RSS
Home
The Truth about Triathlons
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Karen Lyons is raising money to benefit those with juvenile diabetes, including her son, Sam (right), and to finish what her late husband started. (Helen Norton Russell)Each day the media bombards our senses with new warnings, the newest things we should avoid in the grocery stores, the worst risk factor for cancer, etc. If we chose to listen to each piece of adice being shoved in our faces by various sources we would not be able to eat, drink or do anything without putting ourselves at risk.
In a recent article the newst fear factor was TRIATHLONS, it was reported that there are 2x as many deaths caused by participants of traithlons versus participants of mrathons. While this may true currently the study did not counter with the fact that mrathons have a) been occurring over a much longer amount of time and with more participants than triathlons, which allows the munber of deaths to be distilled, and b) the study only looked at the past trends and did not project into the future based on the way trends have been going. If it did these numbers would look different, as more and more novice runners are competing in marathons while triathlons remain reserved for a more competitive field.
One inspiring athlete in particular has stepped up to put the truth about triathlons out into the world, and give a voice to the reason why triathlons are worth competing and training for. Her name is Karen Lyons, widow of one of the athletes to die during an event in 2007. She really believes in the sport and its benefits, and even raced in her first triathlon last summer, the Cohasset Triathlon (the same event where her husband died). She is allowing us to use her and her husband’s story to get the word out about how our sport is changing lives for the better by promoting a healthy lifestyle. Part of her campaign is also trying to help those who do have medical issues to know their body and be smart about their athletic participation.
Karen has also started a foundation called Team Lyons to raise support for Juvenile Diabetes research (her son suffers from the disease and her husband was very active in trying to find a cure). She and her son continue to go back to the race where her husband Joe died to raise awareness for JD and to support triathlon. This year’s race is June 28.
So before you put away your TRI shorts before you even had the chance to wear them, give it a second thought. Is life worth living if we don't fully appreciate it each day? each moment? How will we ever know what we are capable of if we don't truly LIVE?
For more information on the Cohasset TRI and Team LYONS go to:
See you out there!
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
