By Mark Eckel | Engagement Insider
After nine years as a NFL wide receiver, Kevin Curtis needed a new challenge so he found one.
Boy did he find one.
Curtis, who began his career with the St. Louis Rams in 2003, had his best year with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007 and finished his career with the Tennessee Titans in 2011, is training for an Ironman event in Canada this July.
“You play for so long, high school, college, I played nine years in the league, and then you’re done and you get lost,’’ Curtis said. “It’s a little strange at first, because it’s like, ‘What am I going to do?’ It’s such an abrupt change. You’re playing and then all of a sudden, nothing.
“That’s what good about the Ironman it’s challenging, it’s really challenging. I think I needed that.’’
The former wide receiver just finished a half-Ironman in St. George, Utah in May. Curtis, who grew up and played his college football at Utah State, is back living in his home state.
“It was tough, real tough,’’ Curtis said. “And that was only half, I hope I know what I’m getting myself into with the full Ironman.’’
Curtis, like the others in the event, swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles and ran 13.1 miles in the half Ironman. In his first try, the former wide receiver finished in just under six hours.
Now he’ll attempt to double those figures, swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running a marathon, which he did in mid-May, of 26 miles.
Curtis could always run and the biking came well, like riding a bike. It’s that third part that worries him just a bit.
“For me the hardest part is the swimming, because I can’t swim at all,’’ Curtis said. “I never really learned to swim. I’ve gotten better, but for me the swimming is by far the hardest part.’’
It’s never been easy for Curtis.
He arrived in St. Louis just at the end of “The Greatest Show on Turf’’ and was the slot receiver in between Pro Bowl players Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt. After four years with the Rams, he signed a lucrative free agent contract with the Eagles in 2007 when the team was still searching for Terrell Owens’ replacement.
In that first season in Philadelphia he caught 77 passes for 1,110 yards and six touchdowns. But the team finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs.