I have been competing in triathlons since the start of the 2004 season. Before I made the switch into triathlons I was a runner for Dartmouth College.

I started playing sports being a baseball player. I still am an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox. I played baseball until my junior year high school when I decided to focus on running. During my earlier years I played competitive soccer, basketball, lacrosse, wrestling and swimming, along with playing ice hockey on my backyard pond for years. This base of various sports helped me when I started to run full time as I moved into college. I have always loved swimming, and it was hard for me to give it up; however, I remained a beach lifeguard throughout college. This allowed me to keep up with my swimming, so through competitions and rescues I was able to practice swimming. My best seasons of high school athletics were my sophmore season of swimming when our team won the Division II Massachusetts State Championship, and my senior year of Cross Country when I was 22nd at Foot Locker High School Nationals.

Over my four years at Dartmouth College I grew immensly as a runner. I had some rough stretches, but learned what it takes to be a top athlete. I won the Heptagonal Games Cross Country Championship my junior year covering 8km (5 miles) in 24:36. During my first three years, Dartmouth won three straight Heps XC titles. Over my senior year I finally had consistent indoor and outdoor track seasons. I lowered my PRs to 8:08.90 for 3km and 14:09 for 5km. I also finished 5th in the region and was 12th at NCAA Outdoor Nationals in the 5km.

In the winter I decided that I was going to pursue triathlons, so during my last two seasons of college I rode my bike and swam consistently, I feel that this helped me run faster as well as started to build up for my new sport: triathlon. Over my first year in triathlon I had mostly good races. I won Under 23 Nationals and won many smaller triathlons. My first three pro races were all great learning experiences for me, and my finishes were not bad either, 23rd, 22nd and 13th.

Excerpt From US Athletic Trust:

For Jarrod Shoemaker, his dream to get to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, is something of a family affair. A successful runner in both high school and college, Jarrod decided to become a triathlete on the advice of his Uncle, an Ironman competitor. His sister, Jenna, also competes in triathlons, and his younger sister and brother are on his former high school swim team, which he now coaches.
Jarrod swam and ran track at Lincoln Sudbury High School and was a standout on the track team at Dartmouth. Biking, however, is fairly new on his list of accomplishments, and is an activity he took up seriously in just the last few months.

Dedication and determination are what have allowed Jarrod to succeed, despite choosing to compete in triathlons less than a year ago. He trains 18-20 hours/week, swimming approximately 20,000 yards, biking 6-10 hours and running 30-40 miles each week. Fortunately, he had always lifted weights and swam to train for running, and the aerobic training needed for each of the three sports crosses over well to support each area.

Although he was engrossed by Olympic athletes as a child, Jarrod didn’t always know he would be one of them. Despite being at the top of his game in running, he didn't feel he was quite good enough to cross into the elite group of runners that make it to the Olympics. "Elite or not, I was up there in running," Jarrod said. "But I felt I needed a bigger jump in running to get to the top than I do to compete well in a triathlon."

Jarrod said he always knew athletes had to work hard to get to the Olympics, and now he is finding out exactly how difficult it is. "It's hard, but it's fun," he said. "I love getting on the starting line and pushing myself harder than I thought possible, and seeing how I match up against the other competitors." Triathlons are especially fun to see where he matches up, he said, because there are three areas in which he might win or lose, three areas to analyze after the race and improve upon.

Jarrod relies on sponsorship to achieve his hopes and dreams for Olympic glory. With his training schedule, and travels around the world to race, finding a full-time job is nearly impossible. He does coach swimming, as well as teach swimming lessons and lifeguard, and he is taking graduate classes at Boston College so he can become a high school history teacher. He is also working toward a training certificate in strength and conditioning.

With the 2008 Olympics some distance away, his focus is currently on the World Championships slated for September 11, 2005, in Japan. Medaling in the under-23 category is important to him, as it will get his name out there and put him in a position to compete in other important races.

"The Olympics is a long-term goal, but I have a lot of short-term goals I intend to reach first," he said.