I distinctly remember Steve posting a Kona race report at one point and he had negative split the marathon. That just blew my mind. Still does, really.

Didnt know him personally, but super sad to see someone in the prime of life go in such a way. I have too many stories just like this in my circle, go and get your skin checked people. Lets use this tragedy to do something good and positive, this kind of cancer is no joke, and prevalent among our cohort here..

Had one friend go because of a mole between his toes he never even knew about for a long time. This stuff can pop up anywhere and is very treatable if caught early...

I found Steve thanks to Slowtwitch.

We worked together for ten years, beginning in the Fall of 2013. I podiumed in Kona and at the 70.3 WC’s many times under his smart and challenging guidance.

He had such a positive attitude and big plans for 2024.

It’s impossible to express how devastating his passing is to me and of course to all the loved ones he leaves behind.

Natalie

Such a bummer. Did not know him personally, but his posts were always on-point and he was clearly among the folks who knew what they were talking about. RIP

My Paternal grandfather died from the same thing.

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Let food be thy medicine...

Steve was a really good dude. I enjoyed collaborating with him over the years. My condolences to his family, friends and athletes.

Phil

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Dr. Philip Skiba
Scientific Training for Endurance Athletes now available on Amazon!

Sad to hear the news. He coached me for a year or two around 2019. Super helpful guy, friendly, and it was always great to see him up at the Boulder reservoir. He was incredibly knowledgable and helped me make the jump to the pointy end of AG racing

Like everyone else, I'm just completely devastated by this. Steve was my coach from 2011 to 2016 and I had recently reached out to him to start working together again. I talked to him just a few days before things went south and he was doing fine. This was totally unexpected.

He was one of the good guys. Hard working. Smart. Understood right and wrong. And turned out very fast athletes.

He will be sorely missed.

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Jason
None of the secrets of success will work unless you do.

Thanks for sharing this news as devastating as it is. Great to see some of his athletes come and post on here. I met him at Kona 2012 when I was volunteering at the finish line. He has an impressive finish. I enjoyed his posts over here on this forum. Bummer to leave a young family behind when not even 50. Prayers for his kids and partner at this time.

Steve coached me for a few years several years back, right up until I stepped away from the sport.

He was an incredible coach, and taught me a lot about what it takes to achieve your potential as an athlete and the brutally difficult work that goes into it. I had abundant motivation but no guidance before I worked with him, and he taught me how to train both intelligently and intensely.

He's going to be missed. I know I'm but one of many that he had a huge impact on! Rest In Peace Steve..thank you for everything. I'll get a few miles in tonight for you. All my best to his family, I can't imagine what they're going through.

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"Don't you have to go be stupid somewhere else?"..."Not until 4!"

Last week, a buddy of mine, fellow triathlete, passed away at 56 from cancer. Really sad to read about Steve. I didn't know him, but his posts were always meaningful and his results amazing. May he rest in peace and a thought for his family and friends

Thank you for posting this. I was told of his passing by another coach, and it hit me pretty hard last month. He will certainly be missed in the triathlon space.

I was Steve's first 'sponsored' athlete back in 2013, when he started doing free coaching for one athlete each year. He was awesome to deal with as a coach. Although I only met him once in person, when I visited Denver for a wedding, I feel like I knew him quite well. I loved following him in his races, and cheering him from afar. He grew up near me in Mass, and I know he was a big fan of the 'Sox.

Is there any sort of GoFundMe like page for his family?

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Thanks for posting. I met Steve in 2011 via this forum and he coached me 2012 off and on through October, 2021. I had been in close touch with Steve throughout his diagnosis and treatment. The last time I had checked in with him was mid-October. I was about to check in with him again this week until I found out just this past Sunday, that he had passed. So I am personally just dealing with this news.

I remember when he sponsored you for a year of coaching! Edit to add: and if I remember correctly, in just that 1 year he got you agonizingly close to a Kona spot, missing it by 7 seconds?

I asked the same question about a GoFundMe for his family. His two boys are really young. As an aside, yes he was a big baseball fan and in the summer of 2021, prior to his diagnosis, took his two sons on a big summer tour of the major baseball stadiums and attending games. I haven't seen anything about a GoFundMe. I will check into it further and post back.

Yes, there is. https://www.gofundme.com/...;utm_source=facebook

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

THANK YOU SO MUCH! for finding this and posting this!!!!

Agreed. Thank you so much for posting this.

I have been at a bit of a loss for words since this happened. I was coached by Steve for the better part of 10 years and we had grown fairly close over the last few years. I live in Boston and would catch up with him while he was in town for treatments, etc as he was flying back and forth from CO. It was very sudden that things took a turn for the worse and ill never forget sitting on the trainer when I got the update. He really was an amazing coach and person and as many have said, had a lot of big plans for 2024. Anything and everything I have learned about this sport was from him. I hope to be able to carry it forward in the years to come.

I am just bumping this thread, now that Ryan has posted a Gofundme link to help out Steve's boys and Traci.

Yes - you got the story correct. 7 seconds that I thought about for several years. Finally made it to Kona in 2019, and a big reason was Steve's guidance in the two years that I worked with him - I took a lot of the principles he taught and incorporated them into my training. I'm glad the GoFundMe was posted.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Just replying to the last post in this thread. Largely my view on time on this earth is the imprint we leave on those around us, or what they carry forward once we are gone (we're all gonna go at some point).

So today I was searching for some vides on rowing technique and stumbled upon an entire set from "DarkHorse Rowing". I assume I spent an hour in the trainer with Steve, explaining to me how to row better. Then I got off the trainer and hit the rowing machine for 20 minutes using the advice from the series.

So assuming we are talking about the same guy, thanks for that free coaching. One point he made was to spend 80% of time in the first two months on form and technique and not worry too much about intesity and volume (for those of us who have decent engines from other sport would be easy to really overdo it with bad form).

And if it is a totally different Dark Horse Rowing guy, well, with the rowing background that Steve had, let me know if there are two parallel rowing Dark Horse people and one ended up in triathlon.

Edit: I see there is a completely different dark horse guy in the rowing video world (Shane Farmer)....go figure.

Dev

Wow! Just seeing this now - well after the fact!

Sorry to hear about this very sad news.

I had met Steve in Kona, at a couple of Coaching Conferences, and exchanged comments a number of times on Coaching and Training related matters on Twitter/X. I knew that Steve was battling some form of Cancer, but had no idea that it was this bad!

Super nice guy. HUGE loss I am sure to his local Triathlon Community in Boulder and further abroad! :-(

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Just bumping this thread with the GoFundMe link for Steve's 2 very young boys and Traci. The organizers announced they will be closing the GoFundMe this week.

https://gofund.me/3d243169

Thanks to all who have donated and who have shared your thoughts here.