Age: 26
Favorite Food: My mom’s homemade turkey soup.
Preferred Race Distance:Lately, my favorite distance has been the Sprint distance, only because I haven’t been putting in the training time for the Olympic. When I am at my peak racing condition, I prefer the Olympic distance.
Number of years racing:Seven, if you count biathlons (swimming and running). I’ve been racing in triathlons for five years.

How has training been an outlet for you during the rough times of life?
Training has always been a stress relief for me, but recently times have been rough, so training has become my outlet to the world. Let me explain. My husband was diagnosed with bone cancer in December of 2005. Two weeks later he broke his leg at the site of the tumor. During this difficult time of taking care of him and two small children, training has been one of my only “escapes”. I seem to be able to handle long days of being the caregiver with much more ease than I would without training. Training has also become a great social escape for me as well. I converted four of my friends to the sport of triathlon, and they in turn got their husbands to do it with them. Between the nine of us, I rarely do a training session solo. These early morning training sessions are usually the only social interaction that I get during the day.

How has triathlon affected your family?
Our friends training for triathlons decided to be a support for my husband, Rusty. We showed our support for him in his “race” against cancer, as we were doing our own race (St. George Triathlon). We surprised him by wearing matching racing jerseys with “Rusty’s Roadcrew” printed on them during the race. Rusty was so touched by their concern and love. He thinks of his “Roadcrew” often. Triathlon has also affected our family because the triathlon usually becomes our family vacation. Last year we vacationed in St. George, Moab, Jordanelle, and Burley.

How do you fit training into your busy schedule?
I train in the morning before the rest of my family wakes up. I know that if I don’t get it done at that time, I won’t have the chance to do it any other time.

What is your strongest triathlon discipline?
Swimming. I swam competitively since I was 10 years old. I’m usually one of the first out of the water and then hope that not too many people catch me on the bike and run.

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