A 60,000 piece puzzle? Bring it on, says this endurance junkie from Fort Worth
Simply put, Stephen Crea likes to do things in a big way.
Whether it’s competing in an Ironman event or solving a puzzle, if he’s going to undertake the challenge, it’s going to be huge.
So it should come as no surprise that the 32-year-old Crowley resident is working on what he said is the largest commercially available puzzle in the world, 60,000 pieces.
“Oddly enough, the largest puzzle I had completed before this was only 1,000 pieces. People that know me would not be shocked about that,” he said. “I’m an all or nothing kind of person and when I get into something, I find the biggest, craziest goal and go for it.
“Hence, why I wasn’t satisfied with just running for fun or doing some short races, I wanted to take on the biggest challenge possible, the Ironman.”
The puzzle is from the brand Dowdle, which is dedicated to producing puzzles based on paintings by the artist Eric Dowdle. He travels the world and learns about cities, then draws a picture that captures the highlights of the city all on one page. In this case, the picture of the puzzle is a map of the world and in the space where the ocean would be are highlights of places all over the world.
“From architecture, to lakes and mountains, deserts and plains, people doing activities, you name it. It’s a really cool way to learn about the world while puzzling,” Crea said.
Interest in puzzles
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, his grandmother always had a puzzle going at her house. It also became a tradition in his family that they would do puzzles together during Christmas and Thanksgiving.
“At some point, it was just known that my grandma would be getting puzzles as her Christmas present every year, and whenever I traveled I would look to get her a fun one of the place I went,” he said. “For example, I went to China during college and got her a puzzle of the Shanghai Tower.
“I always loved the challenge of putting pieces together. It was like a constant game of solving problems, and that’s how my brain worked.”
And on holidays a special puzzle was purchased and set out, his grandmother, Barbara Davids, remembered. As family arrived, young and old alike worked and created something together.
“There were great conversations, great humor as we shared the searching and placing,” she said. “Actually, this started with my mother for an activity at family gatherings for those who preferred not to watch sports games or who preferred to do both at once. Grandson Stephen was a part of these family times over growing up years to the present. He and I have enjoyed this activity over many years.”
Crea’s distance competition résumé includes one Ironman, one half Ironman, one Olympic distance triathlon, one marathon, one half marathon and several sprint triathlons.
Just as has done with puzzles, Crea worked himself up to his largest competitive athletic event of all. An Ironman consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run in that order, a total of 140.6 miles.
“You may be able to tell, but I have only done many of these one time and that’s because I did them as milestones in my training leading up to the Ironman,” he said. “Each one was a new accomplishment for me and kept me motivated for going to the next big goal.”
Former co-worker Andrew Bell said when Crea sets out to accomplish something, there’s little to nothing that can get in his way. A marathoner himself, he recalled when Crea became determined to compete in an Ironman.
“We were amid a time of rapid growth in the company, and delivering a particularly challenging project. It also happened to be the dead of winter in Buffalo, New York,” Bell said. “Despite the pressures in the project room, living out of a hotel room, and weather no one would dare to exercise in, Steven didn’t stray from his training plan.
“I greatly admire how Steven’s focus on these types of challenges is an integral part of his own life experience but also inspires others around him.”
Crea ran the Ironman at the end of 2019 and shortly after that COVID shut down all races, so he and the rest of the world weren’t able to compete for a while. Then, his son was born in the summer of 2020, so Crea took some time off from training to focus on his family (and getting sleep, he added with a laugh).
“After he got a little older I started doing some shorter races again,” Crea said. “As he gets older I plan to keep racing, maybe working up to an Ironman again someday, and be an inspiration to him so he knows he can do anything as long as he believes in himself.”
Puzzle showdown
Crea loves puzzles so much that he wants to share his excitement with others. He is hosting the first DFW Speed Puzzle Showdown June 22 at CERA (Corporate Employees Recreation Association), 3300 Bryant Irvin Road in Fort Worth.
The event is being billed as one of the top speed puzzling events in Texas. Participants will do exactly what the title suggests, solve puzzles as fast as they can, with prizes awarded to the top three finishers in each division.
Crea got the idea for his own contest when he competed in one for the first time in early February, the Texas Speed Puzzling Championship in North Richland Hills.
“He reached out shortly afterward with a desire to host his own event. I’ve hosted over 200 contests, so I guided him through the process of picking a venue, picking puzzles, etc.,” said John Cluff, co-founder of the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association in 2020.
Crea said the biggest reason he decided to host this event is community.
“Big goals are fun, but are way more fun with other people,” he said. “Big goals mean long journeys, and I’ve found that the journey is actually more fun than accomplishing the goal itself. My tagline is ‘The joy is in the journey.’
“The people you meet along the way are so special. Getting to learn their stories, what they’re overcoming, and their motivation is what bonds people, and you end up cheering for each other and encouraging each other along the way.”
Crea said both the triathlon community and puzzle community are very similar in this way. Everyone is in the race together, but it’s hard to say they compete against each other because everyone is for each other.
“This is what I want to see more of in the world, and when I was introduced to that in the speed puzzling that I participated in, I had so much fun so couldn’t help but raise my hand to create that same experience with an event of my own when the opportunity presented itself,” he said.
“I never knew competitive puzzling was a thing until I talked to Stephen, and it sounds like a great way to feed your competitive side for people of all ages,” said his friend Jason Hoskins.
Crea noted that speed puzzle competition is starting to boom, so for many people this will be their first speed puzzle competition and their first time being brought into what he called a vibrant community.
“I wanted to help make that happen. Who knows what positive change it could have on someone’s life?” he said.
However, Crea said he will be focused on hosting and won’t participate.
Crea would like to see the Speed Puzzle Showdown become an annual event. He’s even considering hosting another one in the fall due to the interest in this one.
“There are more and more smaller events popping up in local libraries and entertainment venues, but there’s not really any event as big as this that brings everyone together,” he said.
Crea said the tournament has folks from as far away as Houston, Lubbock, Waco and Tyler registered.
