Montauk Home Owner Explains Her Success in the The Mighty Man Montauk

After finishing a number of NYC marathons and having a home in the Ditch plains section of Montauk, years ago, Mary Beth Holland went to cheer some friends on participating in a triathlon race in Montauk. While cheering them on she said something happened as she "just absorbed the energy in the transition area during set up," and longed for the discipline to train and excel at three sports simultaneously.

To train, she created a routine that kept the longer training, (bike and run) for the weekend. Her day job is as a wealth advisor, so her training started at 5 a.m. She worked out a few hours, six days per week, with a coach working on intensity and watts.

When the gyms in NYC were shut for precautions during the pandemic, she decided the outdoors was where it was at. She believes this helped her stamina tremendously. While still maintaining her Montauk home, she now resides in Florida where she trains outdoors year-round. She credits the Florida warmth for helping her swimming training.

"When I am in Montauk, you will see me at Montauk Downs swimming and cycling endlessly," Holland said. "This July, a friend and I did a marathon plus cycle through East Hampton, Sag Harbor. Throw in the Montauk Chamber of Commerce's fundraiser, the Montauk Ocean Swim challenge, and it was perfect training for my August race — a 70.3 World Ironman event in Lahti, Finland. The course was arduous; the bike course is rolling with 1946 elevation gain."

Explaining how she amped up for her Montauk Triathlon, Holland explained that she communicated with the other athletes on how to approach the race. They discussed things like where is the current or in the case of the October 1 Mighty Man Montauk, since the swim was cancelled, the advice was to just "crush the bike," and that was what she did.

Holland, the money manager at Sutton Place Capital Management, finished first in her age group.

Since 2012, she has competed in the Mighty Hamptons, in Montauk and Sag Harbor, and The Robert J. Aaron Memorial.

"I have had the pleasure to compete and finish at least 15 races in Montauk. I started with the sprint 2012 and came in the dreaded fourth in my age group, returned the following year to capture first in my age group in the sprint distance and then moved into the Olympic distance and blessed to keep capturing first in my age group."

Holland reflected. "My first race in Montauk, the weather turned Fort Pond into hefty wave after wave, and I thought I would be pulled into the Atlantic Ocean. I paused, regrouped — probably prayed. A volunteer asked me if I could finish and I remember that I had 10 marathons under my belt and I dug deep, recalibrated, and said, 'I have this," and swam to the first buoy and then the next."

She explained the mental component involved. "Just break down the hurdles of a triathlon, one event at a time. That’s what this sport is about, active management. There are challenges, you must pause, think, and persevere. One goal is how to make the disadvantages an advantage."

Holland explained that the mental test is to persevere, to take the discipline of her training, and finish. Now as an ambassador for the sport, she shares advice with her students.

One bit of advice: " You must show up for the race, for the exam, you have so much knowledge, so trust yourself." Then, she said, one must "recalibrate when an obstacle approaches," such as a dropped water bottle, or a new time zone.

For example, when The Mighty Man Montauk 2023 was canceled the swim was a staggered start, so she didn’t know where she was versus the competition. It was really a race against the clock, she said. In the end she was 16 seconds from third overall in the women’s Olympic race.

Having owned her Ditch Plains home for two decades she still recalls what got her out to Montauk.

"The men in the family use to go shark-fishing, so while doing an Amagansett 'summer share,' I had the opportunity to explore and visit Montauk. What hit me first was cresting over the hill and seeing the Montauk panorama that is still glorious for me, every time."

Her favorite Montauk Triathlon moment/ memory, she said, "is the time a special someone gave me an embroidered jacket to commemorate my first podium finish at the Mighty Man Montauk. I wore it last weekend and many times to come. It is my favorite color, Irish green. The sport has given me the opportunity to travel to new places and strength I didn’t know I had."