Allison Koch
I am a PhD student in the Environmental Anthropology program at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I love to travel, and my PhD research focus is on rainforests, ecology, and rural communities in Panama. When I'm not reading or writing papers, I'm swimming, biking, or running. I started competing in triathlons when I was 13 years old, and I've been in the sport ever since. Born and raised in Iowa, I was happy to move to Georgia for my undergraduate degree. I no longer had to run in ice and snow! Now in San Antonio, I also look forward to training year-round. I had been on the varsity cross country and track teams back in high school, and I am excited about putting my spikes back on as an older athlete. Training for cross country again is a joy in itself, but it will also help me to drop my run splits for triathlon. I love being a part of the UTSA Triathlon Club and racing with Coach Mark Saroni and Paragon Training. We have a great group of athletes who encourage each other and push each other every practice. I have high goals for myself this year, and I am looking forward to the process as much as I am the rewards.



Mark Saroni
An endurance athlete for over 13 years now, I grew up in the team sports world of soccer. Once I switched over to running and triathlon though, I never looked back. While attending the University of Texas at Tyler I was fortunate enough to be a varsity runner on our two-time conference champion cross country team. While there, I earned a bachelors and masters in kinesiology with the goal of becoming a full time coach once I graduated. After relocating to San Antonio in 2011, I began coaching full time, specializing in youth and junior development. I host summer and winter training camps for high schoolers, started a junior triathlon team this summer and work full time with the UTSA Collegiate Club as their head coach. For the last four years I have competed as a professional triathlete and enjoyed the opportunity to travel and race against some of the best in the world. I’m excited to be leading a squad of athletes to the USATF Club Cross Country National championships this fall and testing my run legs against the best in the country. We have a great group of athletes training hard and pushing each other and are looking forward to our first race traveling as a team of competitive runners.