Train With Chris Lieto
- By Jené Shaw
- Published Jul 18, 2011
- Updated Jul 18, 2011 at 3:30 PM UTC
If you’re racing Ironman Louisville, Wisconsin, Florida or Arizona this year and have a good story to tell, you could win a training weekend with Chris Lieto and coach Troy Jacobson.
Don't worry, you don't have to be as fast as Lieto to enter. Photo: Jeff Kapic
The Ironman Ford Training Team is looking for Ironman athletes with stories about why they do Ironman, and winners have the chance to win a training package worth $2,500, plus recognition on the Ironman broadcast and website. If selected, an athlete and his or her guest will be invited to train with Lieto early next year. (Note: Coeur d’Alene and Lake Placid winners have already been chosen.)
Lieto, who’s currently living in Danville, Calif. and raced Vineman 70.3 this past weekend, says Ford is looking for interesting stories that everyone has about why they do Ironman. “All the stories we usually hear are on the extreme side, such as amputees and cancer survivors,” Lieto says. “Ford wanted to focus on not just an incredible story, but a story that everyone has. Everyone has a reason, a situation in their life or things they’re trying to balance. A working mother, stay-at-home single dad …they want to hear their story.”
And don’t worry about trying to keep up with the super-speedy cyclist—Lieto will be out of Kona mode by the time the training opportunity comes around in 2012. “I’ll be training, but I have the flexibility to enjoy a ride at a slower pace—I want to make the experience enjoyable,” he says. “The focus at that time will be about their training and how we can help and encourage them.
FILED UNDER: Kona 2011 / News TAGS: Chris Lieto
Jené Shaw
Jené Shaw is a senior editor at Triathlete magazine and a USAT Level 1 and USATF Level 1 certified coach.