Rich has been successful in a wide range of endeavors. He was an NCAA Division III All-American swimmer at Emory University. As a realtor he achieved over $1 million in sales in his first 9 months and eventually trained other realtors. As a motorcyclist, he completed a 39-day, 11,704-mile tour of the western states.
As an enlisted Marine, he was selected for Officer Candidate School in his first 6 months. As a Marine artillery officer he was deployed to the Persian Gulf for a six-month tour of duty. Rich finished his military career as second in command of a 140-man artillery battery. As a manufacturing professional, he managed a plant floor and was responsible for over 150 employees. In November 2001, Rich was laid off and set free to pursue his dream of coaching and leading others in the accomplishment of their endurance sports dreams.
He founded his coaching company, Crucible Fitness, with the mission of training and coaching Ironman athletes. He has personally coached over 125 athletes to Ironman finishes and helped thousands more through his many publications in Inside Triathlon magazine, TriNewbies.com, Xtri.com, etc. His website, www.cruciblefitness.com, is recognized as one of the best training resources on the net, attracting over 1000 visitors per day.
There have been three constants throughout his life: a passion for endurance sports, a sincere love of teaching and helping others achieve goals, and a desire to do "cool stuff." As Rich puts it, "Life is too short to not do cool stuff." Rich brings this wide range of skills and experiences to his coaching: "I see myself as a teacher and mentor, rather than a traditional coach. The most rewarding part of my day is the opportunity to teach something new, to open someone's eyes and hear 'Oh, I get it now!"
Though he specializes in training Ironman athletes, and has finished the Ironman 2003 World Championships, Rich honed his teaching and coaching skills as head coach for Team in Training's East Los Angeles team. He is adept at communicating complex training subjects to inexperienced athletes. These communication skills benefit all of his coaching clients and he brings them to bear in the creation of these Ironman Training Plans, offering excellent supporting documents to help you get the most out of
Rich is a USAT Level I coach, has been an Ultrafit Associate since 2002, and is also the founder of the Pasadena Triathlon Club. He and his dog Sonny live in Monrovia, CA, just north of Los Angeles, 1.5 miles from the San Gabriel mountains and 42 miles from the beach.
E-mail: Rich Strauss
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