Sonic Endurance
Train Smart. Race Bold.
Belong to Something Bigger
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Sonic Endurance is dedicated to helping athletes of all abilities achieve their endurance goals. We understand that no two athletes are alike and the response to training is an individual process. We regularly incorporate field-based testing and functional movement testing in order to assess an athlete’s progress towards their goals. It is our mission to develop a plan that uses your training time efficiently while preparing you to accomplish or exceed your goals.
Sonic Endurance
Personalized Training
Unlock Your Potential
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It all begins with culture—and Sonic’s culture stands above the rest. Coaches and athletes unite as a team, supporting one another through training, overcoming challenges, and pursuing personal goals. At the heart of Sonic’s success are acceptance, mutual respect, and a deep appreciation for each athlete’s individuality. The coaches are not only highly knowledgeable but also genuinely invested in helping you achieve your goals.
Through strategic partnerships with athletic trainers, physical and occupational therapists, training camps and trusted vendors, Sonic ensures every aspect of your training experience is optimized for your success.
At Sonic, every finish line marks a victory over your personal limits.
I signed up with a Sonic coach to improve personally as a triathlete, and almost immediately I started training smarter. I was working harder in many sessions, but I was also less tired overall at the end of the week. I was meeting my primary goal of sustainable fitness for years to come, and as a nice bonus my race times improved dramatically!
But more importantly what I have gained from Sonic, which I didn't know I needed, is a culture of community and support. This is a team focused on affirming each others' wins no matter what they look like, providing support through successes and challenges, and generally bringing a positive attitude to endurance sports. I came for myself, but I'm now proud to be a part of this team team!
My Journey all start in the summer of 2021 when I found myself unhappy with my current fitness level. I had not seen a gym in roughly 10 years, or even attempted any type of cardio workout. I set my goals a bit high without really knowing what I was getting myself into. I registered for my first full Ironman in Lake Placid! In this process I found Sonic Endurance and started working with Maribeth. One of my first times meeting Maribeth, was also my first time EVER swimming in a lap pool, and it showed! Maribeth evaluated my skill level, and spent countless hours teaching me how to swim, while improving my technique and endurance. Swimming was my absolute biggest challenge of the three disciplines. Maribeth was always available for encouragement, support and a good laugh throughout my journey. Working with Maribeth not only kept me accountable, but without her, my goals would not have been met. From Swimming, biking, running to fueling properly for races, Maribeth was there every step of the way. I have continued to work with her as my Endurance coach now for 4 years and have never felt more accomplished in my endurance goals! Working with Maribeth and Sonic has given me some of the best years of my life, the value of working with Maribeth one on one is priceless. Forever grateful!
Joining the Sonic Endurance team and being a 1 on 1 coached athlete has been a life changing experience. I achieved goals I never even dreamed of, including my first full Ironman finish. Coach Stacey gave me the confidence to sign up for Ironman Lake Placid and with her guidance, I never once thought I would not finish. On top of that, the Sonic team has literally become some of my closest friends and chosen family.
Sonic Endurance is more than a coaching company.
Sonic Endurance is a collection of like-minded individuals
We’re Endurance Coaches – and we are athletes. We like to get our hands dirty. We train, we race, we fail, and we succeed. We understand what you experience throughout your seasons of training and racing because we are right there beside you, on the same journey.
Through years of training, racing, and coaching, we’ve learned our athletes benefit most from a team approach. We each bring something different to the table and want you to benefit from each perspective. You’ll have your 1-on-1 coach, combined with the knowledge, experience, and expertise of all our coaches. Together, we bring our passion for triathlon to coaching in support of your goals and behind the process of uncovering your potential.
Sonic Endurance
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Building Sustainable Programming
Each year in the fall, I spend some time setting some business goals for the upcoming year. I find the process of builiding out a business plan and then working to execute it, much like training. You set a solid foundation, adding little by little and focus on the things you can control. Lets face it, in business there are a lot of unknowns. Coaching full time since 2013, I have come to realize that we can expect the unexpected. With success, there is failure but also the opportunity to learn and move forward. In the fal of 2025, we had the opportunity to explore an open water swim venue. For those that know me, I have always wanted a place to really help individuals who wanted to get in the open water. Where we are located, we do not have easy access to open water. So when approached, we were excited that this might become a reality. We spent the fall of 2025, bringing up a variety of athletes and getting feedback on the venue. We have run and executed a variety of group programs, from single session technique to free track workouts. Most group programs came about from a specific need or opportunity within the community. I have found that the needs change and the programs live a life cycle, sometimes a few years and others are still going strong since we started them. After all this time, I am not sure there is an exact framework that is tried and true. Similarly to coaching I have found that need and service can determine success. My approach to a new program is to not expect to generate revenue, I think setting realistic goals in the first year is important to allow the program to succeed. I knew this for this venue, we would have to make an investment in equipment. As with any of our programs, my first priority is athlete safety and with a swim venue that becomes even more important. Safety not only includes the staff on the water, but the water quality itself. So our intital investment included the following: Buoys – we purchase for big buoys to mark the course. We purchased four for the 750 meter course Water testing – every 4-5 weeks a water sample was sent to the state lab Mats for entry – the township made some amazing improvements and we hope that moving forward we can continue to improve Thermometer for water temp Walkie Talkies – to communicate with those on the water and in case of emergency. Early on, I made the decision to partner with another small business, V3PT. There were a few reasons behind that choice. First, I wanted to make sure we reached as many athletes as possible. Our businesses overlap, but we each reach a different audience, and I believe collaboration between businesses is essential to succeeding. Second, partnering with V3PT gave us more to offer the athletes who showed up to swim. Our staff could talk through stroke technique and endurance, while V3PT could speak to injury and mobility — an area that often gets overlooked. Third, it strengthened our staffing, which can be tough to manage during the summer with travel, races, and vacations pulling people in different directions. I firmly believe a business shouldn’t ask people to donate their time, so this partnership gave us the capacity we needed to operate safely and successfully. We paid our lifeguards and check-in staff for every session. Collaboration can make businesss grow. I think for it to work, you need to be clear about expectations, who is responsible for what parts of the program, how the financials will work and agree on expenditures as well. Everyone has different strengths they bring to the table so capitalizing on these is key One of our biggest early challenges was awareness. Launching a new program means staying diligent about getting the word out. Referrals remain one of the best ways we gain new athletes, which is why the quality of the product and the experience we deliver matters so much. We ran a total of 3 paid ads, leaned on social media, and relied on word of mouth from athletes who were already part of our network. Positives We made a point of personally talking with every new athlete who came out to swim. We got their feedback and made sure the experience was a good one. We offered stroke feedback to any athlete who wanted it. Every week brought new participants. Our water test results were excellent. Our pricing gave athletes options — a season pass or a drop-in rate. Areas of Opportunity We want a better entry point into open water swimming venue — that’s a work in progress. Several people had trouble finding our venue, so improving wayfinding is a priority. If the program grows, our staffing needs to grow with it. There’s no bathroom at the venue. Going into this year, I set a few loose goals for the program. First and foremost, I wanted to introduce potential swimmers to open water swimming — and I’m happy to report we did that. Honestly, if just one person had come out to try open water for the first time, I would have called it a win. The jump from pool to open water is a big one, so providing affordable access matters. My bigger goal was to reach over 100 registrations for the program. I thought that might be a stretch, since awareness is everything and I wasn’t sure the venue or our marketing would get us there. With two sessions left, we’re at 118 registrations. We decided to open two options for the summer; a season pass and a drop in option. Initially we thought the season pass would be the biggest sellar but we were wrong. I think this relates to the fact that the program was new so we did not have any following. I expect next summer to be
Cold Water, Warm Water, and Everything In Between: A Local Technical Official’s Breakdown to Triathlon Swim Safety
If you’ve ever stood in transition at 5:30am wondering why the Head or Local Technical Officials look like they’re fishing off the docks, you’ve witnessed one of the most important — and least glamorous — jobs in our sport: the water temperature check. As Technical Officials, our goal on race day is to gather this information early, so we spend a good chunk of the pre-race morning thinking about wetsuits, water temps, and making sure everyone gets a safe, fair swim. So, I wanted to break down how this all actually works, straight from the rulebook (v.2026.01.01 USA Triathlon Multisport Competition Rules and the 2026 USAT Rules Variances and Equipment Clarifications), in plain, human language. First Things First: Why Do We Even Care About Wetsuits? Wetsuits aren’t just about staying warm — they also add buoyancy and reduce drag, which can be a real performance boost. So USAT has built a whole framework around when they’re prohibited, allowed, permitted, or mandatory, balancing three things: safety, fairness, and performance and Section 3.4 of the rulebook lays this out in detail. The Water Temperature Chart Breakdown For most of us racing in USAT Sanctioned Local Races, here’s the chart that governs your swim, straight from Section 3.4.1: Category Temperature Range What It Means PROHIBITED 84.0°F (28.9°C) and above No wetsuits allowed, period. ALLOWED 78.1–84.0°F (25.6–28.8°C) You can wear one, but you give up awards/ranking eligibility. PERMITTED 60.7–78.0°F (16.0–25.5°C) Wetsuits welcome, no strings attached. MANDATORY 60.6°F (15.9°C) and below You must wear one — safety first. Now, Let’s Talk Safety and Concerns This is really the heart of why all these tables and thresholds exist. A few things I think about constantly on race morning: Risk of Overheating Wetsuits are built to trap body heat — great in cold water, dangerous in warm water. Above 78°F, that insulation can work against you, pushing your core temperature up even while you’re swimming. That’s a real heat-illness risk, not a hypothetical one. Safety Concerns This is exactly why race organizers (and the rulebook) get conservative above 78°F. It’s not about taking away your gear — it’s a proactive move to keep athletes from overheating in open water, especially in smaller, more exposed venues where temps can swing quickly. Loss of Competitive Advantage Wetsuits boost buoyancy and cut drag — real advantages in cool water. But in warm water, that edge shrinks (or even backfires), which is part of why the rules draw a line: it keeps things fair across the field. Rule Compliance and Awards Eligibility This one trips people up every season: if you wear a wetsuit in the 78.1–84.0°F “Allowed” band at a non-National Age-Group race, you can absolutely still swim — but you’re not eligible for rankings or awards unless a specific variance is posted. I always remind athletes at check-in: it’s not a DSQ, it’s an eligibility issue. Practical Swim Performance Ditching the wetsuit in warm water means a bit more kicking and a touch less glide — but you also lose the drag and overheating downside. Most athletes find that trade-off is worth it once the water gets warm. Practice and Comfort Level My biggest piece of advice as an official (and fellow athlete): don’t wait until race morning to find out how you swim without a wetsuit! Train in a range of conditions throughout your season — wetsuit and no wetsuit — so you’re not caught off guard by whatever Mother Nature (and the thermometer) decides on race day. Comfort and confidence in the water are just as trainable as your bike and run splits. Beyond Just the Suit – What’s Permitted vs. Not This is where things get interesting, because it’s not only about the wetsuit itself: Wetsuit specs (always): · Max 5mm thickness anywhere (Section 3.2.1) · Must cover at least torso and back when mandatory · Must fit snugly — no baggy suits flapping around When wetsuits are PROHIBITED (warm water): · Swimwear must be 100% textile (no rubber/neoprene) — think standard tri suits or swimskins · Can’t cover the neck, can’t go past elbows or knees · Neoprene/wetsuit bottoms (buoyancy shorts) are banned in this scenario at most competition levels When wetsuits are PERMITTED/MANDATORY: · Neoprene boots/socks? Allowed — but no webbing between toes (no “helping” your propulsion) · Gloves are only allowed when wetsuits are mandatory, and again, no webbing Always prohibited, regardless of temp: · Snorkels (see 2026 USAT Rules Variances below), fins, artificial propulsion devices, and personal flotation devices in competitive races (Section 3.3) Now, here’s a fun local-race nuance from the 2026 USAT Rules Variances and Equipment Clarifications doc — at the Local Race level, we actually have more flexibility than Elite/National races: · Buoyancy shorts: Not allowed at Elite/U23/Development/National/World Qualifier level — but allowed at USAT Sanctioned Local Races and Adaptive Triathlon races (must stay above the knee, below the hip line, max 5mm). · Snorkels: Same story — banned at the higher competitive tiers, but permitted locally (with a heads-up to race management beforehand). · Swim buoys: Must stay undeployed in competitive local waves, but can be deployed in Non-Competitive waves (with the athlete starting at the back of the final wave). So as a Local Official, part of my job is knowing that “the rules” aren’t monolithic — what applies to a Local Sprint might be totally different from what applies to someone chasing a Nationals qualifying slot. The Bottom Line Every one of these thresholds, charts, and equipment rules exists for one reason: keeping you safe while keeping the race fair. As officials, we’re not out there to nitpick your gear (well…..sometimes ) — we’re making sure that whatever the water temp throws at us, everyone gets a fair and safe shot at the finish line. So next time you see us out there with a thermometer at dawn, know that we’re doing it for you. See you at the swim start!
Training as a Masters Athlete
Masters athletes aren’t fragile versions of their younger selves; they’re a distinct training population with real physiological differences that gain rewards with a different approach