Name: Keith Woodward Age: 67 Lives in: Moscow
Family: significant Other, Patricia Driscoll; rescue dog, Simon
Occupation: Groomer at Craftsbury outdoor Center Primary sport: Duathlon
Most people know Keith Woodward as the groomer and trail keeper at Craftsbury outdoor center but there is another side to him that people may not be so familiar with. This past summer Woodward finished first in his age group at the ITU world Duathlon championship for the second straight year. He has also been inducted into the mount Washington road Race Hall of fame and in 2012, USA Triathlon named him its Grand Master Duathlete of the Year.
What was it like to win your age group for the second straight year at the Duathlon world championship in Germany?
I had a target on my back from finishing first the previous year so it was especially satisfying to earn the respect of my fellow competitors, both international racers and Camiseta Athletic Bilbao Americans. In 2013 I won the Worlds in Ottawa in the conventional duathlon [a 20K run, 40K bike and a 5K run]. The next two years the weather was really hot and I finished fourth and the last two years I raced the draft legal sprint length (a 5.5K run, a 19.9K bike, and a 2.5K run, where drafting is allowed on the bike leg) and finished first each time. I was really delighted with my finish this year and also humbled considering that on that day I was the best in the world.
How did you become an athlete?
I started running when I was in high school in Newbury, Vt., when I realized my little league dreams of playing for the Boston Red Sox weren’t going to happen. I was a catcher and I didn’t have much of an arm. I was actually a bit of an anomaly when I started running and people would recognize me because I was the only one running on the road. I ran cross-country at Keene state and was an All-American. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I always took pleasure in it.
Is it true that you did your first marathon in 1971 with essentially no preparation?
A pal of mine and I had started a track club at Vermont tech with the goal of racing against local high schools but then the person who was in charge got put on academic probation. I heard about the Rouses point to Plattsburgh marathon after I’d been running for three weeks and I guess I had another three weeks to prepare. I did it in a pair of blue flats that were like Keds but I finished in 3:32. Marathon running was still in its infancy here and another person ran in hiking boots and wool socks. The following year I wore basketball sneakers and I did better. I’ve done 13 marathons but I never finished in a time that I thought I was capable of running. My last marathon was in Philly in 1983 and I thought I’d take a short break but I haven’t gone back to it. I’ve done some half marathons and this year we’re going to do the Chickamauga in Tennessee in November as part of a vacation.
In 2012 you had a week when you won three silver medals in seven days. Can you tell us about that?
The first one was my breakthrough race for the conventional duathlon at the world championships in France. I had been racing considering that 2008 and my highest placement before then was sixth so I was very happy. The next race was the USA Track and Field’s 2012 USA Masters 5K road Championships. I had a silver and my team (the GMAA 60+ team) finished second by less than a second in a photo finish. I guess I didn’t think it was that much of a big deal because one was a team medal but honestly, getting second as a team was a lot more fun than finishing second as an individual.
How did you get to be inducted into the Mt. Washington road Race Hall of Fame?
At one point I had the record for the most times running the race with either 36 or 37. I finished first in my age class several times. I’ve been overtaken because I missed some of the last few years thanks to racing duathlons. That was only the second year they had the Hall of fame so it was a real honor to be Camiseta Selección de fútbol de Argentina nominated. I went back last year and finished second in my age group even though I didn’t have a particularly strong race.
Tell us about how you train.
I’ve been cutting back on running to just three Camiseta Montpellier HSC days a week at a lot of and I try to bike at least four days. This year we had such a wet, cold spring that it was harder to get into the biking routine but it didn’t hurt me that much in the worlds because of the draft legal policies (meaning I could legally draft off other cyclists). If I run 20 miles a week it’s a big week. I average maybe 120 miles a week on the bike in the summer. I even did a little bit of fatbiking last year. I confess that I have really poor eating habits. working at Craftsbury I get breakfast and lunch and that’s where I get my salad and vegetables. Otherwise, I eat a lot of pasta.
How long have you been the groomer at Craftsbury?
I started working at Craftsbury when Russell spring first gotten the place in 1976. I grew up onull