Armed with a 48oz Camelback, his trusty Speedo and a $300 garage sale bike, Rich Strauss completed his first triathlon in 1999, while serving at Camp Pendleton California as a Marine artillery officer. After leaving the Marines he moved to the Los Angeles area, where he joined the Inland Inferno Tri Club, registered for IMFL’00 and began working for The Man. Rich quickly became known among the local athletes as that “whackjobwho likes to do whacked out stuff and appears to know what he’s doing,” which he was (is) and did not (does now). Rich coached a few athletes to IMCali’01 and founded Crucible Fitness as a coaching and training resource for Ironman athletes. The Man laid Rich off in November 2001 and he hasn’t looked back since:

• He has personally coached over 200 athletes to Ironman finishes all over the world.
• Through his writings on Crucible Fitness, Xtri, TriFuel, BeginnerTriathlete, and Inside Tri magazine Rich has become known as one of the finest teachers in the sport, helping thousands of athletes train themselves more effectively. His website is visited by over a thousand athletes per day.
• Has coached himself to six Ironman finishes, from 10:55 to 10:02, including the Ironman World Championship in 2003, and placed 1st AG (35-39), 8th OA at the 2005 Wildflower Long Course Triathlon.
• Founded the Pasadena Triathlon Club

Rich is a grounded, self-coached, age group athlete who simply understands the time constraints and real world commitments of his fellow age groupers. His focus on time efficient, common-sense training has identified him as a coach “who just gets it!” He is also regarded as one of the sports few experts on the art and science of training and racing with a power meter. Rich has raced four Ironmans and many more Halfs with his SRM, and has coached dozens of athletes with powermeters. In short, he has the real world power training and racing experience that you’re just not going to find in a book.

Rich’s Message

“Life is too short to not do cool $#^%”

You are racing Ironman because you want to earn a title, Ironman Finisher. A title that is very unique in this world, something that no one can ever take away from you, that you can brag about for the rest of your life. I understand that desire. I am a teacher/mentor/leader first and foremost. I use my own training as a laboratory. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and have had a few successes. I’ve applied these lessons to hundreds of athletes and in the process I’ve simply learned what works for age groupers training for the Iron distance. I have a depth of understanding of the distance that only comes from the pain and experience of training, racing, coaching, and living it for over four years.

I want to bring you to a cool location. I want to teach you, lead you, and train with you. I want you to be inspired by the experience and by the friendships you form with your fellow campers. This is the camp “for the rest of us.” This is where you will learn how to drive that vehicle for 140.2 miles. I will teach you.

Rich Strauss
www.cruciblefitness.com
USAT Certified Coach

Patrick completed his first sprint triathlon in the summer of 1999 while on break from the Peace Corps. With no wetsuit, riding his brother's bike and wearing little more than a very obscene Speedo, Patrick simultaneously offended hundreds of spectators and discovered a new sporting passion. As returning to Central Asia put a kink in his triathlon training plans, Patrick had to wait until 2002 and graduate school to complete his first Ironman. Patrick has since transformed his interest in triathlon from a part-time gig into a full-fledged coaching enterprise known as Performance Training Systems (PTS). Patrick lives and trains in Boston where:

• He has coached over 100 athletes to the Ironman finishline, including the World Champs in Hawaii.
• His writings and blogging on triathlon, training and the endurance lifestyle have appeared on eTips, Xtri.com, TransitionTimes, Active.com and in Inside Tri magazine.
• He has competed in seven Ironman races, from Panama City to Klagenfurt, from a low of 11:44 to his personal best of 10:08.
• He has been known to pull the occasional practical joke on training partner or two (or three or four).

"Really, without coaches like you, it is much harder to overcome limitations. Thank you, thank you."

As an age-group athlete who works full-time (running PTS) and has a wonderful wife, Patrick is acutely aware of the time demands on his fellow age-groupers. An advocate for planning and training smart, Patrick is most proud of his ability to develop effective, time-saving training protocols for athletes that help them achieve their triathlon goals.

Patrick's Message
"You are not limited by fitness, lifestyle or equipment. Your biggest limiter is the belief in your own potential."

The quest to go from average Joe/Jane to being an Ironman finisher is not an easy path. I have seen and helped countless athletes on this journey, and I have heard all of the excuses. From my experience, the most successful athletes are those who make the most out of what they have and where they are. As an athlete who has lowered my weight to 185 (from 205), has dropped my IM time from 11:44 (to 10:08), has cut my Ironman marathon time to 3:21 (from 4:02), I have developed extensive knowledge on what does--and doesn't work- for the age group athlete. As part-coach, part-training partner, and part-clown, I have spent the last four years helping athletes take their game to the next level.

My focus is education; my goal is to develop you into the best possible physical and mental incarnation of yourself by race day. This Ironcamp series is designed to prepare average age-group folks to have the not-so-average Ironman experience. Why spend time re-inventing the training wheel when you can spend a week learning from leading coaches, building friendships with other campers and preparing for the race of your life?

If you are an age-grouper who likes reading about folks training 30-hours a week, but only has 10 hours to train...
If you are looking for a training experience that will challenge you mentally as well as physically...
If you want to realize your endurance racing potential...

...look no further than Ironcamp.

Hope you can make it!

~ Patrick