This year I will be running the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon to raise funds in support of an organization that is near and dear to my heart, Dare2Tri.

Since 2016, I have had the pleasure of volunteering my time with the Dare2Tri Paratriathlon Club.  Dare2Tri is an Illinois-based 501(c)(3) non-for for-profit organization that is focused on empowering individuals with disabilities by providing them with opportunities to be physically active, to engage with a community and to pursue goals through the sport of triathlon.  Their mission is to “positively impact the lives of athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments by developing their skills in paratriathlon” and they work with athletes of all ability levels, ages and pathologies.  Athletes in the club range in experience from beginners to Paralympic medalists and include individuals with a variety of pathologies, including spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and individuals with limb or vision loss. 

Dare2Tri accomplishes their mission by removing barriers that may prevent individuals with physical impairments from participating in triathlon.  They do so by providing access to coaching, equipment, and training facilities along with structured practices on a weekly basis.  They also have a growing volunteer base that assist athletes during practices and races.  There are multiple training camps and running clinics hosted by Dare2Tri each year and in order to ensure athletes who are interested can attend, it is common for them to fund flights and hotels for those who are interested but cannot afford such an experience.  During my time with the organization I have learned that Dare2Tri is an organization that truly cares for the adaptive sports community and they have consistently lived their mission through their actions.  

The photo above is one of me and an athlete named Adrienne from a Dare2Tri three-day camp in June of 2017 held in Pleasant Prairie, WI.  We spent the first two days training and the third racing in a triathlon hosted by Dare2Tri.  This was to be the first triathlon for many of the athletes and I was lucky enough to be able to guide Adrienne, a sweet single mother from Kenosha with a left transfemoral amputation, in her first triathlon.  In the days leading up to the race, Adrienne and I worked together to modify the fit to her hand-bike for proper ergonomics, practice using her gears on hills for maximum efficiency and rehearsed the transfers from her hand cycle to her racing wheel chair for a quick transition between sports.  On the very last day, we raced and she blew my socks off!  Adrienne finished the course in under half the time we required in practice and she shifted the gears on that hand bike like a pro.  It was a hot and humid day but she did not give up and fought hard to the finish.  I was incredibly proud of her all day, and crossing the finish line with her, seeing the hunger she had to come back and do even better next year was definitely an experience I will never forget.

I'm proud to say that stories like these are not uncommon within the Dare2Tri family and with your funding and support, we are likely to have many more!  Thank you all for reading and for your contributions!  

If you would like to see more of what Dare2Tri has accomplished, please check out their 2018 Impact Report here: http://www.dare2tri.org/2018-impact-report/

Cheers!

-Ake