HENNIKER — Next month, Dr. Vicki McCloskey will be leaving the Henniker Community School, where she serves as the school psychologist, and traveling to the other side of the world to compete in World International Triathlon representing the United States.

McCloskey, 63, has spent years of her life pursuing a career that would put her in a position to help children. She started as an elementary school teacher and a certified reading specialist, earned master’s degrees in both counseling and education, but when she found herself working with a troubled child, McCloskey pushed further and earned her doctorate so that she could work as a psychologist.

“I was teaching second grade and I had a child in my class who had some issues,” she said. “I started working with a psychologist to try and help this child, and I realized that that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a psychologist.”

Though she focused on educating her mind, McCloskey didn’t ignore her body and kept fit by running and biking, but at the age of 60, she started looking for a new challenge and became interested the competitive sport of triathlons to maintain her fitness.

“I was just looking for something different to do, and I was drawn to triathlons because they offer the challenge of being able to compete against people your own age,” she said. “And it makes your life interesting to work towards a goal.”

McCloskey began training four years ago and since then has competed in several triathlon events, including a Labor Day weekend in Des Moines where she placed fourth in her age group with a personal record.

“Triathlon provides me with a great opportunity to set goals and feel positive about myself,” she said. “It helps me deal with stress, helps me focus, and offers a great social network.”

Next month, McCloskey will travel to the World International Triathlon in Auckland, New Zealand to compete at the non-professional level in an international age group race, which will include a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and a 10-kilometer run.

The race will feature 2,500 triathletes from 40 different countries and is part of the World International Triathlon’s series finale, which serves as a final competition for professional triathletes from around the world.

For McCloskey, the trip to Auckland will be about “soaking it all in and enjoying the experience, as long as the water’s not too cold,” she said.

But she said she also knows she has a competitive edge that isn’t so much about beating others, but about bettering herself.

“I’d really like this to be my best race of the year,” she said.

McCloskey, who also recently qualified to race in the 2013 World Championships in London, hopes the children she works with see her willingness to confront challenges head on as an example they can learn from.

“It’s helpful for us all to look at a challenge and say, ‘We can do this,’ ” McCloskey said. “Children need to know that no problem is too big that they can’t overcome it.”

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Nancy Bean Foster may be reached at nfoster@newstote.com.