Featured Athletes: Kim and Kevin Grogan

The Grogan’s: A Case Study in making triathlon fit your Lifestyle

Although many guys have certainly used a cheesy pick-up line or two in their illustrious or not so illustrious dating careers, few can honestly say that such a line worked on the woman they would eventually marry. Top Florida triathlete Kevin Grogan is probably one of the few who can.

“I met Kim at the Gulf Coast Tri pasta party in 2003,” smiles Grogan. “It was a basically a ‘hi, how are you,’ type of thing. I later realized I had to get to know her, and I found her again the next day. Our conversation centered around the race and triathlon, and I mentioned that I had qualified for Hawaii earlier in the year at the St. Croix half. She apparently didn’t think much of it, but I didn’t find out why until later.”

“To be honest, I had no idea what ‘qualifying for Hawaii’ meant,” laughs the now Mrs. Grogan. “I was pretty new to the sport, and obviously not as educated in the sport as the more serious athletes. Once I found out what he was talking about, I realized he was trying to impress. We still laugh about it today.”

That chance meeting led to a September 2004 wedding. The Grogan’s now live in Clermont, the “World Triathlon Destination,” are parents to a beautiful baby boy, and have made triathlon a big part of their lifestyle. There’s no question that their passion for triathlon brought them together. However, their stories with respect to how they found the sport could not be more different.

Kevin Grogan has accumulated some pretty impressive credentials as a triathlete since making the sport his athletic focus. He has qualified for the Hawaiian Ironman Championships five times, competing and finishing twice. He has an IM personal best of 9:25, (2003 Ironman Florida), and numerous overall and age group wins. What most people don’t know is that it was a bet with his father that led him down the road to success as a triathlete.

“Each year after college, (he did is undergrad work at FSU and has a masters in sports administration from UF), I had put on a few pounds from being less active. My dad noticed, and began to point it out. He wanted to see me get back into the shape I had been in as a high school athlete, so I took the challenge.” As we’ll see, he was up to the test.

Grogan’s athletic history is not that of a tri prodigy. Growing up in northern Virginia, - his dad was an F.B.I. agent – he dabbled in “summer” swimming, but was involved in more mainstream sports like basketball and soccer. His family moved to south Florida when he was 13, and it was at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland where he got his first taste of competitive running.

“I went out for cross country as a way of staying in shape for other sports,” notes Grogan. “I had success right away, qualifying for states in my first year racing. I continued to play basketball and soccer, but stuck with cross country because it definitely helped my performance in other sports.”

Upon arriving at FSU, Grogan concentrated on academics, but played intramural sports and continued to run on his own. After graduating, he traveled east to Gainesville where he earned his masters in sports administration at the University of Florida. From there, it was home to Coral Springs and the father-son challenge.

With $1,000.00 on the line, the former cross country star turned to multi-sport to get back into shape. He began swimming and cycling on a borrowed bike, and entered his first race, a sprint distance tri in Ft. Lauderdale in 1998. He completed the race, continued to drop weight, and eventually won the wager. A few months after that initial race he used the money to buy a racing bike. His multi-sport career was born.

Grogan continued to compete and have success, but not as a triathlete. Because he had not done much swimming, he focused on duathlon. The run/bike/run format suited his abilities better, and soon he was taking age group wins, and eventually, finishing in the top five overall. He concentrated on duathlon for almost four years. His dedication and improvement were noticeable, as he dominated the Keno Brothers Duathlon Series in South Florida for most of that time. His success, however, led to burnout. The next move? Improve a struggling swim stroke and tackle triathlon.

In 2002, after six long months in the pool, Grogan began racing tris, and once again found age group then overall success. With that came the next challenge. Good buddy and fellow triathlete Chuck Matsoff challenged him to take on an Ironman distance race. Relying totally on his sprint tri training, Grogan signed up for Ironman Wisconsin just four weeks before the race and incorporated some long runs and bikes into his training. The result? A 10:29 that included a 3:15 marathon, and a 96th overall finish. “I couldn’t believe that I had done that well,” reflects Grogan. “It was after that race that I realized I may have some talent for the sport, and I then made the commitment improve and see how far I could take it.”

For Kimberly Grogan, the road to meeting her future husband at the 2003 Gulf Coast Triathlon also included a few stops and athletic changes. Growing up in Columbus, Georgia, Kim Grogan was a competitive soccer player and cheerleader. She took up multi-sports recreationally at college, but a chance meeting put her on the path to a future as a competitive triathlete. While attending UAB, (University of Alabama at Birmingham), she was with a couple friends doing a track workout. The track/cross country coach from Samford (AL) University happened to be there working out, and after seeing the future Mrs. Grogan run, offered her a scholarship on the spot. “It was a shock, because I had never done any competitive running,” said Grogan. “I took advantage of the opportunity, with the hopes of improving my performance as a triathlete as well.”

Kim Grogan ran for her final two years at Samford, but injuries limited her amount of competition. After graduating, she decided to stay in Birmingham, working in the physical education departments at both UAB and Samford. It was during this time that she met Kevin at Gulf Coast, and decided to focus her athletic ambitions on triathlon. In order to be closer to his future wife, Kevin had already moved to Birmigham, and was teaching at a local elementary school. However, the area was limited with respect to training resources. It was at this time that Kim received an opportunity that would lead them to move to The World Triathlon Destination, Clermont.

She was invited to participate in a USAT Junior Developmental program. The goal of the “Next Step to Gold” program was to groom talented young triathletes for major international competitions and the Olympics. The program would be based out of the National Training Center in Clermont which would require a major move. After visiting Clermont in December of 2003, the young couple decided to go for it, and relocated to central Florida in February, 2004. Kim Grogan quickly found out how intense and cutthroat the training and competition would be. Already at a disadvantage because she had no swimming background, she was also a “non” scholarship invitee, meaning she had to find her own sponsorship and pick up all of her expenses. As time went on, the pilot program began to fall apart, for a number of reasons.

“Our coach was based at USAT headquarters in Colorado, so all of our workouts were relayed to us over the phone or via e-mail,” says Grogan. “In addition, the team captains, who were in charge of getting the info to everyone and organizing workouts and practice, were not the best communicators. That led to a lot of stress and ultimately team dissension.” After less than a year, the program fell apart and the team was disbanded.

Despite the setback, Kevin and Kim decided to remain in Clermont. Kevin found a job teaching physical education at neighboring Mascotte Elementary School, and plans for a wedding were made. On September 18, 2004, they were married. Setting their sights on the future, careers and a family, the Grogan’s put professional ambitions aside. Triathlon would still be a big part of their lives, but this time as part of their lifestyle.

“We were focused on making triathlon part of our family lifestyle,” notes Kevin. “The challenge was to make it fit in with everything else we were doing.” Complicating matters was the fact that both Kevin and Kim are long distance specialists and training junkies.

“Both of us would still be training four or six hours a day if time allowed,” said Kim. “Adapting to having triathlon be a lesser priority was difficult initially, because it had been a first priority for both of us just recently.” Adding to their lifestyle reconstruction was the addition of a new family member. Gavin James was born five months ago, causing another shift in priorities.

The goal now? “We just want to have fun with triathlon,” says Kim. “We’ve been able to continue training and racing, and still keep a balance with everything else in our lives.” The Grogan’s have been able to race as much as they did in the past by focusing on local races to cut back on travel. The real challenge has been training, where they’ve had to do some creative scheduling.

“Kim’s a stay at home mom, and I’m a teacher, so during the summer months we alternate mornings to get runs and rides in,” says Kevin. “We’ve also become very proficient at sneaking out for a workout when Gavin is napping.” During the school year, the training begins and ends later in the day. “Kim always gets the first 2-3 hours after I get home from school,” says Kevin. “She’s been home with the baby all day, so I take over so she can do whatever she wants and get some ‘alone time.’ We also take turns sneaking out for an hour here or an hour there to go to the gym, pool, whatever. Gavin’s our number one priority, so we always work around his schedule.”

There is still time for a social life…well kind of. The Grogan’s are lucky in a sense, as many of their friends are triathletes or endurance athletes. “We’re fortunate in this respect,” says Kim. “We see them at races, and even train with them some of the time. Most of them are also balancing families and careers with triathlon, and I think it has helped many of us to gain a better appreciation for the time that we can spend racing and training.”

The Grogan’s have found balance by being able to manage their time, and engage in quality training and racing over quantity. With respect to the 2005 season, both Kim and Kevin continue to prepare for their “big” race and races.

Kim is focusing her training on either the Great Floridian or Florida Challenge, coming up in October. “I’m not 100% sure just yet, but how much training I’m able to get in will determine whether I race the ironman or half-ironman distance.”

T.J. Cesarz