Background:

Earl has trained and raced in various disciplines such as road racing, triathlon and running for over 16 years. Recently, Earl had the opportunity to spend two years in Europe and continue his training. He completed the 250K Amstel Gold Race tourist version, climbed Alpe de Huez in under 60 minutes and rode up Mount Ventoux. Earl returned to racing in Colorado in 2006 and finished 7th overall in the Rocky Mountain Cup series. He understands the challenges to prepare and compete in a stage race such as the Mt. Hood Cycling and the Cascade Classic in Oregon.

In the corporate world, Earl was the go-to guy for product information and then designed and taught a 22-day training program for new hires. He enjoyed seeing the students’ eyes light up when they began to understand the concepts being discussed. That “ah ha” moment from others is what drives Earl to coach athletes in cycling and running, today.

At a young age, Earl overcame the effects of asthma by heading to the pool. His passion for swimming continued through high school where he was a competitive distance swimmer. Earl began to train and race in the Bay Area where he finished consistently in the top 10 in his category. Combining his swimming and cycling skills he began to race Olympic and sprint distance triathlons, winning his age group race at the Evanston, WY and competing at Mrs. T’s in Illinois and Boulder Peak in Colorado to name just a few.

As a full-time coach, he has advised athletes with a range of accomplishments:

• Gold Medal National Senior Games age 55-59
• 9th overall at the Tour de Gila Men Master 50+
• Silver medal at Masters Nationals in the Kilo
• Top 20 at Cyclocross Jr. Nationals
• 2nd overall in the Cyclocross MFG Series
• 6th overall in the Inland Cyclocross Series
• 3rd overall in the Single Track Cycles Westside MTB Series
• Multiple upgrades on the velodrome
• Personal best time at the Boston Marathon
• Seattle to Portland (STP) in under 10 hours

Earl has contributed to Runner’s word Q&A forum and Cycling News Fitness Forum, and has written articles on bike fit and optimal cadence.

As a full time endurance coach Earl brings a wealth of personal competitive experience to his coaching. After living and racing in Northern California and Colorado, Earl currently resides in Western Washington State near the Marymoor Park Velodrome in Redmond, WA with his wife and two children. He is well aware of the challenges we all face trying to include training and racing into an already busy schedule.

Client Testimonials:

"Last year I began training with Earl so that I could complete the Death Ride in CA, a five mountain pass endurance ride with, 129 mile and 12,000 feet of climbing. Not only did I complete the ride but I felt good enough to ride RAMROD two weeks later. Earl helped me taper and recover so well, the ride was a "blast" despite the unusually hot weather of over 100 degrees. Four months later I ran the New York Marathon and finish without walking. I had not run a marathon in twenty years, but with Earl's training schedule I finished the marathon and then capped off the year with running the Seattle Half Marathon. Wow, what a year for a 55 year old woman. I could not have done it all without Earl's coaching. He never said you can't do it. He simply showed me how and I really enjoyed crossing off the daily training "to do's." He is also completely flexible when life and injury interferes with training and he can easily shuffle the load so the goal can be met. I am done stealing from one training program and patching it with another. I have signed up with Earl again and expect to accomplish more rides and races this year. I expect this year will be just as much fun and just as successful."

"I was so happy since this was the first time I crossed a long distance race (half/full marathon) in such good spirits and feeling as good as I did. I just want to thank you for all your time you spent coaching me, especially since I know it couldn’t have been easy. My training with all the injuries and short timeframe constantly made me nervous, and I thank you for making yourself available for all my questions and concerns. Your plan really helped me through and made me have a great race."

"Thank you Earl! In just 3 months I have gained a ton of energy, confidence, and have lost over 50lbs. I feel lighter, faster, and driven to perform at my best every day. 2010 is going to be exciting year for me knowing I have Wenzel Coaching on my side."

"Earl not only coaches me well physically for on the bike strength but effectively coaches 
 me psychologically so that I can have the mental toughness to handle any riding situation. 
 He has helped me remain strong while training though a knee injury." 
 


"Working with Earl brought about a lot of relief to what had been a fairly stressful cyclocross season. My son needed to prepare for nationals only six weeks out, we were new to cycling, and we didn't have a clue how to best support him. Earl was very kind and engaging. He personalized a supportive training program and taught us about nutrition, training strategies, pre- and post-race strategies, and goal-setting. His experience was invaluable. He was always available to debrief and provide feedback, and he was present and supportive in a very personal way, beyond what we expected. My son did great at nationals. The decision to work with Earl was a sound investment..."

"...As well as going faster I feel so much stronger. I am even on track with my weight loss goals. 
 Earl has been great at answering my questions and explaining why I should not be going faster / 
 slower/ standing up/ sitting down/doing stomach crunches etc. He also gave me a 1 hour lesson on 
 riding a bike around a mall parking lot where I learned more about cornering and bike handling than 
 I have in my last 20 years. It was all simple stuff (which I did not know!) but it was great that he 
 took time to go through it with me."


"I started working with Earl at the start of the 2007 race season. At that time, I had been battling for 
 three years to come back to bike racing after experiencing chronic fatigue brought on by training to complete 
 Ironman Canada in 2004 combined with overwork and stress. Progress has been slow, but steady. I found that 
 the second season working with a coach who understands me and the issues of chronic fatigue really paid off. 

 During 2008 I met every one of the goals that I set, despite the setbacks of a weightroom injury and illness 
 during the height of pre-season training. I improved my time trial times from 2007 at every distance from 200m 
 to 40K, upgraded to Cat 3 on the track, won a Masters best all-around road rider award, and last weekend after 
 my season had officially ended, I had the fun of finishing in first place on a triathlon relay team with my 
 daughter. 

 Along the way, Earl helped with many tough decisions: to resist social temptation and not ride with the 
 team because they rode too hard in the offseason; to delay my first race two months because my injury 
 required a slower start; to commit to doing a first race with in a field where everyone had been racing 
 two months; to skip some races and instead do training for more important races. 

 Earl has impressed me with the observations that he makes through both e-mail and in person. He sees what I don't see and offers suggestions to make adjustments in every area from my mental state, to my preparedness, to my form, and extending all the way to racing tactics. Having completed over a year working with Earl, I'm ending the season feeling strong and confident, not exhausted as in prior years. I believe the sensible training and racing will make me less prone to injury and illness and I'll be even better prepared for the next season."