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Sunday, 06 March 2016 00:10

February 2016 Interview - Rising multi-sport star, Dani Vsetecka

By Brad Mitchell (obsessivetripulsive.weebly.com)

Dani is the 2015 MTN Minnesota Triathlon Rookie of the Year and Long Course Athlete of the year. She joins an already dominant list of Minnesota's female triathletes, duathletes and runners who are going to make 2016 a fantastic season. Don't let the excessive smiling fool you - she means business!  Look out for her this year.

 
What is your sporting background?
 
Growing up in a small town in Iowa, I was able to participate in a variety of local youth sports leagues: basketball, t-ball, gymnastics, etc.  When I entered junior high and high school, I still participated in a number of sports teams, but I’m not sure if you would call this a ‘sporting...

background’!  I was never a standout athlete and just loved being part of the team!  I played softball (where I specialized in base-running ;)), ran on the track team to ‘stay in shape’, played basketball through my junior year of high school, and even did a few years of cheerleading for fun (don’t judge).  I also swam for two years on the newly formed, community swim team with a total of 3 other girls in my age group.  Unfortunately, the practices were held at the same time as my softball games, so we’d miss the practices and just show up to the meets and swim!  It was mostly about staying active, having fun, and being with friends.
 
After high school, I took up running to stay active in college.  Nothing special, but I was committed to a routine of the same distance, same pace, same treadmill, five days a week at the college’s rec center.  After entering a few 5k’s with friends though, I found I absolutely loved running and that I wasn’t that bad at it either!  I eventually began running more to improve and increase distance and after grad school set a goal to complete a marathon.
 
Minnesota is arguably the most talent-rich multisport state in the US. You were the Minnesota Rookie of the Year and Long Course Athlete of the Year in 2015. What factors do you think enabled you to essentially come out on nowhere to win these honors? ...READ MORE