Women Who Tri: A Reluctant Athlete’s Journey Into the Heart of America’s Newest Obsession

When you live in a town that boasts the largest women’s-only-triathlon club in North America (the 900-strong Mullica Hill Women’s Tri Club), it makes sense that you might get drawn into the mix. That’s exactly what happened to Alicia Difabio, who somehow found herself on the starting line of the Queen of the Hill Sprint Triathlon, taking on her first multi-sport event.

A mother of four, Difabio writes about her journey from “harried mother” to full-fledged triathlon junkie. In Women Who Tri, Difabio provides lots of inspiring insight into the triathlon phenomenon, using her own experiences and profiles of other women.

The book offers a great introduction to the sport – it probably won’t provide a lot of insight to more experienced athletes, but it provides an excellent introduction to triathlon. Difabio, who has a doctorate in clinical psychologist, provides the information in a great fashion – telling personal stories.

A great example of that storytelling comes in the chapter on Andrea Peet, the very last finisher (by an hour) of the Ramblin’ Rose Sprint Triathlon. Peet has ALS and Difabio manages to tell her story while providing graphic examples of how accepting and supportive the sport can be.

Difabio covers everything from finding a club to dealing with relationships to introducing your kids to the sport. Women Who Tri is an entertaining introduction to the sport for any women who are new to the sport and looking for some guidance and inspiration as they start the journey.—km