About

My Story

If someone were to describe Olivia Dietzel, they would probably mention a busy schedule, obsession with turtles and broccoli, and a crazy love for running/swimming/triathlons. However, participating in endurance sports was not something she grew up with, but randomly stumbled upon halfway through high school.

Liv found her passion for running when her high school gym teacher told her she was in the wrong sports, and encouraged her to run cross country her junior year. She instantly fell in love with the sport. Unfortunately, her high school track coach wouldn’t give her a chance, deeming her “not worth investing in”, so she didn’t pursue running at the collegiate level. Four years later, while training for half marathons in college, she realized a need for some cross training for complementary strength and conditioning, and injury prevention. With a great deal of patience and a ton of miles in the pool, she taught herself how to swim, really enjoyed it, and became a decent swimmer. After college, she moved back to her hometown and her father, who had enjoyed cycling his whole life, encouraged her to ride with him. She was hesitant at first, but he basically forced her into it by giving her a road bike for Christmas. She started biking periodically with her father, and really started to enjoy this father-daughter bonding opportunity, especially since her father was fighting a battle with glioblastoma (GBM), a grade 4 brain cancer, at the time.

With some experience in all three disciplines, she decided to toe the line at her first sprint distance triathlon in 2016. Upon finishing, she was instantly hooked. Since that first race, her passion for the sport has grown significantly, and she has discovered a deep love for/obsession with endurance running, open water swimming, and especially for triathlons. 

Though she loved racing, she never imaged that love would eventually lead her to start line of an Ironman or a marathon. However, some challenges in her personal life inspired her to pursue some daunting, and possibly insane, new goals. Her father had been fighting GBM since 2014, and in the fall of 2018, he had his second brain surgery on tumor #3. A week after his surgery, she signed up for Ironman Wisconsin, creating a fundraising campaign called “Mind Over Matter” through her race to raise money and awareness for brain cancer. A 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, and 26.2 mi run later, she finished her first Ironman and raised over $31,000 for brain cancer research at the University of Iowa through her Mind Over Matter campaign (see Mind Over Matter page for more information on the campaign). When signing up, she ensured her friends and family that this was a one-time thing. Not surprisingly, that changed quickly. Embracing her mother and father seconds after crossing the finish line at Ironman Wisconsin, she whispered to them, “I want to do it again.” A month later, she flew to Utah for her marathon debut, and to her surprise, clocked in at 2:55 and secured a Boston Qualifying time. Needless to say, there were definitely more half Ironman, full Ironman, and marathon races in her future. Sorry, Mom! Fast forward to 2022, and Liv found herself on the age group podium at Ironman World Championships in Utah, racing at Kona, and qualifying to race as a professional triathlete. And she concluded her last amateur race season (at least for a while) by finishing 6th overall female (including many experienced extreme tri pros) at Patagonman Xtri (extreme Ironman distance race in the Patagonia region of Chile). And at this race she also qualified for 2023 Xtri World Champs (Norseman)! 2023 will be an adventure as Liv tackles some crazy new races and takes on her first season as a pro!

Her experience as a self-coached athlete (for the first 3 years of triathlon training) inspired her to to help other triathletes develop their skills/techniques, and find a passion for endurance sports. She started by teaching a friend or two to swim, using her self-taught swimming method, and this eventually lead to creating full-fledged training plans for runners and triathletes during the 2019 racing season.  Ignited by a love for coaching, she then became the assistant women’s cross country coach at her former high school in the fall of 2019. The next year she took on a head coaching position at another local high school and in 2022 began coaching distance track at another local school. Liv is also a USA Triathlon Level 1 certified coach and an Ironman certified coach. She’s also excited to announce that she officially founded a USA Triathlon certified high school club team, the “Tri-State Terrapins” that will introduce triathlon to kids from the WI-IA-IL tri-state area. She will also be hosting the first annual Mind Over Matter Triathlon in the summer of 2023, which will also be a fundraiser for brain cancer research.

Racing and coaching has allowed Liv to use the talents God gave her to help others find their passion for endurance sports and improve their overall health and fitness. Liv is excited to share her passion for endurance sports with everyone and anyone willing to consider it. Are you ready to get LivFit and tackle your first race?