With his children in high school and age 40 upon him, Craig Hersch had a reckoning: “I [was] getting old, and
I wanted to prove to myself I wasn’t beyond pushing myself physically,” he recalls.

So, with that in mind, the race was on—literally. Hersch, a partner and attorney with the Fort Myers-based law firm of Sheppard, Brett, Stewart, Hersch, Kinsey, & Hill, started running marathons, which he had never done before.

And he hasn’t let up. In fact, Hersch, now 55, not only has competed in dozens of races, but also has finished three Ironman triathlons, a grueling combination of distance running, swimming (in open water) and bicycling. As part of his training, he works out six times a week. Growing up, Hersch was a team swimmer, which has helped in that part of a triathlon. But, he admits, “I’m not the fastest guy.”

The pursuit of robust physical exercise also is motivated by his job. As a wills, trust and estates attorney, Hersch often works with retired clients who have moved from the North, where their once-hectic pace and lack of exercise has taken a toll on their health and appearance.

“We’re all so lucky to live in Florida,” says Hersch, a multiple graduate of University of Florida with accounting and law degrees. “You don’t look like you’re 85 when you’re 75.”