I was never a competitive athlete growing up, and in my adult life I like to refer to myself as "socially active." I did some rec soccer and hiking, lifted kettlebells, and ran the occasional turkey trot, but nothing consistent or competitive. My then 8-year-old asked me to swim laps together to help them practice for their YMCA swim team, and it turned out to be a lot harder than I remembered from my swimming experiences as a child. I took some lessons from the swim team coaches, one of whom had just completed an Ironman, and despite not running or even owning a bike, they convinced me to give triathlon a try. So, in October 2016, at the age of 45, I began this amazing triathlon journey.

I've done local sprint triathlons to full distance Ironman events. When injuries forced me out of running for a while, I switched to aquabike competitions (swim/bike). I represented Team USA at worlds twice for long distance aquabike, with a top 10 age group finish in 2022 in Slovokia. I've raced at venues across the US and internationally. No matter your interest, there's an endurance competition out there to challenge us.

All of my full distance Ironman events have happened after the age of 50, so any age is a good age to start triathlon! Now I coach as well as compete so I can give back and help others chase their endurance sport dreams.