What I Love About Racing Collegiate Club Triathlon at Texas A&M
by USA Triathlon
As soon as I crossed the finish line after my first sprint tri, I knew this was something I was going to do the rest of my life; I was hooked.
Kaitlin Bowman, a current student and collegiate club triathlete at Texas A&M University didn’t race a multisport event until her freshman year of college. Growing up a swimmer, Bowman watched her dad do triathlons and decided to give it a try. Learn more about Kaitlin and how you can get involved in collegiate club triathlon!
Your advice for an athlete who wants to try triathlon?
“Do it! Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. You’ll never know if you don’t try! Triathlon is such an amazing sport and community. Every single person out there who does tri will help you and push you to become the best athlete possible. When you finish your first tri, you will be absolutely hooked!”
Tell us about your school's collegiate triathlon club. What makes it unique? Does your club have any fun traditions?
“Being an Aggie means embracing all tradition, and our tri club is no different! Our biggest tradition is the zebra. Every time I race and I see someone wearing zebra print I know they’re an Aggie! Even club alumni keep their zebra suits and race in them well after their college days. Whenever I’m on a race course and I see an Aggie in zebra print, whether I know them or not, we always both let out a big ‘whoop!’ The zebra has been in our club for years now and I don’t see it ever going away.
Every A&M tri member would do anything for one another. We are such a special group of people and I’m so grateful I get to be part of such an amazing team.”
Why should fellow college students join their collegiate triathlon club?
“Collegiate triathlon clubs are so unique and unlike any college club I’ve been in. The triathlon community is a friendly, welcoming, and encouraging group of people. Getting to do [triathlons] with fellow college students is an amazing experience. I have made my best friends in college through collegiate club triathlon…they push me to become a better person. Joining a collegiate triathlon club is joining a family of some of the best people around!
What is your favorite Collegiate Club Nationals memory?
“Watching our mixed team relay in 2022. Our team brought 35 people to Nationals that year. I remember all 31 of us not racing the MTR sprinting as fast as we could in a giant zebra herd from one spot to the next to make sure we caught our teammates as much as possible. I remember taking a video of us all running around and laughing about how out of breath we were!”
What is your favorite thing about the sport of triathlon?
“My favorite thing about the sport of triathlon is the community. Every single person who does triathlon is an encouraging, special individual who knows how hard this sport is. Each member of our community puts in hours of hard work and is dedicated each day to achieving glory. Every race I’ve been to I’ve had someone I don’t even know cheering for me, and I’ve cheered for someone I don’t know. I’ve met so many amazing people on race courses — triathlon is unlike any other sport.”
What is your most meaningful triathlon moment?
“My most meaningful triathlon moment was finishing my Ironman in September of 2023! I trained for months leading up to the race and all of my teammates knew how hard I was working and how exhausted I was. I remember getting to mile 25 of the run and couldn’t believe how far I had traveled in the last 11 hours. When I crossed the finish line I had an overwhelming feeling of achievement. Finishing an Ironman is an omen to what you can do if you just put your mind to something; the human body is incredible.”
Stay tuned over the next month as we share more collegiate club athlete stories leading up to Collegiate Club Nationals on April 13-14 in Mission Viejo, California!
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If you are interested in joining a collegiate triathlon club program, you can find more information here.