Tight community supports triathletes in turbulent times

For the better part of the last decade I?ve been a triathlon widow. But I don?t begrudge my husband his two- or three-workout-a-day schedule that he manages to keep, even with a day job. Not only does it make him happy, it?s a hobby he took up during his mid-life crisis that?s actually good for him.

One of the cool things about being, or living with, a Boulder triathlete is the triathlon community. Much of our social group is made up of fellow triathletes who support each other through the grueling path they have chosen. It?s not just physically draining; the sport is tough emotionally and mentally. Racers don?t compete against each other; they compete against themselves, always looking to beat their personal record. The friendships that evolve become a support system.

So it was with real horror that we discovered a potential wolf had entered the den in the form of Jeff Kline.

Kline emerged on the local scene earlier this year as a trainer and race director, organizing a number of new races including Dash and Dine, Race the Rockies and Boulder Divas.

The Boulder triathlon community is always hungry for new events, so Kline was a welcome addition to the local race director triumvirate of Boulder Peak?s Paul Karlsson, 5430?s Barry Siff and Stroke and Stride?s Beth Spiegel.

Kline now sits in jail for a parole violation of his 1999 check and credit card fraud sentence. He was arrested Sept. 8, less than two weeks before his Sept. 19 Boulder Divas race, a sprint triathlon just for women. The race was subsequently canceled.

Boulder County Sheriff?s detective Steve Kellison is gathering evidence that Kline might have been defrauding the Boulder tri community. Kellison said he has ?a mountain of information,? related to bad checks, a forged credit card, and people who claim Kline owes them money.

The biggest issue, according to Kellison, isn?t the 250 or so women who are out the $35 they paid to enter Boulder Divas. It isn?t the cheated vendors or even Kline?s former fiancee who have suffered financially that from the smoking gun. It?s the $19,000 rubber check Kline wrote for a Honda Civic Hybrid, the prize of a raffle he held in conjunction with his races.

The tri widow in me wants revenge. But my journalist side, ever seeking both sides of an issue, got the best of me. I visited Kline in jail to get his perspective.

As might be expected, he tells a different story.

Once upon a time he was an alcoholic and con man. But five years ago in prison, he decided to get sober and turn his life around through fitness.

He began to swim, bike and run and to coach others to do the same. Out on parole, in 2003 he launched RunFitUSA, a multi-sport training and race organizing company.

A few poor business decisions made his startup go bad, he said. ?I grossly underestimated costs,? he said. For example, he only sold about 30 raffle tickets at $30 a piece, not nearly enough to pay for the car. He says he wrote the bad check anyway ? a violation of his parole that forbids him from having a checking account.

But he claims he had good intentions. He believed he could work things out with the car dealer and his other creditors.

?The Divas race would have gone on had I not gotten arrested,? Kline said. ?It?s not like I?m going to skip town. I?m a triathlete; there?s nowhere else I want to live.?

I have to admit the sight of the formerly buff guy looking as pale and flabby as anyone who?s spent a few weeks in jail gained my sympathy.

But Daphne McCabe, president of the Boulder Triathlon Club, played the voice of reason.

?When Jeff first got arrested we were concerned about him,? McCabe said. But a bigger concern was for the women who had registered for Boulder Divas. For many, it was their first race, and she didn?t want them to be disappointed.

In an effort to salvage the race, McCabe and others in the club decided to postpone the event a couple of weeks and run it without Kline. They set up an e-mail account to notify registrants of the situation and field questions.

Before long, however, McCabe realized even postponing the race would be impossible. She discovered, among other things, that Kline hadn?t taken care of some basic requirements for the race ? arranging for insurance and obtaining a permit from the city of Boulder.

?We went from a community banding together to make it happen to feeling at a loss for what he had done and why he had done it,? McCabe said.

But rather than feel victimized, the club arranged with race sponsor and host Flatiron Athletic Club to keep the pool open on Sept. 19 for the 20 or so women who still wanted to compete.
?What the event did was make us realize how close our relationships are,? McCabe said. The tri community came through despite problems caused by one bad apple. ?Situations like this bring out the good in people in the end.?

I know the Boulder tri community will survive. Jeff Kline?s future is harder to predict.

Contact Caron Schwartz Ellis at (303) 440-4950 or csellis@bcbr.com.

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