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Age: 39
Occupation: Owner of Planet Smoothie
From: Hilton Head Island
Like so many others, Alison Yurco was at first a bit intimidated at doing a triathlon.
But then someone broke it down for her.
All a triathlete does is run, swim and bike. Granted, the events are many miles of running, swimming and cycling, but when she thought of it as just the activities it comprises, the triathlon seemed doable.
"These are lifelong activities," she said. "Anybody can do it."
And for the past five years or so, Yurco has discovered she can do it, too.
The Hilton Head Island resident runs, swims or bikes just about every day, frequently competing in triathlons across the South. She belongs to the Hilton Head Island Tri club, a newly formed group established to help fellow triathletes compete.
At first, the single mother thought she just wouldn't have the time between raising her three school-age children and running her own business. But just like she broke down the mystique of the triathlon itself, she's also broken down the intimidation of being a mother, a business owner and a triathlete.
THE TRI CLUB
The Hilton Head Tri Club started in January and quickly expanded to more than 60 members. The group was formed to support an already burgeoning local interest in triathlon events. Members get together for morning swims, evening bike rides, weekend events and monthly socials, where guest speakers come and share their expertise on everything from training to nutrition. Members range from parents to retirees in their golden years. Some compete in Iron Man triathlons, others in less intense events. But the attitude is the same for each -- set your goal and achieve it.
Yurco is a relative newcomer to the triathlon, compared with other members of the group who have been training for decades. But she's at the point now where younger members seek her for advice.
"Everybody has everybody's back in the club," she said.
TRAINING
Yurco was going to a gym on Hilton Head when she decided she didn't just want to be a fitness buff -- she wanted to be an athlete again. She had played soccer in college and joined rec teams locally, but the sport took a toll on her body.
She started getting more involved in bike races and marathons and combined it with a swim to officially compete in her first triathlon. She entered in the Go Tri Sports annual Beach Bun Triathlon on the island, consisting of a 500-meter swim, six mile bike ride and a three mile beach run. From there, she started upping the difficulty.
Now, she's about to start training for a half-Iron Man next year -- a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. She starts her 36-week training regime next week. She'll spend an hour and a half of just about every day on the road, pool or path, whether that's with an organized Tri Club practice or on her own with her unofficial coach, a friend in the club. By the time she gets closer to the event, she figures she'll be spending some days training four or five hours.
Add that onto her weekly yoga classes, a means to keep both her body and mind healthy, and it can add to a full schedule. Time can be a challenge to fit in training, but due to her flexible hours at her business, Planet Smoothie, which sells healthy fruit drinks, she usually finds a few hours a day to work out while her kids are at school.
THE REVELATION
Al Olivetti with Go Tri Sports once asked Yurco about competing in triathlon. This was back when she was mainly just running and cycling, not seriously thinking about triathlons. Yurco said she didn't think she'd make it through a swim. Olivetti replied, "With that attitude, you probably won't."
That moment changed her future with triathlon.
"Only one thing has changed between now and then -- my attitude," she said. "I realized I could do it."
