When Elise Miles-Colthup competed in her first triathlon, she was 9 years old. Her dad was training for an Ironman, and she felt left out, so she signed up for a mini-triathlon. Eleven years later and a month before her 20th birthday, Miles-Colthup became an Ironman.

In the pool of endurance sports, triathlon was not Miles-Colthup’s first love. She ran cross country throughout high school in Colorado and began competing in ultramarathons when she was a sophomore. Her first trail race was the Bryce Canyon 30k. Her brother and dad were running the 60k and she told them she wanted to join. 

“I was like, ‘Hey, I want to do that too,’ and my dad was like ‘Ya right,’” Miles-Colthup said. Several months later, she ran her first ultramarathon, the Wy’east Wonder 50k. Since then, she has completed five ultramarathons, including the 50k category final at Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB, or the Superbowl of trail running).

When Miles-Colthup rediscovered triathlon, she was 18. She became a triathlete as many other runners do, by rehabbing stress injuries with swimming and biking. In 2021, she completed her first half Ironman (a 1.2-mile swim followed by a 56-mile bike ride and finished off with a 13.1 mile run), and she said her background in ultramarathons made training for the event much easier.

“In an Ultra you’re like, ‘Hey, let’s just keep running until we fall over and die.’” Miles-Colthup said. “Triathlon is a lot more about speed, but being able to start running and seven hours later still be running is incredibly helpful when you’re going into an event where you’re transitioning between sports.”

After her first half Ironman, Miles-Colthup was hooked, and when she came to the University of Oregon in 2022, she immediately joined the triathlon team. Having trained alongside her dad for years, Miles-Colthup said the social aspect of the team is extremely valuable to her.

“It makes you feel better when you’re around people who are excited to be there and want to talk and hang out while you train,” Miles-Colthup said “If we’re just doing an easier run, you get the chance to talk and to socialize with your friends. And then on the days where we’re doing something hard, like running repeats on the track, you’re not suffering by yourself.”

The team primarily races the shorter distance olympic and sprint triathlons, but Miles-Colthup has continued to pursue long distance events independently. Whether she’s training for a long or short distance race, her approach is the same.

“I’ll train for a sprint the way I would train for a half ironman,” Miles-Colthup said. “It’s something I love, so why not do it as much as possible.”

While she was training for her first full Ironman, Ironman Arizona 2023 (a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run), as much as possible meant 2-3 workouts a day, six days a week on top of a full-time load of classes. When asked if Ironman training ever feels like too much to balance, Miles-Colthup said the benefits of the sport vastly outweigh any negative aspects.

“It helps with my mental health a lot, which is kind of counterintuitive. It’s like, okay, you’re going to go work out constantly, but you’re going to be happier about it,” Miles-Colthup said.

Currently, Miles-Colthup is gearing up to race her first 100k in April, the Desert Rats 100k. Typically, she trains for ultramarathons during summers at home in the Colorado Rockies, and she said it’s been hard to find trails to train on in Eugene. The race will start at 4688 feet and climb over 6700 feet in 62.1 miles, so Miles-Colthup must be acclimated to elevation. She said she plans to run on the Pacific Crest Trail this winter in preparation along with attending the UO triathlon team’s workouts and races.

This season will be Miles-Colthup’s last with the triathlon team as she intends to graduate in the spring, but she plans to continue triathlon as a hobby post grad, focusing on the half Ironman distance and peppering in a few more full Ironmans along the way.

“Whenever I tell people I run ultras or I’ve done an Ironman, they’re just like, ‘Why would you do that to yourself?’” Miles-Colthup said. “I have the ability to do this crazy thing and to see how far I can push my body and my mind until I can’t go anymore, and I’ve never hit that spot. So I have to see if I ever will.”