Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1423166
20 WAC Magazine | wac.net living fit instructor insights / triathlon worlds Carol Coram qualifies for Worlds 5 years later, she's once again part of Team USA Triathlete and WAC member Carol Coram will represent Team USA for the second time when she competes at the 2022 triathlon age-group World Championships in Montreal, an honor she earned by finishing ninth in the sprint-distance national championships this past August in Milwaukee. "Being a part of Team USA is an honor," Carol says. "is is especially true as part of the wonderful athletes that comprise the team." Carol also represented Team USA at the 2016 Worlds in Cozumel, Mexico. Five years later, she says she is looking at 2022 with wider eyes and will place an emphasis on enjoying the experience and the people rather than focusing solely on the race itself. "e camaraderie makes the experience exciting," she says. "So does meeting athletes from other nations." Carol, age 70, was born and raised in New York before the Title IX era and competed for club teams, as neither her high school nor college contested women's track and field. At Bradley University in Illinois, she trained with the men. "What I did at Bradley University was interesting because the athletic director at my high school was a Bradley graduate," she recalls. "I went to his office one day and said, 'Guess where I'm going!' Immediately, he gets on the phone and calls the head track coach at Bradley, who was also his coach when he was there. He got me permission to practice with the men's track and field team. In return, I served as the team manager." Carol went on to earn masters and doctoral degrees at Columbia University, but never dried far from the track— coaching at the high school and collegiate levels, as well as serving as a USA Track & Field official at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She moved to Seattle in 1995 and served as Upper School Director at University Prep, where she formed a three-person triathlon relay team with the chemistry teacher and the school's director of development. "We raced for three years," she says. "In the back of my mind, I had the goal of doing an entire triathlon." She got that chance in 2004, when she trained for and competed in her first individual race. "My first triathlon probably wasn't pretty," she says. "But I knew I liked it enough to try it again, and I was hooked." Carol married former WAC Chairman Ammon McWashington in 1995 and joined the WAC that same year. She trains regularly at the Club and credits her athletic longevity to a holistic approach to well-being and a healthy dose of competitive spirit. e sprint age-group world championships are set for this coming June. —Learn more about the WAC Tri/Cycle Club at wac.net/tricycle-club and sign up for the 2022 season. E M I L I O H U E R TA S ( 2 ) Instructor Insights Dr. Jim Weber Originally from New York City, Dr. Jim Weber has done it all—yoga instructor, surgeon, author, you name it. While Jim's various practices seem different in nature, the needle that threads them all together is Jim's passion for teaching. "I love to teach and have done so my entire professional life," he says. "Getting students to do a better job taking care of themselves has always been my goal, whether I'm teaching med students … or yoga students." Aer 30 years as a surgeon, Jim closed his practice in 2008 and transitioned into teaching yoga. Many of his students made the move to virtual classes with him last year. "We never know for sure where Jim is going to take us, but we know it is going to leave us happier and healthier," WAC member Doug Jewett says. "Having Jim as our yoga master is a real blessing for all of us." In his free time, Jim walks five miles daily, listens to classical music, and is an avid writer who has authored four books. "I love the WAC," he says. —Jim Weber teaches yoga virtually on Mondays, Tuesdays, ursdays, Satur- days, and Sundays. View the online class schedule at wac.net/online-fitness.