Eric Rauch

Triathlon Coach
Swim Coach

Coach Eric’s journey in endurance sports began in 2011 by running the Shamrock Shuffle with his wife.  The thrill of that event led him to running his first half marathon that following fall.  After tackling the Fox Valley Marathon in 2013 and 2015, he went after his first sprint distance triathlon in 2016 in Door County, WI and has been hooked on triathlon ever since.  He has completed a few Olympic distance triathlons as well as Ironman 70.3 Ohio in 2019 and Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in 2021.  In October of 2021 he joined Experience Triathlon as a coached athlete and began a path that led to his finish at Ironman Maryland in September of 2022.  His 2024 race schedule includes Ironman 70.3 in Maine and Ironman Wisconsin.

Eric has thoroughly enjoyed being a member of Experience Triathlon.  He began his time with the team by taking Coach Joe’s Swim 101 class where he rebuilt his swim stroke and developed a true enjoyment of swimming.  He now not only is a regular swimmer at Experience Triathlon’s Masters classes, but he also is an assistant instructor for the team’s Open Water Swim Classes at Centennial Beach.  He can also be found frequently at ET’s CompuTrainer classes, finding that a multi-hour indoor bike session is so much better with company.

Eric’s goal as a coach is to help athletes to find the same joy in their training and races that he does.  He believes that, while triathlon is a solo sport, being connected to a coach and a team empowers an athlete to keep pushing their own limits.

Eric holds the Associate Coach Certificate from USAT and is in current pursuit of his Level 1 certification.  Outside of triathlon coaching, Eric is the band and orchestra teacher for George Washington Middle School in Lyons, IL, where he has taught for nearly 20 years.  He lives in Glen Ellyn with his wife, daughter, and two cats.