Brian VanderMeulen- Head Coach
Experience:
-10+ years of training and racing
-Ironman University Certified Coach 
-experienced cycling coach, and spin instructor at national gym chain
-experience with multiple endurance sport races of several types and distances
-multiple time USA Triathlon Nationals qualifier
-2016 Ironman All World Athlete
-personal experience with significant weight loss and overcoming injuries
-experience coaching people of a wide variety of ages and experience
Welcome!
My name is Brian VanderMeulen, and I’m the Head Coach here at TriDogz. I’ve been into sports most of my life. As a kid I played basketball, baseball, and golf in High School, and College. Like many people, when I joined the work force, my physical activity gave way to work and other habits that weren’t very good for me. After a while I felt tired, weak, and over-weight! So I started to run a few times a week to get back into shape. My weight, and lack of activity for all those years, made running really hard on my knees. So, I had to find something else with less impact on my joints. I bought a bicycle, and found I really enjoyed that. My rides around the block started turning into long distance rides, and as many short training rides I could get in during the week. I then bought a mountain bike and started hitting local trails. After meeting some new friends, one of them convinced me to start doing a little mountain bike racing. It was hard to get to the trails all the time so I purchased road bike to keep up on my training when trails were wet. Then, another mountain biker convinced me to do my first triathlon in 2009. I was hooked on that! I’ve done several triathlons since. I’ve had several top 10’s in my age group in running and triathlon events. Along the way I’ve figured out how to tune in nutrition, and have lost a lot of weight. I’ve also learned some hard lessons, and struggled with my share of injury. It’s taught me a lot about how to train safely, respect distance, and strategically plan training load.
So here we are! After all that, it’s time to start a new chapter. I’ve recently found great enjoyment in helping others achieve their goals. I’ve received my USA Cycling Coaching License in 2014 and started coaching clients and friends and family. My wife and I decided to start TriDogz in 2015. We’ve always been involved with animals, and saw an opportunity to take my coaching and align it with our passion for helping animals. Recently, I was asked by a friend to coach a charity team doing a 1/2 marathon to benefit a local animal shelter. TriDogz was born! Our mission going forward will be to further align our interest in helping animals, and provide professional coaching to athletes.
Brian