FEATURES

Renee Gittens grew up west of the Cities in Rockford and trained with her high school cross country team in the Lake Rebecca Park reserve that Liberty Tri takes place in now.  Renee also competed in Gymnastics and Track.  She always wanted to compete in the pole vault but they didn’t let girls do that in the 80’s.

 

Renee  (photo) and her Cross Country team competed at the small school cross country state championship her senior year in High School. During the winter of the same year, she suffered a badly torn ACL during a gymnastics training session that doctors told her would end her running career.

Flash forward 20 years and the pain in her knee had her back at the orthopedic surgeons office just hoping to walk normally again. The doctor told her that if she was willing to work hard at her rehab she would not only be able to walk – she could run if she wanted.

At that time Renee, now Renee Burton, and I were both about 40 lbs overweight but we were ready to make a change and over the next 5 years Renee and I worked our way from walking around the block to running around it – eventually competing in local 5k races.   She started picking up age group awards that reinforced her motivation and kept us training....

 

In the fall of 2007, the Iron Girl duathlon in Bloomington caught her eye when our family had to route around it to get to church on a Sunday morning – and in 2010 this became her new goal. She trained through the summer and rode her first race on a borrowed fitness bike. While she finished back in the pack, we both enjoyed the training and decided to purchase bikes with the intent to compete in local duathlons. With the help of the good folks at Gear West, Renee was ready for the 2011 season.

In 2011 Renee picked up an age group award in her first race at the Falls Duathlon and followed it up with first place age group awards at the Du at the Dam and the Fall Classic. It was during this season that Kevin O’Connor convinced her that while duathlons were fun – Triathlons were where she should be competing.

There was only one problem – a near drowning in her youth had left her terrified of getting her head in the water.

When Renee decides to do something she generally figures out a way to succeed. In this case Renee signed up for adult swim lessons at the Southdale Y and worked with her instructors to conquer her fear – at one point holding their hands while jumping into the deep end the first time.  She was so scared she bruised the poor swim instructors hand but she kept at it.  The only remaining sign of her fear is the pair of nose plugs she still has to wear to feel comfortable in the water.

2012 was a learning experience for Renee as she struggled to deal with the swim. A high ankle sprain sustained during an icy training run also took her completely out of run training for the spring but she did have fun and went into the winter ready to train for her next challenge – Olympic triathlons.

In 2013 Renee had a break-out year in triathlon finishing as the first in her age group at Trinona and the Minneman Sprint as well as a second place at the Spring Classic and a first at the Esprit de She in Lakeville.

In 2014 she has stayed on a roll in age group competition with a first place finish at the Spring Classic, a second place at Apple and a first in a rain-reduced field at Liberty. She'll compete at the Capitol City Tri, Brew house and Maple Grove sprint.