Local triathlete taking to home course

Do you start with a unreal physical stamina? Or maybe the most important ingredient is mental toughness? Chiseled arms and legs perhaps?

Well, to trace South San Francisco resident John Dahlz’s transformation into an elite triathlete, you have to go back to when he was 13 and a loaf of Iron Kids bread.

"My buddy and I were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Dahlz said, "and Iron Kids bread was advertising a triathlon and my friend was like ‘you should do a triathlon.’ At that time ignorance is bliss because you’re like ‘yeah sure’ without knowing what you’re getting yourself into.”

It was that encounter that set Dahlz on a course that included a career at the University of California at Berkeley where he was the 2009 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Champion, and a place in today’s 2011 USA Triathlon Elite Race Series, which makes its third stop at Treasure Island in San Francisco.

More than 80 of the top international triathletes will participate in today’s race, including 30 Americans. The field includes a number of Northern California participants like Andrew Bauer (Oakland), Eric Clarkson (Santa Cruz), Chris Coble (Fremont), Kenneth Rakestraw (Berkeley), Craig Robinson (Palo Alto) and Erich Wegscheider (San Jose,).

The race at Treasure Island marks Dahlz’s second straight race on local soil. He last competed at the Escape From Alcatraz where he finished sixth with a time of 2:06.57 — his best personal finish and tops among local competitors.

"It was great,” Dahlz said. "I really enjoy that race. It’s great because I have all my family and a whole lot of friends all over the course. I’ve just had bad luck in the past, I don’t know if the course is not well suited for me, but I’ve never had a good race on it (but) I was definitely happy about things.”

It’s been quite the trek for the St. Ignatius of San Francisco alum who calls South City home. After enjoying a successful career at Cal and graduating with a degree in political science in 2009, Dahlz took a job as the Wildcats swim coach. Shortly after, the triathlon coaching position for the Golden Bears opened up and Dahlz took over the reins. The match was perfect for Dahlz, who was searching for a way to keep his feet in the triathlon waters.

Since then, Dahlz has immersed himself in the coaching ranks, heading a team 150-people strong while still training, competing and keeping his personal dreams alive.

"I’ve been in double-digit crashes this year,” said a chuckling Dahlz, adding that Alcatraz was the first race this year when he wasn’t hit by a car. His last encounter with a car came a week before a competition when a Suburban hit him as it turned right into a parking lot.

Despite those incidents, Dahlz continued to train. The course at Treasure Island is one he is used to, having raced it a handful of times in the past — it’s a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run.

"It’s probably one of the most technical races I’ve ever done,” Dahlz said. "Just the nature of it, since it’s confined on an island, you don’t have very many options. The bike course is six laps. I’ve done it the past four years, it’s pretty technical. There’s always crashes, it can be windy on the island. It’s a deceptively hard course, it definitely beats you up. And this is like Alcatraz, for some reason I don’t do well on my home course,” he said, adding that his best finish was 11th a couple of years ago.

Even with its difficulties, the course at Treasure Island is one Dahlz is looking forward to.

"The novelty of a course, it’s exciting to get out there and not know what to expect, I do think it’s easier to just stay in the moment and not overanalyze things,” he said. "The benefit of this course, there are so many potholes, there are so many technical terms, it’s good to know it. I do know where things get hard, I know how long it takes exactly to climb that hill, and I’m the type of guy that can overanalyze things so it’s best to just shut off my brain at times. This course I definitely know like the back of my hand, so hopefully that plays to my advantage as long as I don’t start overthinking things.”

But when it comes to thinking, Dahlz feels like he was come a long way.

"I think I’ve learned a lot over the years,” he said. "I like to think it’s more mental than physical because at this level everyone puts in the work, everyone puts in the hours, it’s really what your mindset is. I think that’s what has held me back in years past is when things got tough. I would give up instead of fight and that’s what separates the best guys in any sport. And it’s also taking some time to put things in perspective and not live and die with every race. I let it go basically. I think the mental athlete is often overlooked with triathletes.”

The Elite Series, set up by U.S.A Triathlon, is the premiere event for those looking to make the Olympic team. Dahlz keeps that dream alive, maybe not for 2012, but hopefully for 2016.

For the time being, Dahlz will enjoy racing in his backyard as he keeps an eye on grad school and beyond.

"I don’t think any triathlete would deny that it is a little crazy,” he said, "It’s definitely a sport where you can get caught up and you kind of have to put your foot down and have a cutoff point. (But) I would like to think no matter what, there will be a part of me that will always be a triathlete.”