Current Members

Jason Hartzell is a 46-year-old multi-business owner in the Lansing area and has been for the last 18 years. Originally from Kalamazoo, MI, he spent a large part of his younger years on his family's farm in Marcellus, MI. Physical activity has always been a big part of his life. In school he ran track and cross country and also played basketball, but he did not find endurance sports until later in life. In 2009, Jason ran his first duathlon and immediately fell in love with the independent nature of endurance sports. When he is not training, working or farming hay, Jason enjoys spending time outdoors with friends and family doing things like camping, hunting & fishing.

2023 GOALS

My goals for this year are to continue introducing more people in the community to the great sport of triathlon. Since I've spent a number of seasons out for medical reasons, I’ll be doing anything I can this season: trail running, in-line skating, swim, run and of course triathlon are all on my wish list. I also look forward to continuing to make a difference in the lives of our local youth & their families by giving them an amazing achievable goal through our kids' triathlon, the Capital City Kids Tri!!

Bethany is 46-years-old and was born in Jackson, MI. When she was just 2, her parents packed her siblings & her up and moved to the country of Panama to do missionary work. She lived there with her family until she graduated at age 18. Throughout her junior high and high school years, Bethany was active in every sport imaginable, although she preferred sports for the team aspect & not for the competition. In 10th grade, after suffering from severe debilitating pain in both knees, Bethany was diagnosed with youth arthritis & Chondromalacia Patella (also known as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome) in both knees. She was advised to immediately stop all activity that put extraneous pressure on her knees or she would require extensive surgery on both of them. After graduating from high school, Bethany returned to Michigan & became a ballroom dance instructor in the Kalamazoo area. Years later, upon moving to the Lansing area, Bethany put her passion for photography to good use when she secured the position as Studio Director for a local well-known photography studio. Currently, Bethany is balancing life as a homeschooling mom to her three kids, ages 18, 16 & 8 and working part time for a beyond-organic small fruit and veggie farm. When she's not working with the Lansing Triathlon Team from behind the scenes, she spends her free time inventing recipes for the restaurant she and her husband dream of opening one day, making gourmet chocolates, designing novelty mugs through her Etsy business La Bella Vida Originals (https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaBellaVidaOrig-inals), working as a Papa Pal, working on her family's organic hay farm and homestead and spending time with family & friends.

Ron is a retired 64-year-old who started competing in triathlon in 1987. Twenty-four years later he joined the Lansing Triathlon Team it's first year in 2011. Ron has been married to his wife Brenda for 41 years and they have one son, Ken.

2023 GOALS

Aaron is a 45-year-old teacher at Everett High School in Lansing. Growing up in Midland, he enjoyed being active in recreational soccer and basketball but had no formal endurance sports experience. He was fortunate to marry into a family of endurance athletes and found himself riding the DALMAC, running 5ks & entering a triathlon. After a few years of relative inactivity, he and his friend Cam decided to train for the Lansing Legislator triathlon. This led to friendly rivalries with both Cam & his brother-in-law Sam which pushed him to get serious about training & resulted in increasingly better results. Eventually, Aaron fully embraced the triathlete identity and lifestyle. In his free time, Aaron enjoys spending time with his family as well as singing & playing guitar in the rock & roll band Flatfoot.

2023 GOALS

My goals for this year are to balance family & triathlon, be a great representative of our team & sponsors and help put on fantastic kids' triathlons in Lansing. I enjoy meeting new people through the sport and hope to continue that this year.  I plan on racing a lot of sprint triathlons during this Summer of Speed, and my focus race is USAT Sprint Nationals.

Originally from Holland, MI, Kyle Malone is a 34-year-old business owner in the Lansing area. This is his 9^th full season in the sport of triathlon.  Starting at the age of 8, Kyle played competitive travel hockey, which took him all around the Midwest and parts of Canada, nearly every weekend from fall to spring.  When he got to high school, he also started playing on the golf team.  Kyle jumped into the world of endurance sports after gaining a bit of weight and decideing that something had to change.  He settled on triathlon after seeing the Ironman World Championship on tv and then watching his brother-in-law Ben complete Ironman Louisville.  Since then Kyle has completed five 70.3 races as well as two Ironmans.  When he isn’t working or training, he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, watersports, hockey, golf, and pretty much anything that is outside and active.

2023 GOALS

My goal for this year is just to stay healthy. My race goals are TBD.

Kyle is a 35-year-old Internal Audit Manager at Delta Dental of Michigan. He has been racing triathlons for more than 15 years and has more than 100 races under his belt, ranging from sprint distance to full Ironmans. Kyle was a swimmer at Everett High School and was part of the relay team that still holds the school record in the 200 free relay. On March 1, 2018, Kyle started the journey of regaining his fitness after taking nearly 4 years off to start a family. Since then he has lost over 70 pounds! Kyle has an amazing wife of 12 years and an awesome 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son who have both taken a liking to triathlons. 2022 turned out to be a sensational year for Kyle as he won the overall sprint race for Big Fish and Hawk Island Triathlon, podiumed several races in the 30-34 yr age group, completed 2 half Ironman races, and best of all, competed in the Ironman World Championships in St. George, Utah. Kyle finished the 2022 season by once again achieving All World Athlete Silver status with Ironman.

2023 GOALS

After several years of a very demanding triathlon racing and training schedule, I am taking 2023 to focus more on family and friend time and less racing. I will be focused on speed by competing in sprint races and gearing up for the USAT sprint and olympic Nationals in Milwaukee, WI with several other LTT team members.

Tyler is a 26-year-old Senior Legislative Analyst for the Senate Fiscal Agency. Originally an Armada, MI native, he now lives in Lansing. Tyler's athletic career has spanned multiple sports; he played hockey for 14 years, as well as golf and tennis intermittently, and then transitioned into ultimate frisbee for the club team at Michigan State University during his undergraduate tenure. Between his junior and senior years at MSU, Tyler was preparing for a marathon when a good friend challenged him to train for a triathlon. Endurance training had always been of interest to Tyler as a hobby so this new challenge fit well. He competed in that first triathlon, placing third in his age group, and immediately sensed that this sport could be a long-term endeavor. Tyler continues to play numerous sports recreationally but now focuses his training on triathlon. Beyond his passion for physical fitness, Tyler enjoys playing the piano, reading, and exploring the great outdoors.

2023 GOALS

My principal objective for this year is to build a large aerobic base and feel fully prepared for Ironman 70.3 Muncie in September.  I continue to hope to learn as much as possible from my teammates and the triathlon community, while also giving back where I can.

Stefanie is a 39-year-old Physician Assistant. She was born in the Lansing area and resides in Holt with her husband and two children. Stefanie spent most of her youth doing gymnastics before adding tennis and track in high school. She completed her first triathlon in 2009 when her husband (and LTT teammate) Ian signed up for one and she didn't want to miss out on the experience. They have been doing them together ever since. Stefanie loves fitness, variety in her training and pushing the boundaries. She has a passion for trail running and finished a 50-mile trail race in December 2018 and a very challenging 100k trail race in Cape Town, South Africa in 2021. Stefanie is excited to continue her focus on triathlon this year and utilize her training to put together some faster sprint and olympic distance races. In her free time, she loves being active with her family. On the weekends they can be found hiking, biking or skiing together or at their lake cottage most summer weekends. Stefanie has a passion for traveling, both within the United States and abroad. Combining travel and exercise is an objective on many trips. The past few years she has enjoyed several destination races/ vacations, having competed in Utah, Arizona and South Africa.

2023 GOALS

My primary goal for this year is to improve upon my Age Group National Sprint performance from 2022 and move into the top 10 and qualify for Age Group Worlds. I look forward to lots of training with my teammates and pushing each other. I always enjoy expanding my network of like-minded athletes and be a great example for our community and sponsors. My goal is to always show my children by example that fitness is a way of life, not an optional choice. I'm excited to continue to watch my kids complete in local triathlons and running events.

Kate is a 52-year-old mental health therapist who works for Ingham County Circuit Court Family Division.  Kate & her husband Ken live in East Lansing and together have 4 adult-children. Kate has loved to swim for as long as she can remember and swam competitively through her sophomore year in college. She took up running in her early 20's. Kate ran her first marathon in 2004 when her daughter was 6 months old and has since run 13 more. In 2005, she competed in her first triathlon. Kate has competed in Sprint, Olympic & Half-Iron distance races. She also competed at USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in 2017, 2018, 2019  and 2021 which fueled her to continue to challenge herself to improve in all 3 disciplines.

2023 GOALS

This year I am more focused on swimming and have been looking forward to the Mackinac Island Swim, along with other open water events and master’s swim meets.  I'll be throwing in some road races, and sprint triathlons along the way.  Looking forward to seeing my teammates and enjoying the 2023 tri season.

Ian Clutten is the 39-year-old Vice President of Granger Construction Company in Lansing, MI. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Ian grew up doing a variety of sports. He developed a passion for swimming and earned a scholarship to join the Michigan State University varsity swim team. While on the team, he held the 100 and 200 yard breast stroke school records, as well as other medley relay events. After college, Ian married his wife Stefanie (also on the team) and now they have a son and daughter and have settled in Holt, MI.  Over the last decade Ian has done a variety of sprint triathlons, but always had more of a focus on trail running and open water swimming. In 2019 he took on the Grand Rapids 70.3 distance and enjoyed the challenge. He is looking forward to the challenge of competing in multiple Olympic distance triathlons this season.

2023 GOALS

My main goal is to go 2 minutes faster in the Sprint distance at USAT Age Group National in Milwaukee. The goal would be to qualify for the Worlds team if I place in the top 8 positions in my age group. This is a reach goal, but I am excited to chase it!

Rachel is a 52-year-old mom of two kids and three rescue dogs, Miles, Sanchez and Roscoe. Her son Zac (20) is a junior at CMU and her daughter Maddie (18) is graduating high school this year. Rachel ran cross country in high school and college and got back into running races again in 2018, running several halfs, including a PR at Bayshore in 2019 and the Charlevoix Marathon in 2021. Also in 2019, she got into MTB riding and added road and fat tire riding in 2020, as well as swimming.  2023 saw the addition of gravel bike riding and racing Barry Roubaix in April 2023. She has completed the CMU indoor tri in 2020 and 2022, Greenville sprint triathlon in 2021 and 2022, and Tri Goddess, Mark Mellon and Eaton Rapids Color sprint triathlons in 2022.  Rachel enjoys all things adventure and exercise, loves weekends at Higgins Lake, and will always stop to pet dogs.

2023 GOALS

My "A race" in 2023 was Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga, completed on 5/21/23.  I plan to compete in several sprint triathlons this season and may even sign up for an olympic.  Ugly Dog Gravel Sprint Triathlon is a strong possibility in July 2023 and much of the summer season will be spent improving my gravel and MTB skills in preparation for Iceman Cometh in November 2023.  As always, I am looking to improve my times and stay injury free. Additionally, I'm looking forward to training and racing with my LTT team and supporting the Capital City Kids Triathlon in August 2023!

Rachel is 34-years-old and, after spending most of her life in Indiana, she moved to Michigan in May 2022. She immediately fell in love with the state and the outdoors culture here. After college, Rachel used running to balance out the sedentary nature of her desk job. She ran her first marathon in 2013 at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and went on to run a few more marathons after that as well. After falling out of shape during grad school and struggling to get active again, she signed up for a coach and her first triathlon in the spring of 2022 and she quickly got hooked on the sport. Rachel currently works part-time as a project manager at a tech company called Automattic, and part-time as the NextGen Pastor at Pennway Church of God.

2023 GOALS

My goal for this year is to build up my distance to my first olympic, then my first 70.3, while balancing two jobs that both require some travel. I'm also working on improving my swim times, since that is my weakest discipline.

Seth is a 28-year-old builder for Timber Sauna Co. in Lansing Michigan. As a Michigan native, Seth developed a love for cycling in his early teenage years. He went on to win a Junior State road race championship at age 16, as well as several other races, before taking a long hiatus from the sport and then finding his passion for it again at age 24. Having moved out of state for a few years to both Indiana and Florida, he managed to secure a state time trial win in Indiana, as well as a state road race win in Florida, amongst several other races. After moving back to Michigan last year, he began to be interested in competing in triathlons for the 2023 season. Since his brother Daniel is already on the Lansing Triathlon Team, it was a perfect place to start.

2023 GOALS

My general goals are to learn to swim properly, build my running ability and take my cycling to the next level. Specifics are to podium Greenville Triathlon, build from my experiences, qualify for USAT Sprint Nationals and complete a 70.3 before the end of the season.

Brent is a 46-year-old electrician at Michigan State University. He has been married to his supportive wife Shawn for 20 years. Brent has two wonderful kids: Tyler who is 18 and getting ready to attend MSU in the fall, and Alyssa who is going to be a sophomore at St. Johns high school in the fall. Brent has been involved in triathlon for 9 years. Growing up in St. Johns,  most of his time was spent hunting and fishing and he is still an avid bowhunter. Brent played basketball, football, and baseball until his sophomore year in high school. He had not ran over a mile until he was 35 years old. Brent got into triathlon after telling his wife he would try anything she wanted to do in order to spend more time together. After my first sprint tri in 2015 on a 1980's road bike that was way too big for him, he was hooked. Three full Ironmans, over a dozen 70.3’s and multiple Olympic distances later Brent still enjoys the atmosphere, competition, people, and hard work that goes into triathlon.

2023 GOALS

My goals for this season are to meet new and old friends in the tri community and enjoy the summer training, racing, and being with my family. I also hope to secure a Kona slot at Ironman Chattanooga in September. I'm very excited and looking forward to helping out with the kids tri in August as well.

Ken is a 56-year-old Sr. Marketing Information and Organization Change Manager at Michigan Farm Bureau Insurance. He was born and raised in Utica, Michigan and now resides in Grand Ledge. He has been married to his supportive wife Annmarie for 31 awesome years. Ken has three awesome kids, a daughter-in-law and one granddaughter. Ken has been involved in triathlons for 12 years and loves to compete. Hee has completed several 70.3's, olympic, and sprint distance triathlons. He lives and loves the motto "nobody cares, work harder!" Ken respects and enjoys the spirit of the Tri Community where the people are driven and goal oriented.

2023 GOALS

My main goal this season is to improve my performance in my age group IM 70.3 into the top ten. I want to continue to meet and learn from other triathletes. My other goal is to keep consistency in my training and to keep it fun.