Local man a fast learner in the art of triathlon

KIRKLAND -- Four years ago, Rusty Pruden was just beginning to learn about triathlons.

"My first goal was, 'Let's do an Ironman. I don't know what that is, but let's do it,'" said the 27-year-old Pruden, a 2001 graduate of Everett High School who lives today in Kirkland.

Four years later, Pruden has advanced from elementary to elite in the endurance sport of swimming, cycling and running. He has entered 22 triathlons to date, has won a few including last month's Seafair Triathlon in Seattle, and on Sunday he will compete in the Grand Final of the 2010 International Triathlon Union World Championship Series in Budapest, Hungary.

Pruden is already good and getting better, and over the next two years he hopes to improve enough to make the United States team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

"I love to compete and I love knowing I'm a part of something that has the best (athletes), so going to the Olympics is where it's at," he said. "It's what I really want to do and I know it's do-able. I just have to allow myself the opportunity. And if that means not having much money for a while and just living off pennies, so be it.

"There's a lot of sweat, tears and sacrifice that I go through on a day-to-day basis," said Pruden, who usually trains several hours a day in morning and afternoon workouts. "It's all out of love, but there's also an end goal. To be chasing that (goal) is pretty emotional for me.

"And to accomplish it," he said, "would literally be a dream come true."

Pruden was an outstanding athlete at Everett High School, earning 12 varsity letters in cross country, wrestling and track, and going to state seven times in the three sports. He attended Oregon's Clackamas Community College for two years and then set out to make some money, but was soon feeling restless and frustrated.

"I was working a lot of dead-end jobs and trying to figure out what I wanted to do," he said. "I was making good money, but I was miserable. There was no satisfaction. I was always looking forward to getting off work, always looking forward to the weekend."

As it happened, his career angst coincided with his introduction to triathlons. Joined by some close friends from Everett, Pruden started training. Before long, he was hooked.

Triathlons are contested at four primary distances -- sprint, Olympic, half Ironman and Ironman. Pruden has done them all, but favors the Olympic race, which includes a 1,500 meter (.93 mile) swim, a 40 kilometer (24.8 miles) bike ride and a 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) run.

He has also started coaching triathletes and at last, he said, "I'm finally in what I think is my passion. This is what I wake up every morning and can't wait to do. (Coaching) and training."

Pruden, who is self-taught ("I can't afford a coach yet," he admits), is strongest with biking and running. Like a lot of triathletes, he finds swimming to be the most challenging of the three. But he is improving, the result of swimming upwards of 10 miles a week.

As a triathlete, he said, "I still have a lot of room to grow. The last three years I was working fulltime and training upwards of 15 to 20 hours, so my spare time revolved around training. But now with coaching and finally doing what I share a passion for, I think it's going to free up more time (for training).

"I feel like if you're happy and well-rested, you're fast. And if you're depressed and if work is a job, then you're stressed out and in turn that takes a toll on your body."

These days, he said, "I feel better than I've ever felt."

In Budapest, Pruden will be facing some of the world's top triathletes in an Olympic-distance event. Many are quite a bit faster than he is, but in a race of just under two hours he figures he needs only to knock off three minutes "and I'll be right there."

And the more success he has as a competitor, the better for his coaching. Because, he explained, "it gets my name out there so people can see me as someone they can come to for advice."

It takes faith for Pruden to go forward -- faith in himself and in his dream -- because in sport, like so much of life, there are no certainties. His goal of achieving the Olympics is hardly assured and could remain unrealized. His desire for a career in coaching, however sincere, might come up short.

But the essence of athletic achievement is found in more than just the outcome. It is in the aspiration and the pursuit, and the lessons learned along the way. A triumph, after all, should merely be an embellishment to the journey and not the purpose in itself.

This much, Pruden understands.

"I know if I don't do this, I'll regret it for the rest of my life," he said of his dream. "I really have a chance to do well in this sport, and now it's just a matter of giving myself a chance. Because whether I make it or not, as long as I'm trying, that's all I really care about."