Making the Team: 2008

This round of Making the Team is described as perhaps the easiest of the rounds but in some ways I think it’s harder than the video contest. Illustrating your personality and commitment to the endurance sport community is a challenge for me.

I think my dedication to endurance sports illustrates one aspect of my personality very well. I think the best way to show your passion for something is how you apply yourself to it. Someone once told me what you consider important is what you make time for. Triathlon is something I definitely make time for.

I’ve been involved in endurance sports for over fifteen years and triathlon for ten. My typical schedule involves an early morning workout (high school swimming habit), another workout at lunch and a couple evenings a week I run with a group of friends. My dedication to training also appears when I travel. Whether it’s for work or pleasure some of the first items I pack are my running shoes and clothes. Training on the road helps me handle the stress of travel and has enabled me to find some beautiful places.

My commitment to the endurance sport community shows itself in my commitment to the people I meet and know and my involvement in my community. I am constantly encouraging and motivating people I know to try triathlons. Last year I helped five people train and complete their first triathlon. This year, four have already contacted me about doing another. When training with a group, I’m always willing to run with anyone just so everyone has someone since I know it’s easier to workout with a partner. At races I offer encouragement to everyone I know and even people I don’t know.

Another example of my commitment is my company relay team. For three years, I organized the relay team at work which involved making proposals to management for funding, recruiting participants and keeping everyone motivated and training. Each year we had eighteen people participate and only ten of those were runners.

In my community, I am a volunteer member of the city’s Transportation Commission. While it may not seem related to the endurance sports community, my work on the commission could have a big impact. Two years ago I was given the task of studying the feasibility of adding on-street bike lanes to the city’s transportation plan. This winter, the commission approved my plan for on-street bike lanes and it now goes to the city council for approval. My plan will connect my city and neighboring cities creating a network of bike lanes for cyclist and triathletes.
My wife and friends wonder why I keep applying but I think it’s just another aspect of my commitment to triathlon. Being a member of Evotri will give me the opportunity to reach and encourage more people to become triathletes.

Thanks for reading! If you think I should be the next fully-sponsored member of Team Evotri, please write down the URL of this web site and have it ready for voting when you click the EVOTE button below. Thank you!