My name is Alyson Frederick – I am 31 and from Newark, DE. I am an exercise junkie! Growing up, I cycled frequently with my parents, mainly on rail trails during vacations we took together. Truthfully though, my greater passion is running which started with high school track and cross country. I continued running in college with the Penn State Club Cross Country team where I met my now husband. I started running longer distances including my favorite race: the marathon. During this time, my father convinced me to start cycling again as an alternative to running which “is really hard on your knees”. I bought a road bike and started cycling with him, mainly on roads near my parents’ house in Newark. Turns out, he was right. In 2016, I was diagnosed with a knee cartilage injury and had to really dial back on running. In need of other intense exercise to relieve stress, I started dabbling in triathlon training and really increased my frequency of cycling. I have only competed in two sprint triathlons thus far, but I hope to do more once these events are feasible.