If you’ve ever biked alone for four hours straight through rural North Carolina, you would probably agree with me that it is not the most pleasant experience. Your mind wanders and after you pass your 15th cotton field, you start to question your sanity. Those lonely, long bike trips dominated my triathlon journey in high school. Because Wilmington has one of the most popular Ironman 70.3 races, I made the goal of completing the race before graduating high school and moving away from my hometown. Two months after turning 18, I completed the race and was the youngest participant. Because of the distance, I found it challenging to find peers to train with. I spent hours biking, running, and swimming in the ocean with only my parents serving as pit crew.
I grew up a competitive swimmer, so the social aspects of athletics have always been massively important to me. A grueling swim set can be made ten times better if you have a good teammate with you in your lane to exchange quick words with between monotonous sets. However, my sophomore year of high school, the COVID pandemic led to the closure of all the pools in my area, forcing me to look beyond the pool for my athletic training. This led to the two and a half year period of increasingly long lonely bikes and runs. It was during this period that I discovered the existence of collegiate triathlon teams and knew I wanted to be a part of one. With Dartmouth being a school on my radar, I followed the Dartmouth Triathlon Team on Instagram and quickly became enthralled with the program. When it came time to write my “Why Dartmouth” essay, I wrote about the tri team, stating,
“Last winter, the Dartmouth Triathlon Club Instagram account posted a picture of a student with ice on her eyelashes from running in the freezing New Hampshire winter. The dedication to her sport spoke to me and spoke to the students' character at Dartmouth. Dartmouth's culture of meticulous work in all aspects of life, from athletics to academics to relationships, mirrors the culture instilled in me from a young age. Though I would likely opt to do a winter off-term to avoid frozen eyelashes, I look forward to immersing myself in and adding to the Dartmouth culture.”
Upon arriving at Dartmouth in the fall, I immediately joined the tri team- participating in spin raves, group runs through Vermont, and even those dreaded long bike rides. What I had gleaned from the social media presence of the team was only the tip of the iceberg of what tri club had to offer. Beyond the communal aspects of the training, my teammates push me to train harder and be a better, more resilient athlete. This culminated in the end of term indoor triathlon organized by the team. Throughout the race, there were many points when I wanted to lower the gear on my spin bike or slow my running pace, but the encouragement and comradery of my teammates inspired me to keep going. I have yet to do an outdoor run during winter term, but am sure by term’s end, I too will have a frozen-eyelash picture to send back to my family and friends back home.
About the Author:
Cooper Hyldahl is a '26 from Wilmington, North Carolina. He plans to study Quantitative Social Science with a focus in either government or economics. Outside of tri he likes anything to do with political data, playing guitar, and working on his pong skills