All-Weather Athletes Leave the Winter Behind
For some people, the off season means hot, miserable weather, no snow, and no snowboarding or skiing. For others, there is no off season. As soon as the snow stops falling, another sport crops up. The weather means no difference to these athletes; as long as they’re on the move, they’re happy.
Name: Emily Hutson
Age: 21
Hometown: Littleton, Colo.
Sport of Choice: Biking, Running, Swimming (in other words, Triathlons!)
For Emily Hutson, student, Colorado State University, the off-season does not make a huge difference. As a self-proclaimed “all weather rider” she rides her bike everywhere she goes all in the spirit of training. Even though Hutson enjoys snowboarding during the winter (Loveland is her favorite resort) swimming and running have always been part of her everyday life.
Hutson (in blue jacket) approaches the transition area at the Collegiate National Championship Triathlon in Lubbock, Texas
Throughout high school, Hutson was part of the track and swim teams, but it wasn’t until recently that she picked up biking. In September 2009, Hutson and a friend saw an ad for Tri-Club, and decided to go for it, “I wanted to get back into swimming because it’s hard to swim alone and swimming with a group is a lot more fun,” said Hutson of joining Tri-club.
Saturday April 17, 2010, was the first triathlon that Hutson did with the Tri-Club. The Colorado based team traveled down to Lubbock, Texas, for the Collegiate National Championship and Olympic Qualifying Triathlon. Though the swimming part of Hutson’s race was canceled due to bad weather making it a biathlon, Hutson placed 115 out of 200 racers. “I’m not really competitive. I don’t really care about my time like most people do, I just do it for fun,” says Hutson.
Though the Texas Triathlon didn’t quite go as planned, Hutson looks forward to Colorado based races such as “Tri for the Cure” and “Danskin”, this summer. With a newly purchased road-bike and a CSU Triathlon suit, Hutson is ready for more racing and can see triathlons being a lifelong sport, if only as a leisure activity.
LISTEN TO EMILY HUTSON’S PODCAST
Name: Matthew Kiley
Age: 21
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Sport of Choice: Wakeboarding
For Lancecorpreal Matthew Kiley, stationed in San Diego, Calif., snow is a rare occurrence. In order to quell his need for speed and to attain that special rush of snowboarding, Kiley has turned to wakeboarding.
Each weekend, Kiley tries to make it to the boardwalk to skateboard with his friends and if he gets the chance, he’ll get on a boat to wakeboard. The Colorado native began wakeboarding in 2005 during a family vacation to Lake Powell and has continued with the sport throughout high school and three years into his enlistment. “I do it because I like the challenge and adrenaline rush. Every time I get on [the wakeboard] I try something new and I push myself to get better,” says Kiley of the sport.
The Colorado native tries to make it home for a few weeks each summer and when he does, boating and wakeboarding are at the top of his list, just behind visiting family. Often times, as soon as he has stepped off the plane, a boating trip is in store and Kiley gets to try out some new tricks. Horsetooth Reservoir and Green Mountain Lake are two of Kiley’s favorite Colorado lakes, but he can’t help reminiscing about Lake Powell and Lake Havasu, trips that rank the highest on his “favorites” list. “At Lake Powell, I got to wakeboard at night by the full moon. The water was really still and the lake looked really cool. That is by far my favorite time wakeboarding” says Kiley.
With two years remaining on his contract, Kiley knows the time he gets to spend wakeboarding will remain far and few between. Though he doesn’t know what he’ll be doing after his contract is up, most likely college, he knows he’ll have to relocate somewhere that he can wakeboard and snowboard, preferably in the same season.
Name: Andrew Shelton
Age: 22
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Sport of Choice: Rock Climbing
One of the reasons Andrew Shelton, student, Colorado State University, chose to go to college in Colorado was his love for snowboarding. Each season Shelton usually gets his money’s worth out f his ski pass, but as the snow begins to melt, snowboarding is replaced with another adrenaline pumping activity, rock climbing.
“I like to rock climb because of the adrenaline rush, I just get a happy feeling,” Shelton says. With climbing gyms on the rise, four in Fort Collins alone, Shelton has an array of places to fix his climbing craving. As the weather gets warmer and the days longer, Shelton prefers to climb outside and with state parks and reserves nearby, Shelton is not disappointed.
Though climbing has proven to be a great outdoors activity for Shelton, he believes it serves more than one purpose. “It [climbing] builds confidence, in tying knots and belaying, but also in personal strength” says Shelton, referencing the people he’s coached in climbing. The sport doesn’t just fulfill physical vanity, but it nurtures the soul too.
May is just the beginning of the outdoor climbing season, and Fort Collins being a hotspot for climbing, Shelton knows it’s going to be a great summer. With attractions such as Horsetooth Reservoir, Poudre Canyon, The Palace, Grey Rock and Rocky Mountain National Park just minutes away, there is no longing for snowboarding and the winter snow can wait.
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