As part of the Dare2Tri Development Team, one of my commitments is to give back by volunteering at at least one of their camps. Last year, the Kids Paratriathlon (PT) Camp worked best. I had so much fun last year that I decided to volunteer again this year. And this year, my mom also joined in.
Day 1 started out with several of us getting equipment ready for the kids – a lot of tire examination and pumping. And by a lot, I mean about 40 bikes/racers/racing chairs. After introductions/stretching, the groups were broken up and people went in different directions.
While I’m always moderately serious about it, since no one would let me pilot for them, I spent most of Day 1 in Lake Michigan with the groups. I went through how I swim with my guides and gear I have used/do use in the water with one of the blind groups. Day One ended with transition information for the campers.
Even though I’d been in Lake Michigan for about 2 hours, I still needed to get my normal Open Water Swim practice in after camp. That ½ mile at Ohio Street beach was quite the struggle. I was tired from the previous swims, but still managed to get it in.
Day Two was predicted to be hot and muggy with a chance of rain. Well make that a 100% chance of rain. All of the campers got to learn two very important additional lessons because of the rain —
1) That in adaptive sports, you need to be willing and able to adapt. Things won’t always go as planned, but they’ll always work out. Just don’t let the unexpected throw you off track.
2) That Triathletes don’t melt. You’ll race as long as there isn’t thunder/lightning. It may not be the most comfortable to bike/run in the rain (or the standing water a storm can leave), it’ll still happen.
Thunder and lightning kept us under the beach shelter for about 2 hours, during which the campers did relays and other practice while waiting it out. During that time, I also did an impromptu interview (Facebook Live) related to why I Dare2Tri. You can view this on Dare2Tri’s Facebook Page.
Once the bulk of the storm had passed, the campers got ready to race. Because there were so many Blind/VI athletes, that group had to be split to ensure there were enough tandems. So there were supposed to be 3 races; but the weather changed that again. I ended up on the course helping to direct people onto the bike course and cheering as they came into the finish.
This gave me a great opportunity to see everyone finish, including my mom finishing her first Triathlon. While I haven’t been successful in talking her into doing a Super Sprint or being part of a relay, I’ll continue trying…
For those of you who are interested in volunteering for 2018, please keep an eye on the Calendar that’s on Dare2Tri’s web site. Kids PT Camp has been in July the last 2 years, and will probably be July 2018.
