Dirk De Heer

Dirk was born in Voorburg, The Netherlands where he got an early start on his running career.  Both of his parents were triathletes and his stepfather ran owns a 1:09 half marathon PR and finished in the top 20 in the Kona Ironman.  His first 5k, at age 7, was run in 21:11.  "Maybe I was aided by the below sea-level oxygen, gravitational pull and circular tailwind that seems to be responsible for incredibly fast times in Dutch distance races," notes the Flying Dutchman. and came to the US at age 20. He ran for UTEP for 3 years and stayed for graduate school and earned his Masters Degree in Health Psychology & Public Health. Now he is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Health.  During his time in El Paso, TX, he fell for an American lady and her chihuahua, who he followed to Silver Spring, MD.  There, he was lucky enough to stumble upon the Georgetown Running Company, early morning training partner Patrick Reaves and the beautiful Rock Creek Park. Reaves, Patrick Murphy and the Red Fox revived his lost interest in running and multisport competition and by the end of his first summer in the area, he found himself at the World Duathlon Champs in Concord, NC, representing Holland. He has since been accepted as a member of Snapple Triathlon Team, which is affiliated with the GRC. After a very strong racing season last spring, Dirk competed in a full triathlon season over the summer. 

Personal Bests
1500: 3:47
3000: 8:08
5k - 14:07
10k - 29:59
13.1 - 1:07:37 (2010)