Today we’d like to introduce you to Meagan Rinck.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started into triathlons when I was about 35. I had two kids and wanted to try and be fit to keep up with them. I had a goal to complete a half Ironman and I did that. I fell in love with triathlons and wanted more. I did an X-Tri and enjoyed every second of that as well. In the winter, I did not like the down time and felt anxious to do more and that is when I started looking at winter triathlons. The US had 4 at the time and Michigan had zero of those races. To me, Michigan is a winter Paradice and I knew I had to bring a winter triathlon to the state. After some planning, I started Tri 45 in 2022, and another person saw my winter triathlon, and it inspired her to start her own (Abominable snow tri) in 2023. She contacted me and we partnered up to create a way to market winter triathlons and encourage people to stay active in the winter. I even took what I learned at wrote the first book dedicated to how to train for a winter triathlon (Tri Something New).
USA Tri reached out to me in the summer of 2025, and they are working on National Championship opportunities. Currently New York will be hosting the 2026 National Championships, but my winter triathlon was in the running to be a location. I am hopeful that with my USA tri–Race Director Certification I will acquire, that it will help Michigan’s chances of becoming a National Championship location for Winter triathlons.
This all started out because I was wanting to keep myself active and healthy and has snowballed into something so much more and I have enjoyed every second of it. I personally have never actually competed in a winter triathlon, but that will change in 2026. The race director for the Abominable snow tri and myself, will be competing in each other’s races, we have started our training, and we hope to show the people who participate in our races, that we aren’t just cool race directors, but we are also triathletes.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Brining a winter triathlon to Northern Michigan, you would think would be easy. We have snow, we have skiing and we have everything to make it happen. But it was not that easy, and I still struggle with trying to convince people of what a winter triathlon is and how it can benefit the community. The first question I always get is “Where is the swim”. I understand that when people think of triathlons, they think swim, bike, run. But that is not the case with winter tris, Though I am sure that someone could bring that type of event into the winter and include a subzero swim. Though, I have been dabbling in an ice mile swim…To be continued on that topic. But with winter triathlon’s, a long of people shut down the idea of doing something like this in the winter. A lot of racers are fair weather racers, and winter is typically harsh, and you are guaranteed to be cold with this race. Businesses are not always willing to take a chance on something so new and that does hurt the momentum of getting the word out. I would love to have more business sponsor the event and help me market it. Fat tire bike companies are far and few in northern Michigan and I hope to help that grow. You also have cross country skiing (classic and skate) and I would love to grow the skate ski community. It takes a village to make something come to life and I am hopeful that someday, the village will come together to really make this event what I know it can be. EPIC!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work for Munson. I have been with them for 18 years in many different roles. I have enjoyed every single one of them and I have learned so much along the way. I work in administration (no direct patient care), and I am really proud of the fact that I can understand the system from the ground up. I know how every piece is connected and how if one piece in the chain is broken, how it makes it weaker and the system could fall apart. I believe my understanding of the system as a whole is what sets me apart from everyone. I have worked in direct patient care, registration, administration, insurance, and financials and it has helped shape my understanding and it has grown my compassion. I see the whole picture, not just pieces of it, but each and every piece and how important it all is.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I like the opportunities the city has. There is so much this town has to offer. The location is perfect, the four seasons is amazing, the history is rich. But what I like least about this city, is that we need people to have passion for it. Don’t get me wrong, we have people with so much passion. We have the downtown merchants, we have tourism, we have local vendors. But we need more people, younger people and the desire to take risks and allow those risks to either fail or flourish. Keeping traditions is ok, but keeping stagnant is never a good idea. I hope to see the town take more risks and I think we are, it is just taking time and we need people. We need Volunteers to make these amazing things happen.
Pricing:
- $60 Winter triathlon sign up till 12/31/25
- $150 Group relay triathlon sign up till 12/31/25
- $50 Bike/Run sing up till 12/31/25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.trisignup.com/Race/MI/frederic/2024GaylordAllOutdoorsTri45WinterTriathlon
- Other: https://www.trisignup.com/Race/MI/Belmont/TheAbominableSnowTri
