Legitimately Life-Changing:

​Skyler's IRONMAN Story

​Skyler Mosenthal's triathlon journey started as a teenager, cheering for his father at the finish line. Sixteen years and countless races later, he crossed his own finish line at IRONMAN Lake Placid — and it changed him.

Don't forget to check out his advice at the very bottom.

Where It All Began

Some athletes find triathlon on their own. Skyler inherited it.

His father was a lifelong competitive runner who took up triathlon later in life after years of marathoning, bike commuting, and an open water swim fundraiser with a colleague. As a kid, his dad had swum competitively too — enough to eventually race at USAT Nationals as an age grouper. Watching that swim-bike-run energy up close, Skyler got curious.

The summer before his senior year of college, he jumped into a sprint triathlon with his father. It did not go well. "From the very start I was sucking down water and slow as molasses," Skyler recalls. He'd heard hydration was important, so he drained his entire water bottle on the bike — and paid for it with a side stitch the second he started running. His plan had been to catch his dad on the run leg. Instead, his father was nearly finished with the whole race by the time Skyler started biking.

Skyler, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

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