If Peter Nickles seems a bit macho at work, consider what he does in his off hours.

He has run at least 40 marathons from New Zealand to Dublin. He’s completed an additional 20 triathlons — including Hawaii’s notorious Ironman and two Ultraman races. He swims several miles per day. He has flipped his bikes at least twice and nearly drowned several times. The price of his sporting life: back surgery, the cartilage in his knees and, more times than he likes to admit, his dignity.