A Lifelong Athlete Charges into Ironman

Boulder’s Mary Beth Ellis makes a huge splash

By Julie Kailus

From Delaware’s beaches to Boulder’s knolls, professional triathlete Mary Beth Ellis takes her talent wherever she transplants. That includes training in the Swiss Alps with teamTBB and one of the world’s best triathlon coaches, in a little town where the road home is a sickly steep 11-percent grade.

Kona, Hawaii, is where Ellis hopes to make her mark in 2012. She’s hopeful for a top-five finish in the Ironman World Championships there—a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. She had a good excuse for her less-than-desirable 15th-place finish in 2011: It was her fourth Ironman in 14 weeks. After competing in her first-ever, nearly back-to-back Ironman-distance races, Ellis was physically and mentally compromised at Kona. “Mentally you have to put it all on the line,” says Ellis. “I saw other athletes who were prepared to die on course.”

While that sounds extreme, it’s not far from the truth for some of triathlon’s most dedicated elite. Even among recreational age-group racers, Ellis says, there’s an intense level of competitiveness. The time- and energy-sucking training regimen in three disciplines gives racers that extra guilt factor: If they’re giving up that much of their life to train, there’d better be a rewarding outcome.

“You either have that competitive desire or you don’t,” Ellis says. “I’ve always had that.” It’s not surprising, then, that at 34 she has already accomplished more than most athletes dream of. She’s been to the Olympic Trials in three sports—swimming (1996), marathon (2004) and triathlon (2008). In 2008 and 2009, she also took second in the half-Ironman 70.3 World Championships.

STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS
After “straddling the fence” between the half and full Ironman-distance triathlons, Ellis felt she wasn’t doing either one to her full potential. This year she decided to go big—and longer—and it paid off. Ellis won Ironman Austria, Ironman Regensburg (Bavaria) and Ironman Canada, and took second place at France’s Alpe d’Huez Triathlon and the Wildflower Triathlon in California. At the half-Ironman distance, she also won Ironman 70.3 Singapore, and added the title of U.S. 70.3 National Champion to her laurels.

Clearly Ellis is a quick study, but she’s also put in her time. In the small Delaware community of Rehoboth Beach, “I grew up playing all different sports, from soccer to softball to sailing to golf to swimming to running,” Ellis says. “In high school, I played field hockey, swimming and lacrosse, and ran track. In college, I just swam and ran.” By “just” she means she was recruited as a walk-on by the renowned Stanford swimming program, but ended up at Northwestern after a persistent coach kept upping the ante for her commitment.

After college, Ellis moved to Denver, and later Boulder, to focus on marathons. “I was drawn to Boulder by its running history and active culture,” she says. “It is such a magical place with so much to offer.” But in 2005, osteoarthritis showed up on a routine scan for a joint tear. Scared by the prognosis of a hip replacement in her 30s, Ellis backed off running such intense mileage, quickly picked up biking and returned to her first love, swimming. Marathon training was too much, so moving to multisport helped her cross-train without putting so much strain on her hip. She turned pro in 2006 after competing in just three triathlons. “If you throw yourself into the deep end, you learn to swim,” says Ellis of her launch into the sport.

WORKING WITH THE BEST
While her passion is unbounded, Ellis’s transition to triathlon was safe and strategic. Initially she held onto a full-time tech job so she didn’t have to “live off the sport.” In January 2011 she secured a spot with teamTBB (that’s short for The Bike Boutique), which is sponsored by big names Cervélo, Campagnolo, Avia, 3T and LG. “It’s not as much risk, and I don’t have to worry about money day to day,” Ellis says. She receives a salary, plus a bonus for her work on the team website; camps and coaches are included.

Local workouts designed by Aussie triathlon coach Brett Sutton, who has launched more successful female triathletes in the Ironman distance than anyone on the planet, sometimes include Boulder pro triathlete buddies Julie Dibens and Miranda Cartwright. A typical week of training mixes short, long, fast and slow runs and bike rides, plus plenty of swim workouts among the local pro fish at the Flatiron Athletic Club pool. Ellis humbly assesses her disciplines: “All three could be improved.”

When not under the pressure of a structured workout, Ellis prefers a long run, where she can “go by feel” along the interconnected trails in South Boulder or the classic Switzerland Trail.

Even in her time off, physical activity—albeit something at a slower pace, like hiking—is still her go-to relaxer. Others include hanging out at Vic’s or The Cup, or lounging at a Boulder bookstore. But this off-season is special. Ellis is engaged to be married in December to a great guy who happens to share her passion for triathlon. For Ellis, it’s just one more exciting plunge into the deep end.

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Freelance writer Julie Kailus lives in Evergreen.

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