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Kirk Nelson

 

Long ago, and far away...    in North Dakota...


Born and raised in small-town North Dakota, I competed in the only sports available while growing up: baseball, basketball, football, and track & field. "Ironman" and "triathlon" were for crazy people on TV who rode bikes with disc wheels and funny handlebars. Without a cross-country team, a swim team, or an active cycling community I had no exposure to, or concept of endurance sports. After playing college baseball at Concordia College for a season, I joined the cross-country team on a whim the following fall. I had been running a little since starting college trying to keep off the "freshman 15." Just seconds into my first ever cross-country race I had become hooked on endurance racing. I continued to run cross-country and track & field at Concordia until graduating in 2003.


I first got the idea of doing a triathlon following an overuse injury during my last season of track & field. To keep off the injury I cross-trained by swimming and riding my commuter bike. That summer I did my first ever triathlon, a small sprint in MN, and I've been a tri geek ever since! Since moving to Boulder, CO for graduate school - a Mecca for triathletes - I have become involved with the CU Triathlon Team and trained with Kevin Paladino of Coach Kevin Multisport in 2007.


While living in Boulder I have met and trained with an amazing community of athletes. The sport has changed my life in many ways including my career plans. My goals have shifted from becoming a college professor of chemistry to pursuing a career as a professional triathlete. I began racing professionally in 2006 with a focus on half-iron and full iron distance racing.


While sports have been an amazing and important part of my life, the relationships I have formed along the way have been even more satisfying. One relationship, the most important of all these, is that with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


Click here to read my testimony: www.trikirk.com