Kenneth Lundgren retired from competition in 2014 at 35 as the most decorated time trialist in regional history, winning the TT Cup for 3 consecutive years, setting 9+ course records along the way.
In this final year undefeated on the TT bike, he also won 6 consecutive Cat-1 MTB races and obtained his professional MTB racing license.
Lundgren had raced a full calendar since 2000. After achieving all racing goals in a killer 2014 spring, he didn’t feel a desire to compete anymore.
“Elite Endurance was growing every year,” Lundgren said, “and I had been feeling the shift from athlete to coach. As an athlete, you always want to test yourself, to see what you can do, and I still ride and train with similar tenacity.”
During high school, Lundgren wrestled varsity in a “wrestling-obsessed” town and was part of two county and regional-championship squads. In college, he aspired to play tennis professionally and once he started to ride the bike as a way to gain superior fitness, the bike completely took over. In short time, with a complete obsession for everything training, Ken raced through the USAC categories and was one of the area’s top road racers.
“I started coaching professionally back in 2005 when a triathlete and a mountain biker asked me to design their training — and both of them won, and a lightbulb went off — Elite Endurance Training Systems was born.”
Lundgren recalls why coaching is in his blood: “The transformation in college, from tennis player to cyclist to… to something else. I was riding faster, riding longer, my energy levels peaking. My physique slimmed from 178 to 160, and I was now enjoying those long climbs up to the dorms. I began doing large group rides, I was immersed in exercise physiology courses — I was learning and riding and improving and dreaming and never in my life have I felt so alive. This experience, that magical memory of feeling like I’ve arrived, I yearn to give that to everyone.”
With Elite Endurance, what started with two athletes has grown to a strong national presence – additionally, Elite Endurance currently trains athletes in India, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand. Elite Endurance is one of the biggest and most successful endurance sports coaching companies in the country and employs an MVP analyst, diet counselor, executive manager, Speedcenter director, events director, MTB Academy, associate coach, and Bike Lab technicians.
Elite Endurance coaches road, MTB, and cyclocross athletes, as well as road/off-road triathletes, runners, and duathletes. In the last year, EE athletes won 180+ races, 22 State Championships, one National Championship.
While not behind the desk, Lundgren sponsors and commandeers a champion cyclocross team, leads MTB rides in the fall and winter, orchestrates the notorious Wednesday Worlds fight club practices for MTB, road, and cyclocross, and trains consistently at New York Sports Club in Kinnelon NJ and ACES Boxing in Boonton NJ.
Away from work, Ken’s biggest hobby is boxing and watching mixed martial arts; he likes to regularly attend the fights or host epic fight night parties. His favorite activity is taking his dog, Fox, for long walks in the woods.
Kenneth Lundgren can be reached at Coach@EliteEndurance.com.