Tim Christoni Bio

Tim Christoni

Athlete: Tim “Cheetah” Christoni

Lives City/State: Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Go to Orange Mud Gear: BPVP70, HQVP2, OM Buff

Primary Sport: Running 

Athlete bio page

Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your passion, your joy in life, anything special you’d like to share. Tim Christoni is an AC100 Mile Endurance Run top 12, sub-23 hour finisher, a sub 12 hour Ironman finisher, a veteran of multiple half-Ironman events and over 50 combined ultra-marathons, marathons and half marathons. Tim has 6 sub-3 hour marathon finishes with 18 Boston qualifying marathon finishes and has raced Boston several times. In his spare time, Tim loves to run up and over big mountains and plan the next epic racing adventure with his wife Helen Christoni.

What sports do you participate in? Triathlon, marathons, ultra-marathons

What is your favorite race food? During races I like fruit, but post race I love tacos & pizza.

What is your go to hydration mix? Carbo-Pro and Carbo-Pro Hydra C-5

Do you have a major quirk you’d like to share? I am habitually early. ALWAYS.

If you were relate to an animal, what would it be? Cheetah. Fast and nimble. 

If a newbie to your sport asked for one piece of advice, what would it be? Get to your goal race weight, run with faster people and run hills!

Do you have any racing pet peeves? (Gel packets, mud, thorns, smelly runners, etc). I’m not a fan of unleashed pets on race courses because I was tripped up by someone’s loose dog once in a race, was injured and had to drop from that race. The exception would be running with the horses at VT100.

What do you do for fun? I like to plan the next race adventure, travel and experience new restaurants with my wife.

What is your post race ritual? After a particularly hard “A” race effort, I like pizza and ice cream in bed.

How long have you been running? I ran the 2004 Los Angeles Marathon, finishing in 6:12:37, but had no idea what I was doing and that experience made me stop running for 8 years before I picked it back up again in mid-2012. By the way, I ended up going back to run Los Angeles Marathon several times since then and finally went sub-3 there in 2014 with a time of 2:59:50.  

Why do you enjoy the sport? It allows me to “burn off the crazy”, reduce stress, burn calories, eat more, stay in shape, explore new trails, meet new people, try new gear and on and on….

What's your favorite trail race? Kodiak Ultra Marathons because of the people who run it, their passion for the sport, the way they treat their runners, runner friendly policies and their incredible support.

What's your favorite local trail? Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)

What's your go to piece of Orange Mud gear and why? BPVP70 because it fits like a glove and it allows me to run further, unsupported, while holding everything I need.

Profession and educational background? I have a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and am currently the Director of Operations for Saladino’s Foodservice – Southern California where I’ve been working for the last 11 years.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your sport? 12th place overall and finishing in 23:58:49 at AC100 in August 2015.

Do you have a set training schedule and if so, what's it like? If not, how do you decide what to do? I don’t follow any schedule. I do what I can, when I can. That might change depending on my personal life, professional life or how I feel from day to day. One thing is for sure though; I find a way to push myself to meet and exceed my goals come race day.

What's your dream race? Western States (for speed) tied with UTMB (for EPICNESS)

Favorite book for athletes? Run to Overcome – Meb Keflezighi

Do you listen to audiobooks or music during exercise? Loud & fast rock & roll

 What advice would you give to a new runner coming into the sport? Get to your goal race weight, run with faster people and run hills!

Where do you draw your inspiration from? My wife who always inspires me to work towards being better at whatever I’m doing.

Have you struggled with any injuries? How do you manage them? I’ve had plantar fasciitis and now a broken foot, both in the same foot in a one year period. It is frustrating. I have managed by pushing myself when I can and trying to hold back and rest when I absolutely have to. I don’t do down time well, so I shift my attention to another activity while I’m waiting for the ok to fire the rockets back up.

Anything else you’d like to share? I’m in a battle to get more followers on Twitter than Ellen. She has 62.9 million followers and I currently have 404. I’ve got her right where I want her and I’m just reeling her in…  

What was the best advice you were ever given? What works for others might not work for you, especially when it comes to nutrition and shoes. Keep experimenting until you find what works for you and then dial it in to perfection.

What is your favorite local running or biking store? Fleet Feet Rancho Cucamonga

What blogs and social profiles would you like us to feature here? Please list the links.

https://www.facebook.com/TimChristoni

https://twitter.com/timchristoni

https://www.instagram.com/timchristoni/