Pumping It Up

Business Administration Graduate Goes the Distance

story by Sara Stanton '02
image by Jeanne Rice

Almost every morning while his wife and two children sleep, Ed Hays '89 (B.A. business administration-finance) leaves his West Covina home to prepare for his next Ironman competition by running, swimming or biking.

Regardless of the weather, Hays meets up with members of the Inland Valley Inferno Triathlon Club to share a two-hour outdoor regimen.

Daily workouts become more demanding once he decides to participate in a race, such as the October Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. Nine weeks before a competition, Hays follows strict dietary guidelines and adds additional running miles, as well as increasing his time in the pool and on the bike.

Medals are not the point. "It's not about victory. It's all about pushing myself," he says. Hays revels in the strength he gains from rigorous exercise, returning each morning before anyone wakes, knowing he already has cleared one hurdle at the dawn of a new day.

Challenges are a constant in Hays's life, and he has not forgotten those that students face. A staunch advocate for Cal State Fullerton's business administration program, Hays takes time away from his work as an attorney with the Irvine firm of Rus, Miliband & Smith to serve on the executive council of the College of Business and Economics. He also speaks before a business law class once a year as part of the college's Professor for a Day Program.

Wrestling, not business, drew Hays to Fullerton. "I had no idea of the quality education that one can get from Cal State Fullerton," Hays notes. Hidden value is why he concentrates his volunteer efforts on CSUF rather than on USC, where he earned his law degree in 1992. He credits Fullerton with teaching him to become a concise, accurate and prolific legal writer, giving him the skills necessary for his practice, where he specializes in business litigation and bankruptcy.

"I am always trying to promote and highlight the excellent reputation that the business college has," he says. "Everyone ought to be talking it up."

At the end of the day, Hays encounters the challenge of fatherhood.

"When I come home, my main focus is to say 'Tag - I'm it,' so my wife can do all of the things she wants to do," he says. "We read stories and put the kids to bed, then finally we can speak like adults."