Get to Know Your Teammate -- Rubin Baris

Ruben post IM Mont Tremblant finish with his daughter!

How did you first get interested in multisport? 
​I played rugby for nearly 17 years. After a chronic neck injury left me sidelined, I was left looking for something to replace the physical demands of rugby but without the brutal pounding on my body/neck. My rugby coach in undergrad completed his first ironman during my tenure, which I still think to this day he did just to tell us how fat and slow we all were (it sounds a lot better with a thick Irish accent). 
 
Which sport do you enjoy the most? 
Biking, hands down. 

Any embarrassing stories you'd like to share? 
Poo stories are too common with this team, so I'll go with T1 in Nice during my first IM. I came out of the water feeling great and ran into T1 grabbed my bike bag. I asked the young Frenchman who was working the bag area when I could change (bc I didn't go to the briefing the night before, nor did I pay attention to the transition layout), and he made some French gesture to the effect of "wherever you choose silly American." I had decided the day before that I was going to ride in bibs so I needed to get out of my tri suit. So I started stripping down. When the Frenchman glanced back, and shook his finger at me and directed me to the changing tent. Oops. I guess even in France you aren't supposed to get naked in public. Note to self, pay attention to the briefing the night before races. 
 
What is your most triumphant moment during a multisport event?
Crossing the finish line at Tremblant. It was a hard, hard day. I went into this race well trained, a bit of a disruptive taper with a new baby, but challenging conditions (an understatement with driving rain the ENTIRE bike) made for an interesting race day. Getting to hold my daughter after finishing the best reward, making all the pain and darkness of the day melt away. 

Tell us something that most people don't know about you.
I taught myself how to swim using youtube videos. I also taught myself how to sweat copper pipes using youtube. You can pretty much teach yourself anything using the right youtube channel. 

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