Married triathletes juggle
goals while trying to remain a normal couple.
CLERMONT — In the time between presidential elections, Jarrod Shoemaker went from being a rookie triathlete to making the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
“I don’t think I was ready for it because it happened so quickly,’’ Shoemaker said. “I just had a good race, and I made the team. Now it was, ‘What do I do now?’ ’’
Unlike Shoemaker, his wife, Alicia Kaye, has competed in triathlons for most of her life.
In six weeks, on the weekend of May 14-15, the Clermont residents will attempt to further their careers half a world apart. Shoemaker will seek his second Olympic berth at a race in Yokohama, Japan. Kaye will aim to qualify for her first Ironman World Championship at a race near Houston.
“We’re husband and wife, and that trumps everything, but it is a balance because we have massive goals in this sport,’’ Kaye said. “They’re
not, ‘Oh, I want to participate.’ ’’
Shoemaker, 33, grew up in Massachusetts and ran for four years at Dartmouth. His uncle, who had been a triathlete, suggested he try the sport.
Shoemaker was the under-23 world champion in 2005 and won the Haul to the Great Wall Series championship in ’06. He finished 18th in Beijing two years later. Four-time Olympian Hunter Kemper, a former Longwood resident, placed seventh.
“Jarrod has always been very dedicated in whatever he is doing ,’’ said his mother, Mae Shoemaker. “He has gone after his passion in a very sensible way.’’
While growing up in Canada, Kaye entered her first triathlon when she was 11 years old. Her three brothers participated, too, and it was not unusual for a weekend getaway to involve pitching a tent at a race site.
The opportunity to finish an Ironman race —a 2.4-mile swim, followed by covering 112 miles on a bike and 26.2 miles on foot — keeps Kaye going.
She placed fifth at the world championships, a 70.3-mile event (half an Ironman) in Austria in 2015. Less than two months later, she attended the Ironman worlds in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
“I watched so many of my closest friends and athletes just fall apart,’’ said Kaye, 32. “I thought, ‘This event’s insane.’ The course is absolutely unforgiving. I was a little scared and not sure this is what I wanted to do.’’
Lisa Bentley, Kaye’s agent and a former Ironman-distance triathlete, encouraged her friend to ride the Ironman course the day after watching the race. Kaye’s nerves settled after that, but if she qualifies for worlds on Oct. 8, what awaits in Hawaii likely will be far from paradise.
“Her biggest challenge is accelerating the self-learn-
ing process over the new distance and how her body and mind will handle the duration and course ,’’ Kaye’s coach, Joel Filliol, said by email. “She’d like to get Ironman Texas, her first race, as ‘right’ in execution as possible, which is a bit of pressure for her first attempt over the distance.’’
Daniela Ryf of Switzerland placed first among females in 2015, finishing in 8 hours, 57 minutes, 57 seconds.
It’s a full day’s work and more.
“I am not sure I wanted it for her,’’ said Kathleen Kaye, Alicia’s mother. “I will support her, but it’s incredibly demanding. I have watched Ironman. I have watched people get the wobbly legs, then pass out at the finish line. I hope that never happens to her, but as a parent, it gives me some worry.
“I don’t want her to go through that, but clearly she is willing.’’
After showing promise in Beijing, Shoemaker failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London. The United States only had two slots, not the usual three, in the 55-man field. Kemper and Manuel Huerta earned those berths.
“I was ranked No. 1 in the world, I had been racing really well and I just thought I was going to make it,’’ Shoemaker said. “I didn’t think that there was any way I wasn’t going to make it. All of a sudden, I didn’t make it, and there was nothing else. There wasn’t a fallback.’’
The U.S. is expected to send three male triathletes to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, site of this year’s Games in August. Shoemaker was taking
a preview ride of the Olympics course last August when he lost control of his bike while descending a hill too fast.
Shoemaker broke his left collarbone.
“Being injured is so much harder than training hard,’’ said Shoemaker, who participated in a World Series race in Chicago seven weeks after his injury. “I got back really quickly, and I had some success. It really took about three months to get back to the point where I could train where I needed to be training.’’
A metal plate remains attached to Shoemaker’s collarbone.
“The [injury] was definitely a bump in the road that was not ideal, but it reignited in him what he wanted to do,’’ said his coach, Neal Henderson. “That put into clear focus that there was a difficult path to get there after that, but he wants to be there.’’
Kaye wants it for her husband.
Both said being married to someone in the same endurance sport has advantages. Understanding the job-related stress and having a flexible schedule are among them.
As for disadvantages, some are relatively minor, and others require a more personal sacrifice. Kaye said they have missed so many weddings because of their schedules, and at one point, she said she had five young cousins she never had seen.
“It is such a hard sport that both of us want to take,’’ Shoemaker said. “We want someone else who is going to do the cooking, cleaning or whatever. You want to sit down after a session and do nothing. You can’t necessarily do nothing.’’
Said Kaye: “At the end of a hard day, we understand how we both felt. You don’t even have to fight about it anymore, like that happened in the first year. We both want to be taken care of, but that doesn’t mean dinner is going to get made.’’
Or that their training will result in goals fulfilled.
“My dream, dream, dream situation is to podium in Texas, to qualify for Kona,’’ Kaye said. “I know it is my first time doing Kona, but I have this gut feeling that I am going to be good at this. It might be wild to think and to say out loud, because people are scared to say it out loud. I really feel confident.’’
To qualify for Rio automatically, Shoemaker must be the first American finisher and in the top three overall in Yokohama, said Andy Schmitz, high performance general manager at USA Triathlon.
If not, something known as an objective ranking system will come into play to fill any available spots. An Olympic-distance triathlon involves a .93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike ride and 6.2-mile run.
“This year is about growing as an athlete,’’ Shoemaker said. “I don’t know that making the Olympics or not making the Olympics will define my season. It’s definitely a little different than Alicia’s goals, but it has to do with me trying to be the best me that I can be.’’