2019 Member Spotlight – Loraine Heckenberg
What inspired you to do the Tour d’Afrique? The Tour D’Afrique has been a dream of mine since I found out about it around nine years ago. Africa is a place of incredible beauty and epic adventure – it easily captures the imagination. Since I love riding my bike and being outdoors, ...
2019 Member Spotlight – Ethan Lish
How did you get involved in triathlon? My start was through the DCTri NTP program. It was an excellent mechanism to move from runner to a triathlete What was your first triathlon? Our NTP goal race was the NJ State Triathlon, which is a triathlete friendly event. A great place to start. What is the....
2019 Member Spotlight – Jan Bauer
What was your first triathlon? My first triathlon was a sprint in Virginia. The swim was in an indoor pool because I have serious OWS fear that I’ve mostly learned how to control. I used a mountain bike with slicks because I wanted to wait until after the race to gauge my interest before dropp...
2019 Member Spotlight – Allison Nordberg
How did you get involved in triathlon? I came from a running background, but refused to run anything longer than 200 meters in high school, until I finally started doing a few 10k races after moving to DC after college. But I didn’t follow a training plan or train smart and ended up with injuries....
2019 Member Spotlight – Rebecca Auyer
What type of off road cycling do you do? This year I tried my first mountain bike races. I have a gravel race and a gravel crit coming up in August and a fall schedule packed with cyclocross. How did you get into off road cycling? I bought my first cyclocross bike in 2008 after....
2019 Member Spotlight – Hernando Herrera
How did you get involved in triathlon? A good friend quit smoking their 2-pack cigarettes and ran a 1/2 marathon about 6 months later. That prompted me to get off my lazy sofa and consider getting back in shape. I was never a great athlete and I get bored easily, so I figured I would....
2019 Member Spotlight – David Jiang
How did you get involved in triathlon? My brother asked me to do the Maryland Duathlon with him although he couldn’t make it the first year so I ended up doing it twice! I enjoyed it a lot and thought it would be fun to try adding swimming next. I found out about a DC....
2019 Member Spotlight – Erika Harris
How did you get involved in triathlon? I was introduced to triathlon through my mom and my younger sister. They had done a relay triathlon the previous year, and then I volunteered at the next super sprint they did while I was in PT for a torn rotator cuff. After I was cleared to swim,....
2019 Member Spotlight – Michele Mintling
How did you get into doing kayak support? It was sort of an accident, really. I met a Spin instructor at my gym who was involved with WaveOne. When he found out that I like to kayak, he said they were looking for extra support and then he connected me with Denis Crean. The WaveOne....
2019 Member Spotlight – Glenn Thomas
How did you get involved in triathlon? I started racing triathlons back in 2012 because I wanted really to learn how to swim. I was cycling regularly as well as running but I could not swim 25 yards without being totally gassed. I would go the pool and watch people swim what look to me....
2019 Member Spotlight – Michael Shipp
How did you get involved in triathlons? I initially got involved in triathlons after becoming a member of Team Red, White and Blue. After training with the local Philadelphia chapter and competing in running events, I wanted to push myself to try something new. From there, I began to train with othe...
2019 Member Spotlight – Victor Mccollum
How did you get involved in triathlons? It started as a Bucket List item, more specifically “Complete a triathlon by age 50.” Funny story, I joined a running group to casually start improving my running skills. One day before a run I overheard a woman (who appeared to be out of shape) talking ab...
2019 Member Spotlight – Martha Huizenga
How did you get involved in triathlons? I was a long distance swimmer in HS and College and started running in college as well. People always said I should do triathlon because I was a swimmer and most Triathletes aren’t swimmers. When I realized I couldn’t run 7 days a week anymore (aro...
2019 Member Spotlight – Sam Cretcher
How did you get involved in triathlons? I did a triathlon relay with classmates during grad school. I did the swim leg. Our team’s results were nothing to write home about, but I had fun and got a taste of that sweet, sweet triathlon culture. A couple years later I moved to DC, selling my....
2019 Member Spotlight – Jeff Halper
Dad, business type, Ironman: finding the balance and the fun Life, work, kids, illness, laziness, travel, injury, friends, hangovers … there’s always something. As much as you want to stay dedicated and focused on your training, it’s not always easy. Sure, some people are more structured...
2019 Member Spotlight – Juene Rader
What made you decide to join NTP (the New Triathlete Program)? A friend who did NTP last year recommended it. So I decided, why not. Did you have any background in any of the disciplines before joining? I’m in the Army, so I generally work out, but mostly running, push-ups, and sit-ups. I knew how...
2019 Member Spotlight – Kate Ahrens
How did you get involved in triathlons? I had a boss in my early 20’s who realized I loved running and had been a high school swimmer. He suggested I would probably do well in triathlon to which I replied “but I don’t want to deal with a bike!”… within a year he had fully....
2019 Member Spotlight – Sarah Lifsey
How did you get involved in triathlon? I started running because I wanted to get into better shape and I was very broke. It was the cheapest sport I could think of. When I moved to DC I bought a hybrid bike because I wanted to use it to commute. I’m not sure how I....
2019 Member Spotlight – Hugh Harris
How did you get involved in triathlons? When I was in the Army I used to swim and run a lot. A friend suggested that I should do a triathlon so all I needed was a bike. What was your first triathlon? My first triathlon was the Fort Devens (MA) Tri back in 1989. What....
2019 Member Spotlight – Jules Bilowich
What made you decide to join the New Triathlete Program (NTP)? Last year, I signed up for two “adventure races” on a whim – multisport races where the fourth discipline is orienteering through the woods to find the optimal route. I already loved being outside, getting muddy, and run...