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Thirteen tattoos adorn the sculpted body of Erik Reitinger. Reflections of his musical and literary interests, the additions give his competitors plenty to inspect as he runs and rides past them. The resident of 13th and Jackson streets has used his decorated limbs to situate himself among the top American multisport specialists, as Saturday’s 13th-place result in the USAT Duathlon National Championships in Tucson, Ariz., proves.
This year marks the fourth season of multisport competition for the 28-year-old athlete. Having rowed for Erie’s Mercyhurst Prep School and New Jersey’s Rutgers University, Reitinger chose loyalty to one of his favorite pursuits, finding new challenges, by trading a boat for strides and rides.
“I reached a point where I craved something else, where I felt I had achieved all I wanted within the discipline,” he said of entering the multisport world, where he engages in triathlons and duathlons.
Reitinger made his switch in 2007 and moved to South Philadelphia two years later after stays in Center City and West Philadelphia.
“South Philadelphia is so appealing,” he said Monday morning before heading off to teach at Mastery Charter Schools’ Harrity Campus in West Philadelphia.
Part of the area’s allure derives from his ability to use FDR Park, Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, and the South Philadelphia super site, 10th and Bigler streets, as training sites.
Each trek to the locations cements his athletic dedication, but it also reveals his stellar time-management skills, as Reitinger must balance his competitive identity with his teaching career, a nearly four-year relationship with Lisa Ricci and the completion of graduate studies at Chestnut Hill College.
His sporting discipline has made the last 16 months his most fruitful.
“It all came together for me last year. I felt great about my finishes,” he said.
Reitinger blazed through the tri-state area last year, scoring a second-place showing at the Lighter Than Air Duathlon in Lakehurst, N.J.; victories at the Lums Pond Triathlon and Duathlon in Bear, Del., and Cape Henlopen Triathlon and Duathlon in Lewes, Del.; and a respectable 96th-place effort in November’s Philadelphia Marathon, among 13 impressive endeavors.
His campaign garnered him his first All-America honors, a career-best No. 4 USA Triathlon ranking among amateurs ages 25 to 29 and a coveted spot on the U.S. team that will travel to Gijón, Spain, Sept. 24 to 25 for the Short Course Duathlon World Championships, his first international competition.
His intensity has not slacked this year. He began what could be his last amateur spell by claiming 10th place at March 27’s Powerman Alabama USAT Long Course Duathlon National Championships in Pelham, Ala. The event, his first competing on a national level and riding aboard his beloved Kestrel 4000, saw him finish in just over three hours.
Though distances vary, duathlons include a run, a bicycle ride and another run. In Alabama, Reitinger ran nearly 12.5 miles and biked about 37.3 more. Triathlons add a swimming component.
He returned to Rutgers April 17 to forge an 11th-place outcome at the Unite Half Marathon. Saturday’s trip to the Grand Canyon State featured a course half that of his Alabama mission, and Reitinger concluded in a swift 91 minutes.
“It seems this year I am locked into that 10th to13th place range,” he said with a laugh.
The Alabama result qualified him for the date-to-be-determined Long Course Duathlon World Championships, and the Arizona experience boosts his confidence for May 15’s American Zofingen Duathlon & Iron ITT in High Falls, N.Y.
“I think I have a shot to win that one,” he said.
Reitinger is a disciple of feeling everyone has a shot. Involvement with Teach For America, a nonprofit that unites ambitious teachers with schools in low-income communities, brought him to Harrity, where he is in his second year of teaching special education classes.
“I teach eight sixth-graders and five seventh-graders math and reading,” he said. “The kids are great.”
Attending class twice a week, next year he will earn another perk from his time with Teach For America, a master’s degree, with a concentration in special education.
“Philadelphia was my first choice, so I am thrilled to be here,” he said. “I would have been hard-pressed to go somewhere else, especially since most of my support system is here.”
Ricci certainly counts as the main chunk of his circle.
“She doesn’t compete, but she is an avid spectator. She’s great at learning terminology and keeping me informed of my times,” he said of his companion.
She also assists with his meals, which he supplements with soft pretzels.
“I’ll eat like four or five before training sessions,” he said of his passion for the doughy delights.
Reitinger will use this season as a barometer for his professional aspirations. If he makes the leap next year, he will not need to relocate and his schedule will become more compact.
“I will have my four focus races,” he said of what would represent a trimming of his obligations, which this year consist of seven events.
Not needing to flee would also allow Reitinger to continue to instruct his students.
“They love exposure to things they are not used to,” he said of his 13 charges, who gain help in geometry by using images of him to determine the lengths of the angles his body assumes during competition.
Regardless of whether he goes professional, Reitinger will experience newness next year. Though he will be only 29 when ’12 begins, he will race in the 30 to 34 group, as competitors enter brackets corresponding with what their age will be at the end of a season.
“This year will be the end of an era. However, I am looking forward to joining what is often the most competitive group,” he said while inspecting one of two tattoos inspired by the English rock band Radiohead. “I’m positive I can make it work well.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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