LONDON — Robert Fain, a 2010 Lexington High School graduate, is on track to becoming an elite triathlete, which would give him the chance to compete with professionals from around the globe.
He’s also on track to earn a master’s degree for public health at London’s School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine and dreams of one day being involved in revolutionizing public health policies for larger metropolises.
The two paths are seemingly different, but within each respective backstory, a tale about his hometown proudly surfaces.
His story starts as a high school student, when he started recognizing an unnatural desire to do well in cross country running and swimming. Academics were always where Fain shined. The lowest grade he ever received, in all his school days, was a B. So when he joined Lexington’s cross country and swimming squads, he didn’t excel — at first.
“I was never the most naturally talented,” he remembers. “But I had coaches that instilled in me that work ethic and respect for the team.”
Those coaches were Denise Benson, the school’s varsity cross country coach, and former varsity swim coach Melisa Stone-Watters. They pushed Fain in his early high school years and it finally paid off his junior year when Division III schools began taking notice.
He ended up attending Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania where he swam and ran as a freshman. He then focused on cross country and track and field for the remainder of his college career. Off field, he worked to earn a music degree and a history degree at a learning institution that was academics first, sports second.
“The school is much more focused on academics,” Fain said. “The workload was rigorous and constantly reminded us we were there to study first, run second. Still, the cross country, swim, and track and field teams had some really good athletes, and we competed in a pretty strong conference for Division III.”
Like in high school, Fain’s performance on the field got better as he matured. He ran some competitive times that placed him at all-region in cross country his senior year.
Issues on public health access and aid to underdeveloped countries came up frequently in Fain’s history classes. During his sophomore year he met Dr. Renee C. Fox, a sociologist professor emerita from the University of Pennsylvania after he wrote an essay about Doctors Without Boarders, a humanitarian aid organization which offers health access and aid to countries in distress.
His paper focused on the logistical concerns when countries get into high intensity situations that often leave people without adequate access to basic health needs.
“I was fascinated by how science interacts with policy and culture. That’s when I started to think about it,” he said.
When he graduated from Swarthmore in 2014 he moved to Long Beach, New York where he worked as Todd Kaminsky’s personal assistant and schedule manager in Kaminsky’s campaign for the New York State Assembly.
Kaminsky went on to win the seat and is now running for State Senator from New York’s ninth district.
The busywork that stereotypically surrounds campaigning meant little time for swimming and running for Fain. He did, however, manage to squeeze in some training for a triathlon and a couple of races.
From his work in New York, Fain moved on to a five-month unpaid internship in Washington D.C. at the Organization of American States. He worked within the organization’s cyber and biological security teams, which focused on policy and national action plans for countries that lack cyber security.
The biological side of cyber security enchanted Fain. The team focused on emergency preparedness of Latin American countries — how to develop culturally acceptable and effective plans. At the end of his internship, he was hired with OAS full-time. After a while of falling in love with this line of work, he enrolled in London’s School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine to earn a public health master’s degree.
While Fain still lived in New York and sporadically ran whenever he had the chance, he sought out Patrick Sheridan to coach him as often as possible. He then reached out to Barb Lindquist, an Olympic triathlete who retired from racing in 2005 to become a coach and mentor to those interested in becoming elite triathletes — like Fain.
Since the campaign work kept Fain swamped with daily tasks, the two lost touch until his time at an all-American race at the Age Group National Championship in Milwaukee grabbed her attention. At the time, Fain was living in D.C.
The two got in touch and Lindquist provided Fain with advice and different workouts. His training afforded him a spot in the NCAA’s Collegiate Recruitment Program — a program started in 2009 by USA Triathlon to find potential Olympians. Once a part of CRP, Lindquist became Fain’s mentor and coach. The two finally met in Florida’s Clermont Elite Development Race in March 2015, his first experience in draft legal racing.
That summer, Fain attended a nine-day training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“There was no racing, just a lot of training and skills workshops,” Fain said of the training camp. “It was a beautiful place to be. I got to cycle through the Garden of the Gods and it really got me prepared for the Omaha race.”
The 2016 Age Group National Championships was held in Omaha, Nebraska, on Aug. 13 and 14. Fain set a personal record that placed him 10th in his age group (25-29) and earned him a spot in the top 25 overall finishers.
His time also qualified him for the ITU Age Group Standard World Championships in Cozumel, Mexico.
“Cozumel was a beautiful place. It was super hot and very humid but I felt ready for it and I stayed hydrated,” Fain said, reflecting on the race.
When he finished, he was proud. He placed fifth in his age group and still rests within the top 25. His time was around one hour and 58 minutes, which is still too slow to qualify for an elite license. However, his ranking score of 106 could earn him the ticket. Elite ranks start around 102.
Even though his outstanding performance in races and in the workforce keeps him looking hopefully into the future, his fond memories of living in Mansfield keep him grounded. They also offer the 25-year-old some sage perspective.
“My happiest and proudest moments are with family and my girlfriend,” Fain said, growing nostalgic. “It’s so nice to come back to Ohio for cool weather in the morning. D.C. is so humid and hot. And (Mansfield’s) traffic is not too bad. It’s nice to come back to that.”
“I miss the seasons and memories growing up. You notice the seasons a lot more there than in the city.”
Fain’s future remains fuzzy. At this point of his life, midway through his master’s program in London, he is unsure what priority triathlons will take in his life upon graduating. An ocean and six time zones separate him from friends and family, whom he misses greatly.
Will he continue his endeavor to be the best triathlete he can be? Or will he find a job back in the U.S. and continue training for triathlons at a slower pace?
When asked what he’ll do, one plan is for sure: come back home. The rest is unclear at this point but he’d like to finish some pre-medical classes to set him up for med-school and hopefully work in a public health setting. And do some racing on the side.
When asked if Mansfield could be a landing spot when he returns to the states, he answered with an ambivalent, albeit genuine, “maybe.”
