Testimonials

The most successful triathletes in the area and adult swimmers train with Culvertraining^©.

This is what some of our athletes have to say about Culvertraining^© services: Molly Peddinghaus, Tim McGrath, Matthew Glenn, Ryan McClymonds, Dana Wagner, Nicole Cartier and Kiiri Tietjens:

MOLLY PEDDINGHAUS

If you’ve ever uttered either of these two statements, “I want to get in shape” or “I wish I had more time to exercise”, then consider Culvertraining to make that wish a reality. Culvertraining’s custom designed, time efficient workouts are tailored to each athlete’s specific needs and interests. Craig is passionate about coaching, offers the most current expertise and yet has the benefit of being involved in triathlon since the early stages of the sport. After a hiatus, I have returned to training, injury free and confident that I’ll reach my goals, maximize my potential and save time and money doing it because Culvertraining has eliminated the guesswork. Craig responds to my questions and concerns in a timely, knowledgeable manner and is excellent at keeping me motivated. His proven strategy is not a quick fix gimmick, but provides that edge you need to maintain consistency. He pays close attention and although working out is sometimes hard, he encourages each athlete to have fun through focused effort, which I find to be a perfect combination. If you can dedicate a few hours a week, decide to stick with a custom designed workout program, I promise you’ll watch your body get stronger, you’ll improve your overall fitness and probably lead a healthier lifestyle. Culvertraining will guide you to do something you thought you couldn’t, it will help you truly become aware of what’s possible. It’s a total game changer. – Molly Peddinghaus

TIM MCGRATH

It’s a real pleasure and honor being able to train with Craig.  He’s a great athlete and his accomplishments and history in the sport are inspiring and impressive to say the least. He’s a positive force with a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Craig really gets to know and understand his athlete(s) and builds specific plans accordingly.  If you have a goal, he will provide the guidance and training to get you there.  Craig’s training, and performance tests along the way, brought me to another level and showed me just what a good plan and hard work can do.  I look forward to continued training with him and am more than anxious to see where it takes me. – Tim McGrath

 RYAN MCCLYMONDS

Like many high school and college athletes, I began to gain weight soon after graduating. Participating in team sports and being very active all of my life, I now found myself sitting at a desk the majority of the day and enjoying a few choice adult beverages in the evening – a great way to pack on the pounds. I started running and cycling to drop some weight but was soon drawn to the full-body physical challenge of triathlon (not a lot of upper body in running and cycling). I learned to swim and the rest is history. I completed my first sprint triathlon in the summer of 2009 and was hooked. I immediately signed up for a half-Ironman later that summer. After completing that race, I secured Craig Culver to coach me to my first Ironman completion in 2010. His plan and the accountability got me across the finish line in good time and in GREAT spirits. – Ryan McClymonds

 DANA WAGNER

I began my training with Craig in August of 2014. I learned very quickly after my first triathlon that I needed a LOT of help with my swimming technique so I enlisted the expertise of Craig. My swimming has improved dramatically and since then I have signed up to train for my first Ironman with Craig. He really takes an individualized approach to training. The workouts that he gives are tailored specifically to me and where I am in my fitness. Craig has a vested interest in his athletes and it shows. He is always available to answer any questions and checks in on a weekly basis to see how the training is coming along and what changes, if any, we need to make for the following weeks workouts. I am very happy to be training with a coach with so much experience and who truly cares about his athletes. – Dana Wagner

 KIIRI TIETJENS

When I joined the local master’s swim team, I was reintroduced to Craig. Actually, I had known him as a child when I was just starting my swimming career. After some encouragement from my fellow teammates, I decided to compete in a local sprint triathlon. I employed Craig as a coach as I knew he would test my limits and give me the tools to be competitive. He coached me for 5 months and it was intense. However, I superseded my goal to finish in less than 90 minutes and ran the fastest 5K of my life at the end of the race. He definitely prepared my body for the challenge and gave me workouts that I can still use today. – Kiiri Tietjens

MATTHEW GLENN

Right after college, I was looking for a way to be active and competitive at the same time. I took up running and in 2008 finished my first marathon, which was Chicago. After that I enjoyed running but wanted to do something along with running. I was interested in triathlon but I knew swimming would be my weakness. I was able to complete my first tri in the fall of 2009. I fell in love with triathlon racing. from there in 2010, I took on the challenge of completing my first half Ironman. I was still tackling marathons and kept my training up. I had to decide, was I going to attempt a full Ironman or not. I was in the best shape of my life and decided to do so. I was encouraged by Ryan McClymonds who also signed up to race Ironman Louisville in 2011. What an amazing experience to complete my first Ironman in 2011. From there, I wanted to improve my racing and overall shape. Ryan was training with Craig and then I was introduced to Craig at the Y.

Craig was a huge help and support as I decided to tackle another Ironman in 2012. During that year, I partnered with Craig Culver to help with my training plan and techniques. I had a few swimming lessons, that improved how I swim. This helped me focus on the right techniques and swim stroke. Craig took my past background data from races and created a plan just for me. I will tell you he pushed me to my max, and it only helped me. He followed up on me and checked in on me. It wasn’t like he created a plan and said, “here you go”. He took what I did the week before, and then created the plan for the next week. Ryan, Craig and I would even run together in the mornings when it worked out. With Craig’s help, I was able to complete my second Ironman. That year I also ran my fastest half marathon, marathon and ultra marathon. I would highly recommend personalized training from Craig Culver, due to the professional coaching and support that he provides. – Matthew Glenn, Principal of Manteno Elementary School, married, 4 children, Ironman

NICOLE CARTIER

I have known Craig Culver for many years. He has always been a well known swim coach in the area. Yes, I grew up swimming as an age grouper, but I have to be honest, I really wasn’t an enthusiast at a young age. I was a gymnast and a dancer. After 20 years of dancing with a local studio and as a member of the local semi pro basketball team dancers, I was used to being physical on most days of the week, with performances on the weekend. I had torn my meniscus in my knee 2 years before and my labrum in my shoulder in April 2015. With never having experienced a real injury from dance, I knew it was time to retire and pursue other safer areas of activity. After attending a positive women’s seminar, I heard a lady speak about her journey to the Chicago marathon. Shortly after, I too, started to try my hand at running.

I started running competitively in January 2015. Also, at this time, I heard from my sister that Craig Culver was starting a masters swim team. Instantly I knew I had to check this out. I loved the coaching, the set up, the workouts and being back in the pool. My brother, and father are avid cyclists, so I also started cycling. I signed up for a sprint triathlon at my first alma mater Purdue in April 2015. I told Craig about this, and asked his thoughts. He was more than encouraging and supportive. So I completed my first “trained for” triathlon and won my age group, which also qualified me for USAT nationals. I texted Craig right away, as he congratulated me, he also stated that I can do better in the bike area. Of course, I thought, that hilly, windy bike was brutal! On my way home from that race, I signed up for three more races that year. Long story short, I ended up doing 32 races altogether, 9 triathlons, 2 were Olympic distance, one was a 70.3 and one was USAT National Championships!

In the meantime, our little swim team of about 6 regulars had grown to over 30 members and 20 regulars. Five of the regular swimmers attended meets at least once a month through the winter season. The same 5 also competed at state and we all placed tope 10 in many of our events. Two of us went to USMS national championships in San Antonio, TX. Before each event, I would text coach Craig and he would give tidbits of advice. As I am often a nervous wreck at races, he would give only what I really needed to remember prior to getting on the blocks. After each event I would text him as to how everyone was doing and how are races were going. He responded right away as if he was just sitting there waiting to hear how we are doing.

As a swim coach, Craig will create workouts through out the week and email them out so we can have structured workouts when we were not in an organized practice time. This is very helpful, as he creates workouts for distance swimmers, like triathletes, or sprint intervals for us competitive swimmers, or taper workouts as to what we needed just before state.

Craig is the first person I will contact in all my training needs. He is there to tell me when to rest, which I don’t do well. He is there to tell me when I need to swim, like the day before state, just a small 8 minute workout. He is there to tell me when to go hard. Even though it has only been a year, I look forward to the years to come in triathlon and swimming with Craig Culver. I am truly grateful to have him as my coach, supporter, and friend in this crazy world of athletics.