The Great Athlete Auction begins tomorrow

October 3, 8:29 AMBoston Triathlon ExaminerClaire Lunardoni

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Buy triathlon stuff through the Great Athlete Auction, "so
others may live." Photo © Tadija | Dreamstime.com

Tomorrow afternoon, fifty items will be put up for auction (at 15 minute intervals) on ebay as part of the Great Athlete Auction. Brainchild of pro triathlete Leanda Cave, the Great Athlete Auction will be the largest fund raiser to date for the Blazeman Foundation's war on ALS.

What is ALS?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a terminal degenerative condition in the brain and spinal cord in which the sufferer progressively loses control of his or her voluntary muscle movement. Besides Lou Gehrig's famous withdrawl from baseball, ALS also gained notoriety from the book Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom) and the film North Country. A person suffering from ALS remains mentally accute as paralysis spreads from thier extremities toward their vital organs. An ALS sufferer will slowly lose her independence as she progressively loses the ability to perform daily tasks. In the late stages of ALS, sufferers are not able to sit up, speak, or swallow. ALS sufferers eventually die of respiratory failure.  Few people who suffer from ALS survive for five years.

Who was Jon Blais?

In 2005, Jonathan Blais from Seekonk, MA noticed that he was having trouble gripping a beer can. Before he was diagnosed, Blais already suspected that he was suffering from the early stages of ALS. He knew that there was no treatment and no cure. He also knew that very little research had been done on the disease because it killed its victims so quickly, and there was relatively little time for pharmaceutical companies to capiatalize on their illness.

When Blais received confirmation of his diagnosis, he did an Ironman. Within a year he wouldn't have the strength to pedal a bike, or even walk, so he knew there would be no second chances. Before the race in Hawaii, Blazeman had told Mike Reilly that he was going to cross that finish line, even if he had to roll across it. When Blais reached the finish line after sixteen and a half hours, he dropped to the ground and rolled across the finish line, keeping his promise. The Blazeman log-roll has become iconic of the triathlon community's support of the war on ALS ever since. Blais passed away on May 27, 2007. He was 35 years old.

What is the Blazeman Foundation's War on ALS?

Maryann and Bob Blais continue to run the Blazeman foundation in honor of their son. The Blazeman Foundation's mission is to "1) to raise awareness about ALS by leveraging the energy, commitment and compassion of the multi-sport community and 2) to raise necessary funds to be directed into cutting-edge scientific research to find treatments and an eventual cure for ALS...So Others May Live."

No athlete has done more to help "raise necessary funds... so others may live" than Leanda Cave. Cave has tirelessly collected fifty donations from athletes, sponsors, and race directors to auction on ebay.

What's for sale?

Among the items that Cave puts on sale today are:

Tri gear!

• T-shirt autographed by Chrissie Wellington (item 28)
• Limar aero helmet autographed by Belinda Granger (item 25)
• 2 Rudy Project Syton aero helmets autographed by Bella and Stephen Bayliss (items 21 & 22)
• Xterra Vendetta wetsuit package (item 39)
• Aquasphere Icon wetsuit (item 20)
• TYR Sayonara swim skin donated by Chrissie Wellington (item 11)
• BlueSeventy wetsuit package (item 7)
• A Fi'zi:k Arione Tri2 saddle (item 27)
• A Reynolds Element disc wheel donated by Dede Griesbauer (item 23)

Race entries!

• One entry into Quelle Challenge Roth 2010, plus a 5-night homestay package for two (item 38)
• One entry to the Revolution 3 full distance triathlon in Ohio (item 18)
• One entry each into the Revolution 3 half distance triathlons in Tennessee, Connecticut, or Ohio (items 14,16, 17)
• One entry each to the Eagleman 70.3, Ironman 70.3 Kansas, or Ironman 70.3 Branson (items 24, 2&3)
• One entry each to the Revolution 3 Olympic distance races in both Tennessee and Connecticut (items 13, 15)
• 2 entries into the Wildflower Olympic distance race (item 12)
• One entry into Tour of Sweden (item 1)

Other cool stuff!

• Two months' premium coaching by Triumph Multisport (item 10)
• Hotel stays in Atlanta, Tampa, Fort Worth, Tucson, San Diego (items 44, 45, 33, 30, 31)

Finally, Michael Lovato's donation is already up for auction. It includes a Men's Saucony gear package, an Ironman Hawaii Saucony Race Top signed by Michael, Timex Lap watch, Monkey Bars, an Ironman Hawaii 2007 Kona Hat signed by Michael, a 1st Endurance Baseball Cap and two Blueseventy Element Swim goggles.You can practice your bidding skills on Michaels item before the other 49 items go up for sale today.

The auction on the rest of the items will be closing in the final hours of the race in Kona. While you're watching the Ironman race, you can also click back and forth to watch your favorite item. But don't wait until the eleventh hour to bid. Bidding early and often drives up the price that all these items bring to fight ALS.

How to bid: Log on to ebay, and type the item that you're searching for into the search field at the top of the page.
To bid on an item, type in the amount of your bid and click "Place bid."

To view all 50 of Leanda's items, click "Advanced Search" on the far right of the search bar.

Then, scroll down to the section that says "Sellers" and click the box "Only show items from:". Make sure that the bubble next to "Specific sellers (enter seller's user IDs)" is clicked, then type "thegreatathleteauction" into the seller's name field. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Search" button.