Photos courtesy of Ross Hartley
Pickerington native Ross Hartley is more or less your average 28-year-old.
Junior high school teacher, computer programming club adviser, cross country coach.
Top-notch triathlete.
Hartley is in his third year of teaching at Ridgeview Junior High School. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 2012 with a master’s degree in education.
His main inspiration to become a teacher was his mother, Teresa. She spent years as a substitute teacher before finally getting her teaching license when Hartley was in high school.
“Every day, (she had) a new and different story,” he says.
Shortly after he started teaching at Ridgeview, Hartley started an engineering club there. It has morphed into a computer programming club. He coaches cross country at Pickerington High School North.
And he has been competing in triathlons since he was 17 years old. Fittingly, Hartley was introduced to triathlons by his own cross country coach.
Ross Hartley at the ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup
Since he already had a strong background in running and had been on the Huntington Hills swim team as a child, Hartley only needed to borrow a bike in order to start training. Now, more than 10 years later, Hartley continues to compete in triathlon events across the country.
And he doesn’t just compete in triathlons: He excels in them.
Since his first triathlon during his senior year in high school, Hartley estimates he has competed in 75 races and won 53 of them. He is a four-time national runner-up, and also won a bronze medal in the 25-29 male age group in the sprint distance at the 2014 World Triathlon Grand Final.
Though he credits his athletic background, Hartley thinks the real reason he succeeds is because of how hard he trains and “how seriously (he) takes it.” He swims, runs and bikes three or four times a week, each for several hours and miles.
Hartley with the students in Ridgeview Junior High School's computer programming club
While he likes to stay in shape and appreciates the exercise he gets while training, Hartley says what he enjoys most about competing is the challenge that comes with it.
“There’s no other feeling in the world once you cross that finish line,” Hartley says. “There’s always something you can improve on.”
Triathlon events stop once winter weather hits, so it will be a little while before Hartley can compete again, but he always continues to train through cold weather so he can be ready when races start back up next spring.
What he would tell others who are intimidated by beginning to train for triathlons?
“Always keep it simple,” he says. “Just think of it as, ‘I’m going to go for a swim, after that I’m going to go for a bike ride and after that I’m going to go for a run. Just keep it simple.”
Zachary Konno is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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