MY STORY:

My name is Craig Vogel, I am a husband, father to two young boys, a firefighter/paramedic, fire instructor, and an endurance coach. I have been involved in endurance sports since 2012. I grew up in a small town in Ohio playing your normal sports(football, baseball, basketball). I didn’t pick up running until my late 20’s. I started small, doing some local 5k races. I started to venture out and jumped into 10k’s and eventually found my way into obstacle course racing completing several Tough Mudder events. By 2015 I was able to complete my first half marathon. In 2016 I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in my right femur. A surgery was able to remove the mass, as well as part of my femur. An intermedullary nail was place down the shaft of the femur and secured in place with two large screws. I was unsure if I would ever be able to run again. Within 3 weeks after surgery I found myself using a walker to get back into a gym, riding a stationary bike to regain strength and mobility. I went back to work with no restrictions to my job as a career firefighter/paramedic after just 6 weeks! That surgery changed my life forever. My entire mindset shifted. I knew then that I could push myself to do anything in the world that I wanted. I dove headfirst into reading anything I could on leadership and mindset. Soon I was reading about marathoners, and triathletes and it was so inspiring. I knew if I could survive that cancer surgery I could get back to running and pick up where I left off. So I did. I signed up for the Chicago Marathon and while training for that I started swimming, and cycling as a way to cross train. I figured since I was doing all 3 sports anyway, I might as well sign up for a sprint triathlon. I finished that first tri 3rd in my age group and was hooked! I ended up completing my first marathon that year and never looked back. I hired my first endurance coach with the goal of completing a half IRONMAN and ultimately a full distance IRONMAN. He put me to work, and I fell in love with the training and the lifestyle. Since then, I have completed 70.3’s, multiple half marathons, 5k’s, 10k’s, sprint and Olympic triathlons, and in September of 2022 I reached my goal of completing my first full IRONMAN in Maryland. What I realized over the last several years is that I love competing, but I love talking training with other athletes even more. I have coached youth sports for over 5 years and decided to combine the love of that with my passion for endurance sports and completed my coaching certification through IRONMAN UNIVERSITY. I decided to create Vogel Endurance as a way to help others reach their goals much as my coach had helped me. I know first hand how challenging it can be managing training with a busy life. We all have careers, we all have families, and we all have lives outside of endurance sports. My goal is to work with age group athletes and beginners to custom build training plans that fit your lifestyles. You should never have to feel guilty about having to sacrifice for your training. Training for a marathon, or an IRONMAN is hard enough. Let me help you build the body, the skill and the mindset to get you to your next finish line successfully!