USA Triathlon National Championships

Last summer, I competed in the Culpeper Triathlon and placed 3rd in my age group. While winning a bronze medal was amazing, the best surprise came a couple weeks later. I got an email inviting me to compete in the USA Triathlon National Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in August of 2026. I started training for the competition in late spring by running and biking along with my swim practices.

Some days were rewarding, while others were much less satisfying. There were swim practices I barely made it through, steep hills I had to bike over, and runs that left me sore all over. The most challenging part was working on my endurance. My runs couldn’t just be 3 miles, even though the run portion of the triathlon was 3 miles. Since the run comes after 10+ miles of biking, I had to account for how tired I would be, leading to 5-6 mile training runs. Over time, I started to notice improvements. I became more comfortable with pacing myself and trained hard by running on routes with hills.

Competing at Nationals in Milwaukee was different from any triathlon I had been to before. The sheer number of competitors was amazing. I met many young competitors like myself. Many competitors started as swimmers just like me. Before the race, I was nervous, but I had fun chatting with the other competitors and shared stories about how we trained and prepared for the competition.

The race itself was difficult, especially because there were details about the course that weren’t obvious on the map. I hoped that the water in Lake Michigan would be cleaner and cooler than the Potomac River near my house. But, the minute I jumped into the water, I immediately realized the water was so cloudy I couldn’t even see the swimmers right next to me! Nonetheless, it was very exciting to swim against so many amazing athletes! The bike route was along the beautiful lake. The hardest part was a surprisingly steep highway ramp that seemed endless as I pedaled my bike up.

By the run, I was hot, tired, and hungry, but I knew I had to give it my all. My swim coach’s words replayed in my mind throughout the run. He always said that if you were going all out at the finish, you didn’t put in enough effort in the middle of the race. Needless to say, I definitely gave the race my all. Crossing the finish line was surreal as I got my medal and had water shoved into my hands. Simply qualifying for Nationals was amazing, but the most important part of the experience was learning that improvement is gradual. I would love to compete again next year!