by Ted Ryan

Kevin Bouchard-Hall has been a successful cross country runner, mountain bike competitor, and road cyclist. Now he's on to a new challenge: triathlons.

The former Champlain Valley Union athlete from Shelburne is finishing up his clinical work in physical therapy in Lake Placid, N.Y., after which he will be ready for his licensing exam. Though living in Jay, N.Y., Bouchard-Hall and his wife, Elizabeth, are discussing plans to move near his hometown, possibly as soon as April.

As a student at CVU (Class of 2000), Bouchard-Hall ran and skied cross country and competed in track. He continued to run his freshman year at the University of Vermont (Class of '04), but switched his interest to the cycling club after he felt the varsity cross country team "lacked for soul," something he said the Redhawks had under coach Scott Bliss.

"When I joined the cycling club, I got all that back," recalled Bouchard-Hall, who first met Elizabeth in club activities, although it was a few years later before they reconnected. "There were 50-75 members of the club, very good friends and we had wonderful trips.

"We'd caravan for hours and hours. We had a good time and the racing was fascinating," he said. "It's a mix of chess and running at the same time. You have to be lucky, you have pit tactics, and you have the technical aspects of in the corners and in the packs."

Cycling became so much a part of Bouchard-Hall's life that after graduation he joined the U.S. national team, racing three years full-time in Europe. He enjoyed moderate success as he "made the attempt to go big time," but after his third season, he found he was burned out and in need of a new pursuit.

For two years, he put aside the competitive aspects of his life and entered UVM's physical therapy program, doing his clinical work in the Lake Placid area where Elizabeth was a forester

Elizabeth Bouchard-Hall was the one to suggest that they should participate in a weekly mini-triathlon series offered weekly in Lake Placid.

It was a daunting challenge for Bouchard-Hall. He knew it wouldn't take him long to regain his bike legs or even his running legs. Swimming? "I didn't know how to swim," he said.

The triathlon portion of the Lake Placid series generally takes good swimmers about six minutes to complete; the average time is 10 minutes. Bouchard-Hall needed 18 and "I thought I was going to drown." He was well behind by the time he hit shore, but he quickly blew past a number of competitors in the cycling before fading in the closing run.

He was hooked. He worked hard to improve his swimming, saying, "I was able to swim with my head in the water, not do a dog-paddle." Eventually he worked up the nerve to try the Lake Placid Ironman, a top-level triathlon that serves as a qualifier for the world championships in Hawaii.

"I definitely didn't respect that event enough," Bouchard-Hall said. "I had a pretty good time," but he admitted "that cooked me for a bit."

Last summer, feeling reinvigorated, Bouchard-Hall began training again and won eight local triathlons in a row to go with two second-place finishes. He was second in the Vermont half-journey, part of the Vermont Sun series, and he was runner-up in the Lake Placid Xterra race. He's taken on a coach to work on his running and his swimming; cycling is still his strength.

Bouchard-Hall is uncertain at this point about his future in full triathlons, like the Lake Placid Ironman, but he's aiming to qualify for the half-ironman world championships in Florida. He's also excited that Burlington will be the site of the 2011-12 national triathlon championships.

Elizabeth Bouchard-Hall has stayed primarily with running, posting several personal records, and she's looking toward running the Boston Marathon one day.

Oh, Bouchard-Hall's fondest memory of his cycling days? When he had the best time for riders 23-and-younger in the Tour de Georgia and had the opportunity to spend time on the same podium with Lance Armstrong.