Growing up, Drs. Nick and Jen Zyromski were both athletes. Jen ran track in high school and college and competed in triathlons. Nick played baseball and wrestled in high school and continued with baseball in college.
So when the two surgeons started a family – which now totals six kids – nothing changed. Both runners, Nick and Jen first had a single jog stroller, then a double-wide and finally a triple-wide.
Two of the kiddos who rode in those strollers are now competitive junior cyclists. Anna, 18, and Jake, 16, were introduced to cycling by their neighbors and avid cyclists, Kevin Noone and Jane Vanni-Noone.
As preteens, Anna and Jake joined the Midwest Devo developmental cycling league for kids. They learned skills, explored various types of biking—cyclocross, track, mountain and road biking—and quickly excelled. Eventually, they moved to Team Nine13 to focus on road racing.
That move paid off. Anna earned an athletic scholarship (on top of an academic scholarship) to cycle at Marian University starting this fall. Jake has won many races over the past few years, advanced to the cat 3 level, and in 2024 won the juniors category of the prestigious Barry Roubaix gravel race in Michigan.
Meanwhile, the whole family continues to enjoy being physically active together. Last summer, the three littles – JR, Sarah and Claire – competed in the Riviera Club’s kids triathlon, while the three bigs – Anna, Jake and Maddy – along with their parents enjoyed the Eagle Creek Sprint Tri.
A general surgeon specializing in pancreas and hepatobiliary surgery at IU Health, Nick sees fitness as a key component of a balanced life. “I like the YMCA’s construct of mind, body and spirit,” said Nick, who also serves as a professor of surgery at IU School of Medicine. “It’s a fundamental way to think about how you keep your life in balance.”
Added Jen, a general surgeon practicing at Ascension St. Vincent, “For us, exercising is fun and something we get to do, not something we have to do.”
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