug here proudly serving. But automation and texture marketing, I know that industry is going to go in that direction. And so I think it’s important for dealers to consider that. Because the AI can just work at much better speed than a human and you’re just you have that competitive edge once you invest in something like that. This has been an amazing conversation. before we sign off. I do want to talk a little bit about your athletic side because we have played the athlete here on the insight auto podcast today. Tell us a little bit about how you got into training. Specifically, I’d love to know about the Ironman Triathlons. I mean, I am an avid spinner. So I’m always open to talking a lot less about training for Ironman. So tell us a little bit about that and how you keep yourself active and then we can make sure that our listeners tune in and subscribe before we sign off.

Justin Harmon 27:50

Sure. So how I got into triathlon, my wife is actually a triathlete. And she did triathlons when we were dating, and at the time, I was just lifting weights and running and I decided you’re going to do that on Saturday. Really, that’s Yeah, it doesn’t sound like fun. And then, you know, years passed by and then I just started doing more cardio and all that sort of stuff. My wife got me into spin class. And then I had a sick twist of fate. I met my triathlon coach, a gentleman by the name of Arnie street at one of our local bike shops, and he’s our, he’s my wife and I is a triathlon coach. And so he kind of took me under his wing to help train me for my very first triathlon, which was a smart triathlon, which is just a really fun local race. You know, it was a 500 meter swim 20 mile bike ride and a six mile run something like something like that, and I see your eyes light up short on race and, and so I just got, I just got bit by the bug after that first race, I just had such a great time and, and the the triathlon community in Bismarck here is very, very strong, we have just some amazing local inspiring athletes that are super supportive. And the thing I really enjoy about triathlon is, you know, a few. If you’re, if it’s a Saturday morning and you have to do a five hour bicycle ride, you have to have a positive attitude. You know, you have to be, you have to be, let’s do it. You know, let’s, let’s get going. There’s very little room for negative negativity or a bad attitude. You know, we need to do these types of rigorous sports. And so the people that you’re around are always very upbeat, very positive. And then I bet the first year I got my first race under my belts. My wife and I did another race in Minnesota, and just a short distance one and then so every year except last year, because COVID there’s the Ironman World Championships on the Big Island of Kona. Hawaii. And so I’m sitting on the couch, eating pizza, drinking beer, watching the race, all these healthy things, right. And our bike rides, you can eat as much pizza as you want. Yeah, yeah. So, I’m just sitting there, and I’m just, I’m just amazed by the athleticism, you know, of all these people, the pros. And the neat thing about that particular race is you have the pros racing, male and female. And then you have amateur athletes like myself that qualify for the Kona race, and they’re able to race alongside, you know, the professionals. And I was just, I was just blown away by, you know, people just gone for it, you know, and doing it. And then I’m just sitting there and I just say, I just say to my wife, Kylie, what do you think about doing an Ironman? And she says, really, and, and so we, we met with Arnie, our coach and told him, Hey, we’re interested in doing a Ironman race, full triathlon, Ironman race, and, and for those that don’t know, the distances to 2.4 miles, 112 mile bike ride, and then a 26.2 mile run only one day. So you get your sled, you get your bike, and then you get to run a marathon afterwards, but you get snacks on the way. So that’s what I tell him. So, Arnie, he, he worked with us drafted a training plan for us to follow and, and, and it’s just building up that endurance, building up that fitness, and then it’s race day. And I distinctly remember, on race day, it was Ironman, Madison, it’s in Madison, Wisconsin, and it’s just a beautiful, beautiful race. So he has some time before you line up to start the day. And so I was just sitting down and, and I just thought to myself, I just asked myself the question, did I do everything? everything I could to prepare for this race? And the answer was yes. And I just felt this sudden calm of, you know, you’re going to, you’re going to do it today, today is going to be a good day, you know, and you just break it up in sections, you know, you start your swim, try not to drowned, get out of the water, hop on the bike, take your nutrition, drink plenty of fluids. And then it gets to a point where when you’re on the bike, we’re around that 80 mile mark, where it’s like, I can’t wait to get off this bike. So I can run the marathon. Oh, gosh, oh, gosh, yeah.

You’re, you’re feeling one part of some part of pain, and you want to supplement it with something else. And then you get off the bike and your legs are like jello, and then you just start to run. And while you’re running with all these other athletes, I have the pleasure of running with this gentleman that was actually a guide for a blind athlete. So they were doing the entire race together. So it was such a terrific story. And as I was running with them, the guy asked me, the blind gentleman asked me, Hey, did you pass another blind guy? And I said, Yeah, and then the blind athletes said, Good, we’re beating them. It was just, it was such a fun experience just to see so many different people. I mean, we have so many short people, tall people sit in so many different body types, you know, these athletes out there that you would think would never be doing such a physical feat, but they’re out there doing it. And a lot of them are doing it just really well too. And I just feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to experience something like that, because it really truly is life changing.

Ilana Shabtay 34:09

And I think a really great way to end this podcast is what you said about how I did everything I could to prepare for this and I think that’s such a good life lesson. Because I feel like often we’re so hard on ourselves or we prepare and it doesn’t go exactly as planned. At the end of the day if you put in your all and you have that positive attitude. That helps you push forward. So I appreciate that. And I’ll take that with me for the rest of the day. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining us today. I really appreciate your time and your content. It’s awesome getting to know you from an audio perspective. From an athlete perspective. It’s just amazing what you’re able to accomplish. So thanks for joining us today. And for our listeners. If you liked this episode, please tune in InsideAuto Podcast at insideautopodcast.com. Thank you so much for joining us today, Justin.

Justin Harmon 35:01

Thank you, have a great day.

Outro 35:07

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