About Dano

Coach Dano

Triathlete, Runner

Writer, Musician

Man of Action.

I was just a midwestern high-school-theater-kid who played drums, rocked physics, and went to engineering school.  I liked to be active, but felt alienated by us-versus-them sports teams.  One day in 2007 I was suddenly laid off from my job – so I got on my bicycle.  I attended a Team In Training informational meeting that fall – and joined the throng of people redefining their adult lives in terms of their first half-marathon.  Everything changed.

I achieved TNT’s highest rank, the “Triple Crown,” for completing a marathon, century bike ride, and triathlon, then went on to become a coach.  I can only have my first race once, but as a coach, I get to experience it again and again.  I have raised over $20,000 in support of TNT’s mission to cure cancer.

I fell in love with triathlon in 2008, and completed my first Ironman in Madison in 2009.  On the day I signed up, I began blogging; writing along the way has remained part of my training regimen, as a way to digest my own discoveries and share them with you.  In 2011, I finished the Wisconsin Ironman again, 65 minutes quicker!  My favorite Olympic-distance race so far is the Chicago Tri, and at the top of my list for half-irons is Door County.  My marathon repertoire includes Walt Disney World, Mardi Gras, San Diego, and the 2,500th anniversary of the original marathon in Athens.

Along the way I’ve continually asked myself: why do I do this?  Why do other people do marathons and triathlons, in increasing numbers, and why do so many of them seem to love it – to need it?  What motivates us out there?  Why do we love the races and keep coming back for more?

It’s therapy.

 

Welcome to my home on the web.  Care to get in touch?  Click here to email me.

Thanks and credit for many of the photos on this site go to fellow TNT-alum Annika Swenson at Driftless Living Photography.  Thanks Annika!