I have not done one of these pieces for a while, but I run into the Griffeys now and then and recently learned about Nathan’s Ironman adventure. Nathan Calem Griffey, parents Kevin and Kelly, is one of the many Griffey kids (there are six of them). Nathan has a twin named Patrick. It was fun watching them grow up and the fourth Griffey, Abraham, recently graduated from CHS. Nathan was a very active CHS student and graduated in 2018. He was big into FBLA, band, tennis, and soccer and his church. Soccer has been a big sport for the whole family. With big brother Ben playing soccer it is hard to remember when the Clinton Cardinals did not have a Griffey on the team. I am told there is another one about to become a Cardinal. Nathan went to college at Evangel in Springfield majoring in Film and Broadcasting, with a minor in Psychology. He recently graduated with honors within the Film Department. Nathan said after a time, with no soccer, he missed athletics and pushing himself toward a goal. So, he started running. He built up to half marathons then full marathons then half Ironmans then he trained for a full Ironman. Remember, Ironmans are grueling, with 2+ miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, followed by a full marathon, (a total of 140.6 miles). He trained for seven months and off to ‘Ironman Texas’ for the big day. Nathan talked about the physical demands of doing an Ironman but he said the hardest part was pushing through the self-doubt. “Can I really do this?” He knew one of the Ironman slogans is “anything is possible” and he hung on to that. He said, “We should never put limits on ourselves.” Thinking back to CHS he said not only did his athletics help test himself, but so did FBLA. “FBLA helped me work on hard projects that I cared about and how to be professional.”
Nathan plans to live in Springfield and do freelance film work with an emphasis on Documentary Films. I imagine another physical challenge also awaits him. Thanks for sharing Nathan.
