Oz Moving & Storage and the New York City triathlon were able to come together this year to help solve one of the triathlon’s classic problems. How do competitors get their belongings from the starting line to the finish line, without having to bring them along in the race? The race organizers asked the wizard and found their answer: trucks. 6 Oz Moving & Storage trucks transported all of the NYC triathlon participant’s belongings from the starting line near the Hudson River to the finish line in Central Park.
Oz’s vice president of sales, Nimrod Sheinberg, was also able to participate in the race. He finished the race in 2 hours, 41 minutes, ahead of most of the pack. Sheinberg is used to long, grueling days like the Sunday triathlon felt like; he was formerly one of Oz Moving’s first moving employees. Anyone who has tried to move themselves knows the experience is a grueling test of endurance, much like a triathlon or a marathon. As a matter of fact, another one of Oz’s movers named Chava is a former triathlete himself.
“You need stamina, hard work and patience to do a move or a triathlon”, Chava says at the NYC Triathlon expo. “You don’t need any special skills, just hard work.”
Chava raises several good comparisons to the work involved in moving and in triathlon competitions. Both involve roughly 3 hours of hard work, which tests the endurance of the mover or the triathlete. Both are a test of your lower body strength, though moving utilizes upper body strength a bit more (the swim part of the triathlon does use upper body strength too.)
There’s also plenty of risk for equipment failure that risks the task (of moving or running a triathlon) adding to the stress of either, as Sheinberg reminds us. “Getting a flat tire on your bike or your truck sucks.” he says.
There’s also plenty of risk for equipment failure that risks the task (of moving or running a triathlon) adding to the stress of either, as Sheinberg reminds us. “Getting a flat tire on your bike or your truck sucks.” he says.
In many ways though, triathletes might not envy the tasks movers have to take on. For one, they do not have downtime between tasks, as they are expected to complete moves on a daily basis. Another challenge of moving is that there cannot be as much preparation, because every job has its own subtle differences from the last, and with less time to prepare than a triathlete has for their competition, this becomes more challenging.
“The physical aspect, you get used to it. The stressful part is the mental part - the unknown.” Sheinberg says. “There are a lot of things you don’t know that can stress you out.”
Moving has its fair share of challenges - but the good news for movers is they do have some time to rest while transporting inventory in the truck, going between the places their client is moving from and to. Triathletes have to remain physically active at all times for the entirety of their task.
So which is harder, completing a New York City move or completing the New York City triathlon?
“If we have an elevator - I’d rather choose the move.” Chava says. “But if we have to use the stairs? I’d pick the NYC triathlon.”
“If we have an elevator - I’d rather choose the move.” Chava says. “But if we have to use the stairs? I’d pick the NYC triathlon.”
