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trispokes by ron cassie ron_cassie@yahoo.com Ulman Fund's Half Full Tri is a Hit Diana and Lou Ulman never envisioned 100 cancer survivors/triathletes coming to Columbia for an event like the Half Full Triathlon when their son Doug was diagnosed with cancer at Brown University. Of course, neither did Doug, now CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. But this past fall, there was Doug and the whole family, surrounded by friends and Ulman Cancer Fund supporters at Centennial Park where Doug grew up, cheering on 1,000 competitors at the inaugural charity triathlon. Geoffrey Irwin, 45, of Frederick, won the race, with Megan Martin, 27, of Greencastle, Pa., taking the women’s title – and both talked about the inspirational nature of the event after crossing the finish line. “It’s a great cause,” said Irwin, who won in dominating fashion, winning the half-Ironman distance race by more than seven minutes. “A lot of people have been affected by cancer, and so many young people, especially, show great courage through dealing with it. That’s a lot tougher than anything we had to do today.” “It was motivational just to be out here,” said Martin, who won the women’s race by two minutes, finishing in 5:06:45. “Our wave (the professional/elite wave) was just ahead of the cancer survivor’s wave and I got to meet a lot of people and hear some of their stories. It was amazing. It makes you realize that whatever little injuries you have, it’s not the end of the world. It puts things into perspective – it’s not all about winning.” Martin bested pro/elite wave athletes Amy Alexander and Tara Flint, who took second and third overall, respectively. Irwin won in 4:41:56, beating out Richard Rapine and Albert Kim, who won the men’s 35-39 and 30-34 age groups, respectively. A diagnosis and commitment to helping others Three months after Doug, a former Centennial High School star soccer player, learned of his chondrosarcoma diagnosis, Diana Ulman said, the family watched a Sam Donaldson report on cancer together. Shortly afterwards, her son, a three-time cancer survivor after two subsequent bouts with melanoma, decided he wanted to do something to help other cancer patients, a commitment that eventually led to the nonprofit Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. Founded in 1997, the organization provides support, education, and resources to young adults, their families and friends who are affected by cancer. “We wanted to do something that wasn’t already being done,” Diana told SPOKES. “And that was something for young people. There were support groups for children and the older people, but nothing for young people. We looked for support groups for Doug and there wasn’t anything for him, for someone his age.” Many of the issues faced by young adults diagnosed with cancer – medical insurance, fertility, relationship, career concerns – are different than those facing children or senior citizens, Diana Ulman said. “We get a lot of young people who don’t have insurance,” she said. A dozen years after launching Team Fight, the Ulman Cancer Fund triathlon team that raises money and awareness for the cause, Doug Ulman said the time had come to launch an entire event. “While Team Fight, and other groups, like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation teams do a great job raising money and participating in individual races,” Ulman said, “we thought why not an entire race dedicated to the mission – with everything going toward the effort and raising awareness.” Ulman and his school soccer teammate, Brock Yetso, now executive director of the Ulman Cancer Fund and a triathlete as well, along with Half Full race director Brian Satola, put a twist on the traditional Columbia Triathlon course at Centennial Park. To cover the necessary distance for the .9 mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1 mile run, they drew a two-loop course while also adding a new finish area. By all accounts, the new course, including the larger finishing area, was a hit among the participants. Ulman and Yetso said the hope is to expand the field in 2011, possibly up to 2,000 entrants. Next year, with a bigger field, Irwin likely will face a tougher race than he did at the Oct. 3 event. At 45, Irwin, a former collegiate swimmer at the University of Maryland, took the lead two-thirds of the way through the first bike loop and never needed to look back. Though he did. After posting a sub-23 minute swim, Irwin nailed the bike, averaging 21.63 miles-perhour on tough, hilly course – the only cyclist to top the 21 mile-per-hour mark. His big lead off the bike held up with 1:40:29 run, not close to the best run split of the day, but plenty good enough for the “W.” Despite his collegiate swimming career, Irwin was an unlikely candidate to win. He said he’s “folded” at each Eagleman Ironman 70.3 he’s attempted previously and actually “DNF’d” at Cambridge earlier this summer. Although he’s qualified for the 70.3 National Championship in Clearwater, Fla. this year and has done very well in his age group in a bunch of races, he does not have a lengthy list of overall wins. In fact, his only previous overall win came earlier this summer, when he captured the Fort Ritchie Sprint Triathlon. After tackling triathlons in his 20s, Irwin did not complete for roughly a decade after he and his wife, Dawn, began the process of adopting two Russian children more than a dozen years ago. A small business Only BONZAI SPORTS has the largest Wetsuit Rental Fleet of full and sleeveless suits. Only BONZAI SPORTS has the widest selection of Triathlon Bikes in stock. Only BONZAI SPORTS has the world’s fastest wetsuit... /////////////////// the new //////////////////// 2XU Project X //////////////////// by 2XU //////////////////// only at... TRIBONZAI.COM OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK! 2822 Fallfax Drive Falls Church, VA 22042 703.280.2248 22 Winter 2010/11
“i'd like to ride more this year” is one resolution we can help you keep. Schedule a tune up or personal bicycle fitting session! matt mcgoey, owner & michael brennan, service manager ALL AMERICAN BICYCLE CENTER www.aabikes.com serving cyclists since 1994 26039 Ridge Road (Route 27), Damascus, MD 20872 301-253-5800 Visit our web site for more info www.aABIKES.COM Store Hours: Monday–Friday 10am-7pm Saturday 10am-6pm & Closed Sunday A kinesiology major at Maryland and a regional supervisor with TNT Fitness, Martin said she hadn’t taken her triathlon career too seriously until a co-worker mentioned to her before the 2007 Eagleman race that the event was Kona qualifier and she might have a shot in her age group. “I was like, ‘Oh, whatever,’ until about halfway through the run when I realized I was going to do it,” Martin said. “After that, I thought, maybe I should keep doing this.” As Irwin and Martin were coming home on the running leg, Doug Ulman explained why tackling triathlons, marathons, century bike rides and other physical challenges are important to cancer survivors. “I think for a lot of people, whether they were athletes before their diagnosis or become athletes after their diagnosis, it’s about regaining their physical ability and their confidence,” said Ulman, who completed a five-day, 100-mile race in the Himalayas in 1999 after his recovery. “It’s like proving to yourself, ‘I’m okay. I’m go getting to get back to being myself again before this happened.” Piranha Sports Season Summary Piranha Sports’ Greater Atlantic Multisport Series wrapped up its 10th season at the Cape Henlopen Triathlon and Duathlon on 10-10-10. Winning the overall individual male divisions in this series, were Kent Buckson with 63 points, William Moyer at 65 years young with 56 points, and John Dawson with 53 points. The overall female winners were Leslie Randall with 56 points, Katie Dickerson with 51 points, and 14 year old Drew Sanclemente with 48 points. The series had over 3,750 participants. Series points can be viewed at www.piranha-sports.com/GAMS/. In the famous club challenge, the Greater Atlantic Club Challenge there were over 150 clubs representing, with the winners being Team Bricks MultiSport Club with 631 points, DE Swim and Fitness Tri-Dawgs with 287 points, and The Bike Rack DC with 186 points. Club Challenge points can be viewed at www. piranha-sports.com/Clubs/. Registration for all 2011 Piranha Sport events is now open, including the famous Escape from Fort Delaware Triathlon which is back for it’s 11th anniversary. To register, go to www.piranha- sports.com. JOIN A BIKE GANG owner, he stayed in shape by “swimming a little, running a little,” spending most of recreational time sailing or with his kids. He eventually took up the sport again after turning 40, and after a lot of bike work on the strenuous hills around Frederick with members of the Frederick Triathlon Club, cycling has overtaken swimming as his strongest leg. Running remains a challenge – and it was a concern at the Half Full. “I had no idea, I’d win today,” Irwin said with a big smile afterwards. “ I kept waiting for someone to run me down. This is a huge deal.” Former Terp wins women’s side For the women’s champ, Martin, the win was less of a surprise, but she does have a few things in common with Irwin. For one, she also swam at the University of Maryland, albeit, nearly 20 years later. And, like Irwin, she also won this summer at Fort Ritchie, capturing the Olympic-distance women’s title. Martin, in pro/elite wave, won the Annapolis Tri on 2007 and her hometown Hagerstown Tri in 2007 and 2008. She’s previously qualified for the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon and at the Ironman Florida race in 2007, made the podium as one of the top three amateurs. Burned out slightly on swimming after college, she first took up running. However, she said, the everyday pounding of running proved too hard on her body, so she added bicycling into the mix. Unlike Irwin, she still considers cycling the weakest of the three triathlon legs. The win at Half Full happily coincided with her first year wedding anniversary, she noted with a smile and a nod to her husband, Jason, a former discus thrower who runs with her occasionally. FREE WEEKS FREEMEMBERSHIP RPM ® is the ultimate calorie-killing studio cycling workout that blitzes up to 1,000 calories in just 45 minutes. You control the intensity, so RPM ® is ideal for any level of fitness. Use the FREE week’s membership* and experience the ride of your life! *Limit 1 per customer. Gold's Gym 5728-B Buckeystown Pike Frederick, MD 21703 301-698-GOLD Winter 2010/11 23
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