First year professional triathlete, Kelly Fillnow from North Carolina is no stranger to triathlon. First of all, she’s a former stand out college tennis players at both singles and doubles with her twin sister Megan at Davidson College. Kelly started running cross country during her junior year and led Davidson to its first ever Southern Conference title. After college, she did her first triathlon in running clothes on a borrowed bike, she came in second. A year later she decided to buy a bike. She then won her first half ironman, and qualified for Kona. She has since finished on the podium in her first two Hawaii Ironman World Championships, and hold the American Amateur Ironman Record of (9:29:49) set at the 2011 Ironman Austria race. You can follow Kelly’s blog  the Timex Multisport Team page here.

Below is my interview with Kelly ahead of Sunday’s 14th running of Ironman Lake Placid.

SEE RELATED: Endurance Hour #33, Ironman Lake Placid

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One of more than 30 events in the global IRONMAN Series, IRONMAN Lake Placid is known as the oldest IRONMAN event in the continental U.S. and features one of the most beautiful courses on the circuit.

The two-loop swim course takes place in Mirror Lake, followed by a unique transition in the Olympic Speed-Skating Oval. The 112-mile bike leads athletes along state, county and local roads while passing breathtaking vistas of the Adirondack Mountains and the New York country-side. The spectator friendly marathon runs by downtown Lake Placid four times and features tree-lined river scenery.

Offering a professional prize purse of $25,000, the race also awards a total of 50 slots for the 2012 IRONMAN World Championship, taking place on Oct. 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i.

We’ll have live coverage of this weekend’s race right here on Ironman.com.