Susan Dunklee: Evolution of a New Coach

Heartbeat: US Biathlon Podcast

Just three years ago, Susan Dunklee was a regular on the IBU World Cup Biathlon tour. Today, she’s evolving into a formative biathlon coach at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center with its Green Racing Project program. Heartbeat caught up with Dunkee at Craftsbury with the winter season quickly approaching, kicking off season five for the U.S. Biathlon Podcast.

After retiring in 2021 after an illustrious career, Dunklee took on the running program at Craftsbury. Then, last season, she returned to her roots, switching to a new role heading biathlon.

Dunklee is quick to cite balance as a key to her success as an athlete, and it’s something she finds in the program at Craftsbury. “I always needed balance in my life,” she said. “I think it's really easy to get wrapped up in the result sheet and have all your value reflected in what your most recent result says. To avoid that trap, I needed to have other interests and being able to feel connected to place, connected to community, and being able to contribute to the community. And the Craftsbury model of athlete support is, is all about that.”

As an athlete, she admits that coaching had crossed her mind. “I’ve definitely thought about it,” she said. “It's funny because when you spend so much time in one world, sometimes you forget that other options exist. But because I was surrounded by it, I was interested in it. And I had a lot of conversations over the years with (coach) Armin (Auchentaller) what is your coaching philosophy? What advice do you have? How would you deal with this situation? How do you connect with different personality types? So, yeah, I was thinking about it.”

Her Heartbeat interview covers a wide range of topics, including her philosophy on the importance of cross country skiing, the feeling of seeing one of your athletes have success, and how her program at Craftsbury could be a role model for others.