Team D3 athletes embrace our principles of Desire, Determination, and Discipline and are great ambassadors for our community and triathlon. They also share in the camaraderie and benefits of a diverse, passionate group of athletes. Team D3 athletes range in ability from beginner to elite, and they train in home towns that span between Coquimbo, Chile – New York City – Boulder, Colorado – Napa Valley, California – Costa Rica – Dubai – and so many places in between!
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- Jason Surface Fort Collins, Colorado, United States |
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Favorite race distance
Olympic and Iron -
Favorite post-race recovery
Ultragen for Recovery but beer and a burger for later after the race! -
Favorite piece of training equipment
weights and bands as well as foam roller and Normatec -
Bucket list race
Challenge Roth, Kona, NYC Marathon -
Describe a little bit about yourself and your interest in triathlon
I am originally from NY and moved to Colorado in 1997 to attend CSU. I have a BS in Wildlife Biology and an MS in Forest Policy and Economics. I am a Game Warden with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and am the Area Wildlife Manager for Area 4-Fort Collins.
I got into triathlon after my wife did a small local triathlon in the San Luis Valley. It looked like a blast so I decided to give it a try and in 2014 at 47 years old I did my first tri- Oktoberfest in Longmont and I was hooked. I did the race on a 20 year old 30 lb mountain bike but had a great time.
As I got into triathlon my mother was struggling with Parkinson's disease and declining quickly. I never intended to do an Ironman and thought they were well out of reach for me. I had no background in any of the three disciplines but also knew I had my mother's level of grit and stubbornness. I decided to race Ironman Lake Placid to raise money for the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in honor of my mother. I chose Lake Placid since she and the rest of my family lived in NY. I ended up raising over $9,500 and finished the race in 15 hours. My mother was not able to make the journey up to Lake Placid but her spirit was with me along with the rest of my family.
I have gone on to do five more IM races including Wales, which I did in 2018 after my mother passed away. I did Wales to honor her as she was from England and Wales was just such a part of her spirit. I had extended family there and it was a very emotional day.
I will be racing Lake Placid in July to complete a task I set out to do in 2016. I always carry a photo of my mother when I race IM as she is and always will be my inspiration. I lost the picture somewhere on the course in 2016 and swore I would go back and carry her over that finish line, which I will do this July.
Triathlon has been a huge help in my life to silence demons from many years ago and help me cope with a lot of the stress in my life. I started working with D3 in 2017 and Brad was my coach for almost two years. Brad and Mike and everyone else at D3 have been a tremendous help and inspiration to me and I am so proud to be part of this family!