Pilot Flying J is teaming up with Truckers to Triathletes to help professional drivers maintain healthy lifestyles.


Through the company's 2012 sponsorship of the Revolution3 Triathlon series, Pilot Flying J was introduced to Truckers to Triathletes, a group of professional drivers committed to completing triathlon events.

"We know Rev3 participants and their families drive all over the country to participate in Rev3 events, so it was a great fit for us to help meet the needs of our customers," says Dave Parmly, manager of employee services for Pilot Flying J. "When we heard about Truckers to Triathletes, we wanted to get our professional driver customers involved. We were thrilled to find that Truckers to Triathletes were people who overcame obstacles that all drivers face, meeting the challenges of both their profession and the sport of triathlons."

Race to health

Drivers face difficult obstacles in leading healthy lifestyles due to the nature of their job, requiring long periods of inactivity behind the wheel coupled with limited access to healthy food options and gym facilities. In addition, there are new, tougher federal guidelines that drivers must meet in order to maintain their commercial licenses, and poor health can keep drivers off the road and out of work.

The company plans to use the Rev3 Triathlon on July 8, 2012, in Portland, Ore., to kick off a training plan designed to meet professional drivers' fitness needs. The training will culminate when the T2T team participates in the Rev3 race in Anderson, S.C., in October. During the training period, Pilot Flying J is working with T2T to develop ideas and strategies that the partner organizations hope to share with even more drivers in the future.

This year's participants

Professional drivers who are sponsored by Pilot Flying J and are competing in the Rev3 Triathlon in Portland include:

- John Schneidewind - Schneidewind was the first Truckers to Triathletes participant. He and his son dropped 50 pounds each while training for their first triathlon while still working 12 hours every day. This will be his 7th triathlon event.

- Steve Johnson - An ex-army helicopter pilot and single father of two, Johnson has been training for a marathon and will do the running leg of the triathlon. This is his third triathlon.

- Bret Wright - Married with three children, Wright works and commutes 12-14 hours each day. He and his wife both compete in triathlon relays. He has participated in 12 triathlon events since he started training with T2T.

- Tom Struzan - The newest member of the T2T team, Struzan is six feet tall and weighs 300 pounds. He just bought his first bike to train for the biking portion of this event.

- Jason Stringer- Overcoming a birth defect, Stringer completed his first triathlon June 9.
We are happy to help arrange interviews with these health-conscious drivers who are overcoming the obstacles that all professional drivers face in order to meet the challenges of both their profession and the sport of triathlons.

A video documenting a 2010 T2T team relay experience: