| Endurance Sports Biography |
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I began endurance sports in high school. Too slow to be a sprinter, I joined the distance runners on my high school track team. While I was not a standout, I enjoyed the training and the process of trying to make myself go faster. After watching highlights of the Tour de France on television I ventured into cycling. While it was not as much of a fringe sport as it had been, cycling wasn't mainstream in the middle of the 1980s. I loved the riding and soon took up racing. What a shock that was. While I never excelled at track or cross country, I wasn't bad. Bike racing was another story. No one who wasn't an excellent rider seemed to show up at the races. I did a few races with a guy who would later be in the Tour de France and hold the record for the fastest time up a prestigious mountain in France, even going faster than Lance up this particular climb. This guy and many of the others who raced juniors in New Mexico at the time were a world apart from me. I kept showing up at the races for awhile only to realize that getting thrown out the back of the pack very quickly just was not that fun. I soon realized that it was important to do what I enjoyed about cycling and I journeyed around my home state of New Mexico on my bike. I kept riding through college. After moving to downtown Chicago for graduate school, which proved to be a hard place to ride a bike, I decided that I should try running again. As an adult, I took to it well and within a year I ran my first marathon. It was a great experience! I was hooked and picked up the mileage in an attempt to get much faster. I did just that the following year and ran almost 30 minutes quicker in my second marathon than I had in my debut. I had also removed all the things I enjoyed about the training and racing while trying to get faster. I finished that marathon and realized I needed a change. Triathlon seemed a great choice. Since taking up triathlon I have raced at every distance from sprint to Ironman. While training for these races, however, I never forgot the lessons I learned as a burned out marathoner . Training is supposed to be fun. At times I have done things I didn't enjoy. That work has been important to my improvement. So has the joy I find in rolling along on my bike on a warm summer day or running along trails amidst mud and hills. I have become successful at working out compromises between doing what I love and am good at and addressing my racing weaknesses. These tradeoffs require a good deal of thought and dialogue. As a coach, I think this is one of my greatest strengths. I understand that training and performance requires sacrifices, yet endurance training can't all be about sacrifice, it has to be fun. Coach Jason's Athletic Accomplishments Triathlon Running Cycling |
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Coach Jason is a member of this group. The PCC brings the latest exercise science research and performance monitoring software to multisport coaching. |
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Dig It Triathlon and Multisport will be offering clinics for several of the |
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Tri-Power Training A collaborative website aimed to broaden knowledge among multisport athletes and coaches about using power based training to its fullest capacity. |
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August 31 At Ironman Louisville, Noelle does a great job on a hot and windy day in Kentucky. Noelle backed up a good swim and bike with solid run. Crossing the finish line with a smile on her face, Noelle showed how to get it done. Nice job, Noelle.
August 10 At the ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships in Geel, Belgium, pro Justin Hurd, who Jason consults with on training, put in a great performance to finish 5th overall. In a perfect job of pacing, Justin ran, biked and ran with the best in the world. Way to go Justin!
Coach Jason was in action at the Town Hall Team Time Trial with 3 others from his bike racing club. The Birchwood Aged team might not have won, but we had fun.
August 2 At the Full Vineman in California, Dig It athlete Scott completes his Ironman dream with a solid debut race on a hot day. Awesome performance Scott! July 12 The Graham Beasley Duathlon was a huge success for Bryan with a 2nd place in his age group and a 10th place overall. Great job Bryan!
July 6 At the Lake Steven's 70.3, Jill continued her great long course progress with a PR. Way to go Jill! Dig It was a sponsor of the Duluth Duathlon. Coach Jason was there along with Todd enjoying a steamy day of running, biking and running again on the shores of Lake Superior. Here Team Dig It poses for a picture at the official Dig It Triathlon water station.
June 26 Coach Jason is headed to ITU Duathlon Worlds in Rimini, Italy in September after qualifying at the Apple Duathlon in May. June 14 A great day at the Liberty Triathlon today as Noelle, Jill, Scott and Josh show their on track for long course success later this summer. Way to go guys!
Here Coach Jason and Jill hang out after the race.
April 27 At the US National Duathlon Champs, Francois culminated his spring campaign with a 3rd place in the 35-39 age group. On a rainy and tough day in Richmond, Francois was solid across the board, yeah baby!
The 35-39 podium, with Francois on the right.
April 19-21 These few days were no doubt one of the best weekends ever for Dig It athletes. At Ironman China, new pro Justin Hurd who Coach Jason has been consulting with, raced through really tough conditions to finish 5th overall and earn a Pro slot to Ironman Hawaii. RuthAnn won her age group at a half marathon, Trey was 2nd in his age group at the Louisiana Triathlon at New Roads and Faith finished her first Boston Marathon.
April 5 Coach Jason joins the USA Triathlon National Duathlon Committee. January 19-20 Coach Jason enjoyed a weekend in northern New Jersey at the PhysFarm workshop on Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics.
January 1 Coach Jason joins the PhysFarm coaching consortium. This group is dedicated to applying cutting edge exercise physiology and training software to use for all athletes. The newest software developed by PhysFarm, RaceDay, proves itself as a great tool for multisport athletes.
December 12 Coach Jason now a USA Cycling Level 2 coach. Clinic in November was great and Jason learned some cool stuff and is ready to bring it to use with you. November 25 Check out the newest edition of Midwest Events magazine for Coach Jason's article, "Spending for Speed."
October 6 Coach Jason wins the inaugural Kickin' Leaves Duathlon in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The new race had a small field but a great course. Hope everyone can make it there next year.
Jason poses with bike and trophy at home after the race.
2007 Dig It News A full account of Dig It news from 2007 and early 2008 can be accessed on our latest news page, with archived links at the bottom.
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