Robyn Benincasa

Robyn Benincasa is an American endurance racer, adventure racer, author, and motivational speaker. She was a competitor in several seasons of the Eco-Challenge: The Expedition Race reality television show. Her team won the 2000 Eco-Challenge in Borneo. She went on to found or co-found two companies focused on team-building for corporate clients. She is the founder of Project Athena, a nonprofit organization that helps women who have experienced medical challenges to fulfill their athletic ambitions. She holds three Guinness World Records.

Quotes

• "I learned many lessons from my first race with my heroes. I learned it was easier to breathe when I cried, so I cried often and without shame. I learned that a teammate's faith in you can propel you up any mountain. I learned that winning requires an entirely different mind-set than not losing. I learned that the best teams in the world share not only their strengths but also their weaknesses. I learned that you don't inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are. You inspire them by showing them how amazing they are."
• "You don't inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are. You inspire them by showing them how amazing they are."
• Being an Athena, you’re not just a survivor, you’re an adventurer,” Benincasa said. “We give them a different label to put on themselves, and it’s something they become on their way to the finish line.”
• “And I learned that when people leave their egos at the starting line in pursuit of a common goal and form a deep and genuine connection to one another along the way—otherwise known as human synergy—they create a beautiful and unstoppable force that can handle whatever the winds, the mountains, the rivers and the jungles throw their way.”
• “We often hear, ‘What else can I do?’ It gives them a whole new perspective,” Benincasa said. “It’s not about trying to get back what you were, it’s about trying to be the best of what you’re capable of today, this minute.”
• The most gratifying thing is the moment when you see someone realize they’re going to make it, when you see the fear disappear … and they realize how awesome they are.”
• "If there's anyone out there who has taken extreme to a new level, its Joe De Sena - in adventure racing, in business, and ultimately in the business of adventure! Spartan Up! is must-read."
• Very often people are saying, ‘OK, I survived. But now what?’ ” , the nonprofit’s founder. “We want to be that now what.”
• “I was in shock, because my body had never betrayed me before,”
• I always found a way to get through whatever it was, so I pretended it wasn’t happening for a little while. And then I was being rolled into surgery for my first hip replacement.”
• “Maybe somebody always wanted to run a 10K but got cancer, and now they need the motivation to not let that dream fade,” she said. “It’s not about the setback, it’s about the comeback.”
  • Helping women recover through athletic adventures CNN Heroes (April 21, 2015)
• The secret to long-term success is to work as a team,” Benincasa said. “The greatest results happen when people connect.”
• “Great leaders embrace their setbacks as a chance to learn,”
• We don’t achieve the greatest heights by stepping on the backs of our opponents, but rather by putting our teammates on our shoulders.”
  • Adventure-racing champion Robyn Benincasa visits UM The miami Hurricane (April 7, 2016)
• I did this for all of the amazing women I know who are recovering from medical setbacks. I want to show what's possible when you choose not to focus on what you've lost, but on being the best of what you are today,'
• I find the best thing to do is look at what you still can do, instead of what you can't. I can't run very far anymore because of my condition, but that lead to me to something I love even more - the sport of paddling,'
• 'In the middle of the night I did have a moment of crisis. I couldn't keep my balance on the board and worried the muscles supporting my hip replacements weren't up for the job.
• 'It's the best feeling to help survivors of health setbacks live out their dreams of physical adventure. My friends think I'm crazy, but quitting is not an option!'
  • Firefighter faces down osteoarthritis and FOUR hip replacements to break world paddleboarding record, paddling non-stop for 90 miles around Californian harbor Daily Mail (20 January 2014)