Trifiniti head coach Duane Franks knows how to get the best out of multisport athletes. Jeri Howland, coached by Coach D since 1999, has won Ironman events around the world, and set an age group world best time of 10:40 at age 47. Kathy Winkler, another Trifiniti client, is a two-time Kona Ironman age group champion. In 2009 she finished ninth in the three-day, 319-mile Ultraman World Championship in Hawaii, perhaps the most grueling endurance event in the world.

But you don't have to be a superman (or superwoman) to benefit from the Trifiniti method. Duane has designed training programs for athletes of all levels, including beginners. "Most of the clients I work with are regular people with jobs and families," he says. "My role is to integrate training and racing into their everyday lives without taking them away from their responsibilities." Hundreds of athletes of all ages and abilities have passed through Duane's programs. He gets results: In the last seven years Trifiniti team members have finished more than 200 Ironman races worldwide.

The Trifiniti method grew out of Daune's deep knowledge of endurance sports. In his case, deep means deep: He competed in his first triathlon in 1981. Since then he has finished more than 300 events, including 15 Ironman triathlons and the Hawaii Ultraman World Championship. He has finished the Hawaii Ironman five times (1982, 83, 84, 99, 2003), setting a personal best of 10:09 at age 40. Duane has won several age group titles, including Wildflower, Full Vineman, World's Toughest Half, Escape from Alcatraz, Treasure Island and Pacific Grove. He is a former member of Team USA, and a seven-time USAT All American. He's a founding member of San Francisco's Golden Gate Triathlon Club, one of the largest and most successful club teams in the United States.

Duane holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology from Cal Poly University. He is completing his Masters of Science in Kinesiology at San Francisco State University. He holds coaching credentials and certifications from USA Triathlon and the American College of Sports Medicine. Duane is an affiliated coach at The San Francisco Bay Club, Golden Gateway Tennis and Swim Club and the Bay Club Marin.

Contact Coach D at duane@trifiniti.com