What brought me to Cadence…

Jack Braconnier
Age:22

What brought me to Cadence…

The first race I ever ran was an all out 100 meter sprint for St. Kevin’s grade school. My prerace activities included tying my shoes as tight as I could. Much has changed since then; I now take 30 minutes setting up my transition area and tread water for 3 minutes waiting for the gun. I am a runner turned triathlete that has been competing in triathlons for 3 years. I ran for Cardinal O’Hara high school competing for the cross county and track team mainly as a middle distance runner. I actually raced mostly as a quarter miler and even a sprinter at times. Never would I have thought that after college I would become an endurance athlete.

As an athlete for O’Hara I earned many honors competing on the track, the greatest being named All-American three times. After graduating from O’Hara I continued my running career as a University of Connecticut Husky competing in the Big East. I enjoyed greater success on the track then I ever had while running for UConn. After one cross country season with the Huskies I was bumped up to the 800m run on the track. My greatest honor while running for UConn was being named All-East in 2005.

During the summer of 2006 I was introduced to my first triathlon at the Jersey shore. I was so pumped to compete but I lacked some of the proper gear and training to actually say I was ready for my first tri. I had no wetsuit and the bike I was using was a road bike my grandfather gave me that was over 20 years old. I finished in 386th place for that first triathlon and absolutely loved it. I realized that in order to be able to compete with the leaders I was going to need to learn how to swim and I was going to need a new bike. I purchased a used tri bike and competed in a second tri a few weeks later having some greater success and taking 2nd place in my age group. After that race I became completely hooked on triathlons. My training completely changed to endurance work. Since that first summer of triathlons I have completed 4 marathons, one being Boston in 2:56 and I have been fortunate enough to go undefeated in my age group during my last tri season.

This is what brings me to Cadence. Since my first few races as a triathlete I noticed many of the top finishers were Cadence athletes, proudly wearing their Cadence gear. I got the opportunity to meet many of Cadence’s top athletes working for Tancredi Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center and all of them spoke so highly of the staff and coaches at Cadence. I felt that to be able to reach the next level in the sport of triathlons Cadence would be the crew that would help get me there. They are clearly the premier triathlon facility in the Philadelphia area. I am so excited to be a part of the Cadence team and to be one of their athletes proudly wearing their gear.