Tri Beginner‘s Luck

What if the person behind your race experience has been living inside this sport since before they could drive? This episode brings you inside the world of a man who didn't just grow up loving triathlon but grew up building it, race by race, cone by cone.

Tommy Struzzieri, USAT certified race director and founder of Alpha Win Racing, has worn nearly every hat in this sport: athlete, volunteer, age group All-American, Division I runner at Syracuse University, coach, and now the person making it all happen for thousands of participants across the country. His guiding belief, that there is a distance for everyone, shapes every decision he makes, from offering an open entry-level distance designed to welcome true first-timers to keeping race-day logistics as convenient and stress-free as possible.

This season, Tommy is bringing triathlon back to New York City with the Big Apple Triathlon on October 10, 2026. Hear what it took, what it means, and what he hopes every athlete feels when they cross that finish line.

Whether you're lining up for your first sprint or your first time standing at a starting line, this one is for you.

Join the Tri Beginner's Luck Community: Enjoyed this episode? The best way to support the show is to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Follow us on Instagram: @TriBeginnersLuck Connect on Facebook: Tri Beginner's Luck Page Questions or Feedback? We want to hear your story! Send your questions to tblpodbiz@tribeginnersluck.com, and we may feature them in a future episode. 

Let's tri this!

Some people don't find triathlon. Triathlon finds them. It calls quietly for years until the timing, the spirit, and the courage finally align at once.

Brandon Woolfolk is a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, music artist, and founder of No Plateau Zone. This year, he said yes to a challenge that had been waiting for him since 2023. After years of distance running and obstacle course races, Brandon joined the Y Tri community in February and completed not one but two sprint triathlons in his first season. But the road to that starting line ran through three years living in Shanghai, a painful return home during the pandemic, a battle with depression, and a radio ad that quietly changed everything.

In this Father's Day episode, Brandon shares what it means to pursue big goals in full view of your daughter, why community sharpens us when we go it alone, and what he learned about himself when his swim cap came off mid-race, and he had to keep going anyway.

The only plateau is in your mind. This one proves it.

Join the Tri Beginner's Luck Community: Enjoyed this episode? The best way to support the show is to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Follow us on Instagram: @TriBeginnersLuck Connect on Facebook: Tri Beginner's Luck Page Questions or Feedback? We want to hear your story! Send your questions to tblpodbiz@tribeginnersluck.com, and we may feature them on a future episode.

 

Let's tri this!

For over 20 years, Betty Collins led troops, mentored communities, and built others up from the inside out. So what happens when the person who is always pouring into others has to finally let others pour into her?

Betty Collins is a retired Army master sergeant, cybersecurity professional, and founder of Fit for the King, a faith-based fitness initiative she started in her church over a decade ago. She grew up in the historic Snowden community of South Carolina with a lifelong fear of the water. This year, after being invited by a friend she met at a church retreat, she said yes to something she never imagined she would do a triathlon.

What followed was four months of cold January pool sessions, private swim lessons, and a community of women who refused to let her quit. On May 15, at 63 years old, Betty Collins completed her first triathlon at She Tries Ion, swimming eight laps, biking nine miles, and running two more. She crossed that finish line not because she had conquered her fear, but because she discovered she was more capable than she believed.

This conversation covers courage, community, faith, and what it looks like to start from the very beginning, again, at any age.

Join the Tri Beginner's Luck Community: Enjoyed this episode? The best way to support the show is to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Follow us on Instagram: @TriBeginnersLuck Connect on Facebook: Tri Beginner's Luck Page Questions or Feedback? We want to hear your story! Send your questions to tblpodbiz@tribeginnersluck.com, and we may feature them on a future episode. Let's tri this!

What does it take to come out of the water nearly last and choose to come back? Not once, but race after race, distance after distance, through graduate school, a pandemic, and the arrival of three children in 17 months.

Mike Nyman's triathlon story doesn't begin with a perfect swim or a podium finish. It begins with a graduation gift, a best friend, and a pool race in Lynchburg, Virginia. From that sprint in 2013, Mike has grown into a five-time Ironman finisher, Team Varlo Virginia Region captain, and an athlete who still gets nervous every single time he enters the water. That honesty is exactly what makes his story so worth hearing.

In this episode, Mike talks through the self-supported iron-distance he completed during the pandemic, the power of community and diversity in endurance sports, what fatherhood has taught him about sacrifice and partnership, and the advice he gives to beginners and veterans alike. This is a story about discipline, resilience, and what happens when you refuse to let a race define you.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Join the Tri Beginner's Luck Community: Enjoyed this episode? The best way to support the show is to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Follow us on Instagram: @TriBeginnersLuck Connect on Facebook: Tri Beginner's Luck Page Questions or Feedback? We want to hear your story! Send your questions to tblpodbiz@tribeginnersluck.com, and we may feature them on a future episode. Let's tri this!

What if the most decorated athlete you've ever seen race was doing it on stolen hours, powered by discipline she didn't know she had until the military turned it on? That's exactly the kind of story that stops you mid-scroll and reminds you why this sport is for everyone.

Michelle Christine is a competitive age-group triathlete, a Team USA athlete, and a USAT high school ambassador who balances two kids, a husband with an equally demanding career, and a role protecting the airspace of the nation's leaders as a Secret Service airspace security specialist. She came to this episode fresh off a clean sweep at Multisport Nationals, where she won all four individual events and the mixed team relay. Five starts. Five wins. And she still had notes on what she could do better.

In this conversation, she walks us through what nervous system fatigue actually feels like after back-to-back racing, how coaching changed everything for her, and why she believes problem-solvers thrive in triathlon. She also shares the moment a world podium in Hamburg made everything click, and the quiet magic of a family that runs on logistics, love, and the occasional burger.

If you've ever wondered what it looks like to build a full life and still chase excellence, this one is for you.

Join the Tri Beginner's Luck Community: Enjoyed this episode? The best way to support the show is to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! Follow us on Instagram: @TriBeginnersLuck Connect on Facebook: Tri Beginner's Luck Page Questions or Feedback? We want to hear your story! Send your questions to tblpodbiz@tribeginnersluck.com, and we may feature them on a future episode. Let's tri this!