City of Residence?
Cottonwood Heights. It’s a great place to live and train. The Recreation Center has terrific pools, and access to Wasatch Drive for an early-morning bike ride is terrific. The one problem is you can’t get away from the hills. Last year I trained with a Joe Friel generic plan bought off training peaks. I’d like to see the triathlete who could keep his or her heart rate under 140 in any direction from my house! Ok, I really wouldn’t like to see them…it would just make me mad!
Occupation?
Weekend anchor and staff reporter at Fox 13 News.
I’ve been at the station for five years as of June and I’m holding down about my third job here. I started as a general assignment reporter and have migrated through the morning show to the weekend anchor slot. As a reporter, I cover politics more than anything else, but I also do some fun features. Recently, I’ve been back and forth to L.A. doing our interviews with “American Idol” finalists.
Years in Endurance Sports? (share a bit about your journey)
Can’t say I’ve been so consistent. I’ve been an avid runner since college (U of U from 90-94.) My first triathlon was organized among employees at Denali National Park in Alaska, where I worked at a little convenience store and campground. I wore a baggy swimsuit and sweatshirt through the whole race and road my mountain bike. I came in ninth (ten or 11 of us ran it). I ran my fastest 5k around this time…coming in at 20:33 and taking eleventh place in a field of about 140.
After college, my wife and I moved to southern California for graduate school. I studied theology by day and ran laps around the Rose Bowl at night. I ran the Seattle Marathon in 5:25 in 1998 (my sister was living in Seattle.) As you might expect, it was cold and wet, but at least there were lots of steep hills!
After graduate school in theology and then journalism, I moved to Palm Springs, working for the NBC affiliate there. While there I ran a couple of half marathons and a triathlon. My best half was the Palm Springs Half Marathon in 1:45.
I ran a sprint tri here and came in at 1:24–a good result for me, but an incredibly humbling race. It was a wave start and a lot of great pros used it as a training race, so I felt like I was standing still while the likes of Paula Newby Fraser raced past with an audible doppler effect. That was in 2001.
I kept training for tri and was signed up for my first Olympic tri, which would have happened two weeks after 9/11. That event, and the continuous news cycle that followed, blew my training and really my desire to train for some time.
I moved home to Utah in ‘02. I ran the Ogden Marathon in 3:56 in ‘03.
My little boy, Luke, was born in December 2003. Being Luke’s Dad is by far my most rewarding and demanding job. My wife Natalie is a clinical psychologist. As two working parents, we share parenting duties. The result for my health: I’ve gained about 50 pounds, which I’m still struggling to get rid of.
I decided to rededicate myself to fitness last year. Triathlon intrigues me more and struck my as a healthier “lifestyle” sport than just running. I have always been more comfortable in the water than on land, and time on the bike has become my favorite retreat from the normal stresses of life. Strangely for me, running is now my weak spot because of the excess weight.
Last season was a great start, just getting back into a routine. It was also humbling to be one of the last guys to park his bike in T-2 and to Run-Walk to the finish. I ran the Cache Valley Olympic, the Ogden X-terra Sport, and the Ogden Valley Olympic (Duathlon due to weather) last season.
In January this year, I ran the Carlsbad half-marathon in California.
I’ve been mostly running in the off-season. My goal is to not qualify as a Clydesdale by the end of the season. (No offense to Clydesdales. Some of them are amazing athletes in terrific shape. But I’m carrying fat, not muscle.)
Most Memorable Race?
That Ogden result was the product of long training. Coming in under four hours was a significant goal for me. It’s interesting when the question is about ‘memorable’ races, because I use the memory of that race as inspiration now. As an overweight, sleep-deprived dad, it’s encouraging to know I’ve done it before.
Most Challenging Moment in Endurance Sports?
Right now. Putting my goals alongside normal life demands makes this a difficult time to get in shape. Going to races knowing I’ll be the slow, fat guy is tough, but I enjoy it and I’ve never felt singled-out or put down by fellow racers!
How do you fit training into your journalism/family life?
It’s hard because I work nights, but 6-7:30am is my window for training. When my little boy stops taking naps, I’ll be in trouble! The simple fact is, I have to fit the training in. It’s a defining dichotomy…I’m out of shape because I love time with my wife and little boy and refuse to give it up, but I have to take the time to train because I love them. I want to live a long time and I want to provide an example of health and balance. So I may be the worst athlete to grace the pages of your magazine…but if I’m a middle-of-the-pack age grouper 20 years from now, I’ll be happy!
My little boy, Luke, was born in December 2003. Being Luke’s dad is by far my most rewarding and demanding job. My wife Natalie is a clinical psychologist. As two working parents, we share parenting duties. The result for my health: I’ve gained about 50 pounds, which I’m still struggling to get rid of.
I decided to rededicate myself to fitness last year and recently hired triathlon coach Jo Garuccio to help me out.
Triathlon intrigues me more and struck me as a healthier “lifestyle” sport than just running. I have always been more comfortable in the water than on land, and time on the bike has become my favorite retreat from the normal stresses of life. Strangely for me, running is now my weak spot because of the excess weight.
Last season was a great start, just getting back into a routine. It was also humbling to be one of the last guys to park his bike in T2 and to run/walk to the finish. I ran the Cache Valley Olympic, the Ogden Xterra Sport, and the Ogden Valley Olympic (Duathlon due to weather) last season.
In January this year, I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon in California.
I’ve been mostly running in the off-season. My goal is to not qualify as a clydesdale by the end of the season. (No offense to clydesdales. Some of them are amazing athletes in terrific shape. But I’m carrying fat, not muscle.)
Most Memorable Race?
That Ogden Marathon result was the product of long training. Coming in under four hours was a significant goal for me. It’s interesting when the question is about ‘memorable’ races, because I use the memory of that race as inspiration now. As an overweight, sleep-deprived dad, it’s encouraging to know I’ve done it before.
Most Challenging Moment in Endurance Sports?
Right now. Putting my goals alongside normal life demands makes this a difficult time to get in shape. Going to races knowing I’ll be the slow, fat guy is tough, but I enjoy it and I’ve never felt singled-out or put down by fellow racers!
How do you fit training into your journalism/family life?
It’s hard because I work nights, but 6-7:30am is my window for training. When my little boy stops taking naps, I’ll be in trouble! The simple fact is, I have to fit the training in. It’s a defining dichotomy…I’m out of shape because I love time with my wife and little boy and refuse to give it up, but I have to take the time to train because I love them. I want to live a long time and I want to provide an example of health and balance. So I may be the worst athlete to grace the pages of your magazine…but if I’m a middle-of-the-pack age grouper 20 years from now, I’ll be happy!
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