Adirondack Sports June 2023

JUNE 2023 15
ATHLETE
PROFILE
Jason
Hare
▶ AFTER THE
LAKE GEORGE
TRIATHLON
2022.
◀ FINISH LINE AT
IRONMAN LAKE
PLACID 2022.
▲ STARTING
SECOND
BIKE LOOP
AT IMLP 2022.
AGE: 46
FAMILY: Wife, Jessica (44),
daughter Ella (11), son Julian (8)
RESIDENT: Wilton, originally from
Port Washington
By Mona Kulkarni Caron
PROFESSION: Director of Patient
Experience, Glens Falls Hospital
PRIMARY SPORT: Triathlon
▲ FAMILY BIKING
WITH MOM, DAD
AND BROTHER,
MONTREAL 2021.
Community, gratitude and a positive
attitude are a few of the themes that
came up several times during my
conversation with triathlete Jason Hare. The
trajectory of Jason’s journey into triathlon
has been an unlikely one if you ask him.
From a self-proclaimed non-athlete with an
arts and theater background in his younger
days, Jason’s foray into triathlon has been
impressive.
From the beginning, Jason and his wife
Jessica have made balancing family, work
and being active a priority. If something is
off-balance, they communicate and make
adjustments and above all, they support one
another in all endeavors. Jason and Jessica
met at the University at Buffalo as students.
After graduation in 2000, they moved back
to New York City for their careers in health
care. While living in Queens, Jessica started
bicycling and encouraged Jason to pick it up
too. Then, after participating in the 42-mile
Five Boro Bike Tour in 2008, the idea to do a
triathlon was activated!
Jason needed some coaching to get
started. In 2010, Jason and Jessica completed
their first race at the NYC Triathlon as
part of Team in Training for Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society. He went on to do three
more from 2011-2013 with Team in Training.
Jason and Jessica raised $16,000 on a goal of
$2,500 the first year and went on to raise
an additional $25,000 for Team in Training
while training and competing! Jason was
hooked on triathlon and thoughts of doing
an Ironman by his 40thh birthday in 2017
began to enter his mind.
Fast forward to 2014: Jason and Jessica
each with full-time jobs, which now included
a long commute for Jason from Long
Island, and a new baby daughter Ella (born
in 2012) – something had to give. Racing and
training went by the wayside as they had too
many commitments and not enough time.
Son Julian came along in 2015 and as anyone
with very young kids knows, there isn’t
much time for anything else. The triathlon
training and goal of doing an Ironman by his
40th birthday was not possible. In 2017, they
were ready to make a big life change.
A move was planned and several factors
brought them to the Capital Region:
their love of the Adirondacks; Jason’s parents
had another home in Minerva (which
included skiing at Gore Mountain when
Jason was a teen); and Jessica’s family lived
in the Albany area as well. In August 2017,
the family moved to Wilton. Jessica started
work as a Critical Care Physician’s Assistant
at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany and Jason
at Glens Falls Hospital as their Director of
Patient Experience.
In March 2018, Jason discovered the
Adirondack Sports Summer Expo, and I
was thrilled to hear that it jumpstarted his
enthusiasm to get back into training and
competing. He made his way to the Saratoga
Triathlon Club booth and found the group
to be very warm and welcoming. He joined
the club on the spot and began swimming
and training over the summer. A club training
swim in Moreau Lake State Park that
summer gave him the inspiration to dream
about Ironman again, with hopes that he’d
be crossing the finishing line before his 45th
birthday. He chose Lake Placid because of its
proximity in the Adirondacks.
Jason got back into the sport with local
sprint and Olympic distance triathlons. In
2021 he began training with T3 Coaching
where his coach John Evansky helped him
prepare for his first 70.3 (half-ironman) race.
As he prepared for Ironman Lake Placid,
the pandemic allowed for time to focus on
strength, nutrition and getting into the physical
and mental space to take on the journey.
Coach Carl Regenauer helped him prepare
for Ironman Lake Placid in July 2022.
His goals for Lake Placid were to “finish it
feeling good, strong, and with a smile on my
face.” It was tough day due to the heat, but
Jason achieved all of those goals and finished
34th in his 45-49 age group. He credits Carl
and T3 Coaching for helping him to be the
best athlete and person he can be. He also
feels gratitude for his community of family,
friends, coaches, and the Saratoga Tri Club.
Jason was STC’s vice president from
2019-2022 and stepped up to become president
this year. It’s his way of giving back to the
sport and the community. He comments,
“The club was so welcoming
to me and as president I want to help
others as they helped me.” He continues,
“My role is to make everyone feel
welcome, with as many resources of support
as possible, especially if you’re just getting
started or returning to the sport.”
Jason has followed through with his
desire to make the club and the sport more
inviting by including a guest speaker or clinic
at every off-season club meeting, whether
it’s a teaching clinic on injury prevention,
mobility or nutrition, or a hands-on clinic on
how to fix a flat or maintain your bike. These
opportunities to learn from others are what
make the meetings more welcoming. New
this year, Jason instituted a mentor-mentee
match to pair new athletes with experienced
members. It’s already gained interest with
people signing up to become mentors. It’s
the sense of community that brought him to
the sport and what drives him to help others
experience it too.
In many ways, Jason’s professional
life parallels his athletic life. As Director
of Patient Experience, Jason ensures that
patients and families have the best experience
possible and in turn he educates staff
and colleagues on patients’ needs, amplify
what they’re doing well, and improvements
that can be made. He clearly aims to do the
same for his club members and teammates.
Jason’s family is very important to him
and he is inspired by his wife Jessica. She
puts in 12-hour night shifts in the ICU, has an
hour-long commute and is training for her
first 70.3 in July. It’s the family support that
he has with Jessica that helped him achieve
his goal of training for and completing his
first full Ironman Lake Placid last year. This
year is Jessica’s turn as she is getting back
into triathlon and training for her first 70.3
at the Ironman Musselman in Geneva in July
with Jason’s full support.
Jason is very disciplined in his training
and preparation. He works out at 5am to get
his training in before work, and is able to take
Ella and Julian to their after-school activities,
and help with the bedtime routine. He meal
▲ NATION’S TRIATHLON
IN WASHINGTON, DC, 2010.
preps on Sundays to maximize his time with
the kids and focus on their activities.
They’re an active family. Ella has participated
in Girls on the Run and the Saratoga
Shredders mountain bike program, while
Julian is active in recreational biking, soccer
and dance, and both take music lessons.
This year, each member of the family has a
triathlon on the calendar. Jessica and Jason
are both doing the Ironman 70.3 Musselman
in July. Ella and Julian are doing their first
multisport race at the T3-sponsored Kids’
Triathlon in Glens Falls this June. Before
press time, Jason reported that he and Jessica
had a great day at the Memorial Duathlon in
Saratoga Springs. He says, “Jessica finished
strong and smiling, and I came in second
place overall!” A great start for this summer’s
racing season.
Throughout our conversation, Jason’s
very positive, infectious attitude reminds us
that you can do anything that you set your
mind to. He lives this each day and says,
“You get to define who you are.” He passes
this along to his kids to show them what’s
possible when you put in the work.
Jason’s focus is on fun, not competition.
With starting at a later age, it’s about being
thankful for the support from his family
and the camaraderie he shares with friends,
teammates and volunteers. He reflects after
every workout and expresses gratitude for
this enthusiastic community.
Mona Kulkarni Caron (mona@adksports.
com) is race director of the Good Karma
5K Run/Walk in Clifton Park, a mentor
for Freihofer’s Run for Women Training
Challenge, and enjoys running and
bicycling. She also works at Erie Canalway
National Heritage Corridor, managing the
NYS Canalway Water Trail.