Scott Thomas’ first exposure to triathlon was when he was on active duty in the Navy.  He had a couple of roommates (one of whom would eventually turn pro and win Vineman twice) that participated in the sport but he was not yet willing to take the plunge. 

While in the U.S. Naval Academy, he played in a unique form of a sport called Sprint Football.  He lived like a wrestler trying to cut weight before each game, but had a lot of fun continuing his football dreams and playing on a college level.

After many years of trying to complete the training program for a marathon, he was successful in 2013, although he notes “I looked like I needed the medical tent at the finish line.”  It was then that his wife, Dorothy, encouraged him to a) never do another marathon and b) try a triathlon as an alternative.  Scott had always been an avid cyclist and enjoyed running (which he began doing for fitness as he prepared to enter the U.S. Naval Academy in 1993).  The swimming concerned him, but he took it as the next challenge in his life.

            In May of 2014, Scott completed the Crystal River Sprint where he won the novice division in 1:20:49.  To this day, Scott lists the Crystal River Sprint Series as his favorite race as it is fun, fast, and convenient.

            Since then, Scott has ventured into longer races.  He completed Ironman 70.3 Florida in 2015 and again in 2016.  He notes his 2016 race was his best result to date as he was able to shave 27 minutes off of his 2015 time and he hit all of his time goals for each discipline.

            Scott is 45, is the Chief Financial Officer at Infinite Energy, is a husband, and a father to two children.  Scott believes his best accomplishment in the sport is simply making the commitment to jump in despite his self-doubts about his ability to swim and his concerns about having time to train.  He also would like to forget about the 2015

 Hammerhead Olympic Triathlon as he tore his calf at the 1 mile mark of the run and had to withdraw from the race.

            Scott joined G3 in 2014 after his first race as he wanted to be involved with a group of local people to serve as a resource for group training and questions.  He notes that he enjoys seeing the G3 colors at races.  His prerace routine consists of coffee consumption as he must “have my coffee in the morning or else I shouldn’t be near another human.”

            Scott would advise people who are considering triathlon to take the plunge and go for it.  He believes that, while you may not be comfortable with each aspect of the sport, it is a great way to challenge oneself and a great community to be a part of.

            Scott’s strives to have fun, stay healthy, and continue to improve in the sport.  Each year he tries to take on at least three races and this year, his goal is to break 5:20 at Ironman 70.3 Augusta.