Coaches
Ben has been racing triathlons since 1989. Over the years he has competed in all distances from sprint to ironman. A lover of the sport Ben has made triathlon his career and works full time as a triathlon coach and as consultant for TYR Sport where he looks after their interests at the North America Ironman and 70.3 events. With a degree in sport and exercise science and nineteen years of racing and training under his belt, Ben is well qualified to co-ordinate the team workouts and help guide team members through their next event.
Chris Whyte
Athletes
Ethan grew up playing many sports including soccer, baseball, skiing, water polo and even fencing. However, at a young age he found an affinity for swimming. After high school he had the options of pursuing a college swimming career or moving with his parents to Australia. It seemed like an easy choice but after a year of being a beach bum Ethan realized he needed an athletic pursuit in his life and, after hearing of a local triathlon series, decided to give it a go. He bought a bike and started riding and running and hasn’t looked back since! Ethan’s goals include racing to the best of his ability and representing the United States on an international level.
Gerry MarvinGerry didn’t come from an athletic background, picking up cycling in college as a convenient way to get around. Intrigued by the idea of triathlon he did his first just after graduating in June of 2006 and immediately caught the bug and did his first half iron man before seasons end.
2007 saw Gerry complete 2 early season Half Ironmans in Wildflower and Lake Stevens with plans to race his first Ironman before falling victim to a training accident during the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic where he was struck by a car breaking his back in 3 places.
Able to start training again in January of 2008, Gerry was driven to complete his goal from only a year ago and competed at the 2008 Oceanside 70.3 to secure a slot for Ironman Canada. Other 2008 highlights included Lake Stevens 70.3 and completing the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic that had stifled him the previous year.
2010 was a breakthrough year for Gerry with many solid race performances including an over 1 hour PR at Ironman Canada (9:40:12) securing his first trip to the Ironman World Championship in Kona.
2011 races include Wildflower long course, Vineman 70.3, Lake Stevens 70.3, and Ironman Coeur D'Alene with the goal of returning to the Kona Ironman.
Charles began running in high school and decided to join the DI and DII ranks in collegiate cross country and track where he was a 3 year captain and 2 time academic all-american (pr's include 15:52 5k, 33:01 10k, 4:12 1500m). He also helped to coach the St. Andrews men's cross country team to a DII national championship in 2005 and shortly thereafter decided to pick up cycling as a way to stay in shape.
In 2007 Charles did his first triathlon, first Ironman (Switzerland) and by the end of the year claimed his first overall win. In 2008 Charles moved to Seattle where he has yet to finish out of the top 5 overall in a local triathlon/duathlon.
2011 priority races include Wildflower olympic (5/1), Hawaii 70.3 (6/4), TriMonroe (5/26) Rev3 Portland (7/10), and S.F. Alcatraz (8/20) with the goal of earning the coveted pro card this year and qualifying for Kona.
Eddie took up triathlon after a long competitive swimming career during which he won two Washington State high school titles, swam at the University of Arizona and competed at Junior Nationals, US Open and US Nationals. Wanting to expand his athletic horizons, Eddie competed in a few local triathlons in Arizona before taking a break from competition to focus on his career in investment management. However, after nearly four years off from any major training or racing, his competitive spirits got the best of him, leading him to start training for triathlon again in 2010. While he was plagued by injuries last season, he did place in the top five of some local triathlons (coming out of the water first in every one) and won several open water races. He’s looking forward to the 2011 season, which will be his first with serious training and coaching. Focus races include Wildflower Olympic, Tri Monroe, TriRock Seattle and Pacific Grove.
Erin HeardErin was born and raised in Australia, where she started swimming at age 10. Erin competed in several short triathlons throughout high school, although did not take up the sport seriously until 2007 as a way to keep active while at university. After competing at numerous local races, in 2009 Erin stepped up to compete in some national level races and subsequently qualified to represent Australia at the 2009 ITU World Triathlon Championships in her age group for the olympic distance event. In 2010, Erin relocated to the Seattle area and competed in several local short course races (and even claimed some overall wins), as well as her first 70.3 event at Lake Steven’s where she placed 2nd in her age group and 29th overall. Erin’s planned races for the 2011 season include the Cairns Half at the inaugural Challenge Cairns (in Australia) on June 5th and the Lifetime Fitness Chicago Triathlon on August 28th. She also plans to race numerous local short course events throughout the summer.
Lilia has always been athletic having tried herself in acrobatics, martial arts and rock climbing throughout high school and college. She got into endurance sports during her senior year in college when she ran the Denver Marathon in 2003 and got a little bit obsessed. Lilia proceeded to run 5 marathons over the next year which led her to a stress fracture and the purchase of her first bike. She completed her first triathlon the following summer in 2005 and followed it with a half ironman at the end of the season. She continued pursuing her passion for the sport throughout graduate school in the beautiful Colorado Front Range. After she moved to Seattle for a job with Microsoft, she was excited to find a vibrant multisport community in the Pacific North West. Lilia finished 4th in her age group at her first Ironman – Coeur D’Alene 2009 – which was good enough for a Kona slot. After completing Ironman Hawaii in the same year, Lilia decided to focus on the 70.3 distance in 2010. She completed five half ironman races last season with a 4:42 PR for the distance. She placed on the podium in three of them and finished 27th in her age group at the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater. Lilia’s planned 2011 races include Wild Flower Long Course and Ironman Coeur D’Alene with the goal of qualifying for Kona again.
In high school Johnna competed in X-C and track. Her senior year she won individual 4a King County championships, competed in the Junior Olympics with her team taking 2nd place nationally, and placed 5th in state running a 5:12 for the mile. A friend talked Johnna into trying out for the University of Washington crew team, which landed her in the first boat and winning the Pac-10 championship. After her freshman year of
collegiate sports Johnna switched gears to focus on school and her career. After graduation, in 2005 Johnna joined an San Francisco based running team and that year notably running a personal best 3:13 Nike San Francisco Marathon, 1:29 Seattle Half Marathon, 4 mile Fitness Magazine 23:52. After a break in competition, in 2008 Johnna and her husband Ryan decided to jump on the triathlon band wagon and have been hooked ever since. Notable Accomplishments from 2010: 1st Place Overall Ocean Shores Half Ironman,1st Place Overall Mt Rainier Long Course Duathlon, 3rd Place Overall Seafair Sprint Triathlon, 3rd Place Overall Onionman Olympic Triathlon. Planned 2011 races include: Honu 70.3, Rev 3 in Portland, and Ironman Canada; with the goal of doing her best in all of her races.
In 2005 Kara entered the sport of triathlon by accident. Having grown up on the east coast playing soccer, ice hockey and lacrosse, she had never heard of triathlon until her friend asked her to come to Bellingham to watch her race the Lake Padden tri. The morning of the race, Kara grabbed her bike and decided to bring it to help with spectating out on the course. After feeling the energy at the race and giving into the peer pressure of her friend, she decided to give the race a try. After borrowing some goggles and a cap from the race coordinators Kara jumped in. After her first open water swim, bike ride in the rain, and run through the muddy trails of Lake Padden (and surprising third place finish,) Kara had found her passion. In 2007 Kara started to take the sport more seriously (when she finally learned how to do the crawl stroke instead of the breast strokeJ) and found her favorite distance with the half ironman. Kara has been named an All American triathlete since 2007. In 2009 she was the 3rd overall amateur at the Lake Stevens 70.3, 12th in her age group at the 2009 Clearwater World Championships and finished 2nd overall amateur female at the Wildflower Long course in 2010. She finally decided to give the Ironman distance a try in 2010 with Ironman Canada where she finished 6th in her age group following a disappointing bike mechanical issue. In 2011 Kara will focus on Wildflower and Ironman Coeur De Alene followed up with a few of her favorite half ironman races and local sprints. Kara loves the sport for the personal challenge it brings of always trying to better last year’s time and for the amazing friends that she has met along the way.
Graeme Roche
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