An officer and very fast athlete

November 6, 2013

Samantha Morrison won the F18-24 age group at the 2013 GoPro Ironman World Championships with a huge margin, and we expect to see much more from this very fast Air Force 2nd Lieutenant.

Slowtwitch: It is good to meet you Samantha.

Samantha Morrison: Hi Herbert! I still cannot believe I am getting to chat with Slowtwitch. This is way too cool.

ST: You very much earned it, so you should pat yourself on the back.

Samantha: That means a lot especially coming from you but I still want to make myself faster before a pat on the back!! It is all still so unreal to me.

ST: How soon after the race in Hawaii did you return to work?

Samantha: Luckily I was able to make it to part of the awards ceremony even though I had to return to work Monday. I almost missed my flight that night! I am a huge triathlon groupie so I am bummed that I didn’t get to stick around for a chance to meet some of the pro athletes. They’re huge role models for me. To put the icing on the cake of the drag of returning to work, it happened to be my first day at a temporary assignment on an Army post; I became known as the strange Air Force girl limping around with an awful sunburn.

ST: I assume your Air Force co-workers were quite proud.

Samantha: They are so proud of me no matter how well I do. I am pretty sure I could have the worst race of my life yet I would still be their hero. My coach is also in the Air Force with me and I think he was the proudest. During training he is hard to impress. I try even harder in workouts to attempt to get some reaction out of him. It wasn’t until we finished side-by-side in Kona that I finally saw his soft side.

ST: What exactly do you do?

Samantha: I recently graduated from the Air Force Academy so I just began my career as a Public Affairs Officer. We support the senior leaders and our commanders in order to develop a good relationship between the military and the community. “You are the face of the Air Force,” they say. When I show up to work after a rough workout I don’t think they want anyone seeing my face!

ST: You actually had a very dominating day in Kona this year and the 9:38:26 was almost 22 minutes quicker than the next person in your age group. Was that surprising to you?

Samantha: Last year I remember getting up on the stage in 3rd place and seeing Allison receive the champion’s jersey. I never thought that I could actually do it, but the dream never left my mind of someday getting that jersey. When my dad yelled at me on the run to not burn myself out because the other girls were far behind me, I didn’t believe him. I have enjoyed chasing others my whole life. Being told that I was the one being chased did not feel very comfortable to me.
However the best part about getting the 9:28 was that my Air Force teammate Brad Williams and I were able to break the combined-time record for the whole military and we won the military division together. That was such a great feeling getting up on stage as part of a team.

Last year I wore sweats up onto the podium so I think deep down inside I wanted to make the podium again to redeem my stained social status.

ST: Word has it that you come from a swimming background.

Samantha: My family has always been big into water sports. My parents made all 7 of us kids stay on year-round swim teams so they felt comfortable with our abilities in any water conditions. I am not going to lie, I didn’t enjoy 4-5 hours in a pool every day growing up, but it definitely has paid off. That swim in Kona gets rough and scary at times.

ST: After that opening 55-minute swim in Kona this year you were gone since no one else in your bracket swam under an hour. Did you have any idea during the race where the competition was?

Samantha: I honestly had no idea I was so far ahead in the swim until the whole race was over. This was the first time I wore a watch during a race, so I just thought that it was broken or something when it said 55min. My dad and friends told me they were busy eating breakfast not expecting me to come out of the water for another 5 or more minutes. I think they missed seeing me come out of the water but are afraid to admit it. I forgive them I suppose.

ST: Last year you were third in Kona with a 10:35 and I believe that was your first trip to the Big Island.

Samantha: I qualified at Ironman Wisconsin in 2011 for Kona 2012. I was in shock when I found out I was going to get to go to Kona. Some strings had to be pulled for me to be able to miss class at the Academy to go to race. I think the best part about that trip was it was my first time getting to leave the continental U.S.

ST: Where did you qualify for this year’s Kona event?

Samantha: I actually applied and was chosen to get the Air Force Kona slot to represent our service for the military division. I am so grateful that the services have this opportunity through WTC.

ST: What had you done this season to step up your cycling and running?

Samantha: I think the biggest difference was the lack of homework. At the Academy I was swamped with academics. I had to work really hard to keep my head above water in some of the classes there. Once I graduated in May, I was pretty bored for 4 months so I just trained and trained. I absolutely love getting up really early to workout before going to work. After work I would just workout to my heart’s content until I decided it was time for bed. It also was nice to be able to run outside instead of running on a treadmill with pages of astronautical engineering to study in front of me. Finally I am now stationed in North Carolina, and my family lives in Virginia. Therefore I was able to drive home on the weekends to get whooped by my dad on long rides and beaten down by my little sister on long runs.

ST: Which event was your first triathlon?

Samantha: When I was 15 I signed up for a local half-ironman against my dad’s wishes. He said that I wasn’t going to be able to finish which motivated me to try to kill it. I bought myself a bike and clips the day before the race, and just prayed that I wouldn’t fall.

ST: Did you stay upright? And how did it go?

Samantha: I think I finished around 5 hours and 30 minutes, first in my age group. First out of a field of 1.

ST: How much longer will you be in that 18-24 age group?

Samantha: Well I am going to turn 23 in December, so I have one more season in the 18-24 age group. I don’t like talking about it, I already feel old when I go home and see my 9-year old sister!

ST: With 2013 virtually over what is on the agenda for 2014?

Samantha: I am going to try to be mature this year and fully listen to my coach. I am a bit stubborn (okay I am really stubborn) when it comes to that. We are shooting for Kona 2014 as my main race. This will be the first year that I spend the majority of the year training for Ironman-distance. In college I concentrated on Olympic-distance for the better part of the year.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Samantha: I actually got a lot of crap this year for my race decisions. Someone told me I must be a first-timer because I was racing in an ITU-style suit. It was also all black, so I was told I was going to overheat and not finish. I bought new shoes to race in 10 hours before the race – which got me a couple judgmental comments. I broke into my post-race bag of candy the night before the race. Maybe I don’t make the brightest technical decisions but to me it’s all about having fun. Thinking too much makes me hurt more.

ST: Hopefully it won't hurt more than that sun burn.

Samantha: Next time I will listen to the people telling me to wear sunscreen during the race. Yikes.