Kristin Buchholz
Teresa Kalinay photo
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On Aug. 20, 2023, the Back Mountain Triathlon will bring triathlon back to Harveys Lake and the Back Mountain community in Northeastern Pennsylvania for the first time since 2016.
More than 300 triathletes are expected; first timers and relay teams are welcome. The race will start with a 1,500-meter swim in Harveys Lake, include a 24-mile bike course through the rolling hills of Harveys Lake and Noxen, and finish with a challenging run course on paved roads and quiet country dirt roads.
The triathlon recently approved a partnership with the Back Mountain Chamber of Commerce to help highlight the race in the community and to garner support from many local businesses.
Kristin Buchholz is the first female triathlete we have featured so far in our regular weekly series about local athletes. Kristin won the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon in 2015 and finished third there in 2016. Although she often trains with local male triathletes because of her ability on the bike, she is also very supportive and encouraging to female triathletes.
Kristin’s first ever triathlon was at Wilkes Barre in 2009. She was only 25. She had competed athletically many times before as a runner, cyclist and skier, but this was her first triathlon.
Kristin claims that she didn’t really know how to swim when she walked out on the beach that morning, but using a mix of freestyle and even some doggy paddle, she completed her first race that day.
She ended up competing in the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon four times on her way to multiple IronMan finishes and a variety of distances. She even earned a slot on the USA Team that went to the 2017 ITU World Championships in Rotterdam after her success at USAT Nationals.
Her sage advice to first time competitors is, “Learn how to swim.” Kristin finally got serious about swimming and learned how after that first race.
Her other advice would be, “Do not put any expectations on yourself other than finishing. Just keep telling yourself that you ARE going to finish.”
Kristin was inspired to do her first triathlon after watching the Ironman World Championships on NBC in 2000. That year she made a pact with her Crestwood High School cross country teammates that they would all do an Ironman race within 10 years. Buchholz and one other teammate (Patty Oshleger) were the only two to reach that goal. So far, anyway.
In addition to triathlon, Kristin has a wide range of athletic and other interests.
She is very involved with skydiving. Having completed over 1,500 jumps, she is now a skydiving instructor and videographer. She often likes to sky dive the day before races. She says it helps her “relax.”
She is also an accomplished alpine skier, and she still likes to race, instruct and coach. And don’t forget her interests in Shotokan karate, yoga and reiki. Kristin has a B.S. and an MBA from Penn State.
She recently got engaged to triathlete and training partner Kenny Quigley, formerly of Dunmore. (Quigley was featured in an early article this year). The two love to train and race together. The year that Kristin won the Wilkes-Barre race, Kenny finished second among the men.
She is really looking forward to the return of the triathlon and racing with her fiancee, because at previous Wilkes-Barre Triathlons they were just training partners and good friends.
When asked what triathlon means to her, Buchholz had this to say: “It takes a special kind of crazy to be a triathlete. I have always said there is a fine line between determination and stupidity. As a triathlete, I find myself flirting with that line frequently.”
Despite a history of some crashes – one in a criterium, one in Europe, one near Dollar General – Buchholz doesn’t let that stop her. With her trademark smile she gets back on her bike, and she just keeps going.
