MANSFIELD — Rocio Rodriguez Vallejo is preparing to take on the world.
A former fitness instructor at the Mansfield Area YMCA, Rodriguez Vallejo will compete in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee in September. She punched her ticket to one of triathlon’s marquee events with an eighth-place finish in the 30-34 age division at the Raleigh (North Carolina) Ironman 70.3 earlier this month.
The 33-year-old Madrid native didn’t begin competing in triathlons until her mid-20s. She quickly became one of the top-ranked triathletes in all of Spain.
“My first one in 2011 was a really short distance, a mini-sprint. Then I started doing some sprint distances (750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike ride, 5 kilometer run) and Olympic (1,500 meter swim, 40K bike, 10K run),” said Rodriguez Vallejo, whose husband, Raul de la Torre Garrote, is a former teacher at the Mansfield Spanish Immersion School. “When we moved to the States, some people from Mansfield and the Mansfield YMCA motivated us to start participating in longer distances. So we did a few half Ironman distance triathlons (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) and our first full Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run).”
After a three-year stay in Mansfield, Rodriguez Vallejo and de la Torre Garrote moved to East Seaboard two years ago. She is a spinning instructor at the Henson Family YMCA in Salisbury, Maryland.
The couple still has close ties to north central Ohio.
“I love (Mansfield),” Rodriguez Vallejo said. “I made good friends and it feels like home.” Competing at the highest level in three disciplines isn’t easy.
“Depending on my schedule, I usually train six days a week,” Rodriguez Vallejo said. “I always swim in the mornings and ride in the evenings. I also do TRX (suspension training) and yoga.
“The discipline that I like most is running, but I don’t spend as much time as I want just to prevent injuries that are caused by the impact on the road.”
Before competing in the world championships, Rodriguez Vallejo will take part in the Olympic Distance Age Group National Championships in Omaha, Nebraska in August. She also plans to run in the Chicago Marathon (she already has completed both the Boston and New York City Marathons).
“I could not do these with out the support of my loved ones, especially Raul,” Rodriguez Vallejo said. “He is my best friend, my coach and my counselor. Any time I cross the finish line, it’s because of him.
“This is my hobby. I just want to enjoy is as much as I can and make my family and friends proud.”
