Finding Inspiration

Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours. 

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of volunteering at the Atlanta Paratriathlon Camp.  Watching a group of people who have had to overcome a lot do something that many of take for granted was something I wasn't easily going to forget.  Fast forward two weeks - one of the athletes was planning on participating in a sprint triathlon and didn't have anyone to assist him during the race.  I already had some plans for that morning, but they were easy to move around.  I was having trouble with the thought of him not being able to race when this was something I could so easily help with.  And this is how one of the most truly amazing days happened. 

Cougar is a 19 year old young man who became a quadriplegic a few years back after he jumped into a snow pile with some buddies. He has worked so hard to get where he is, and he is still fighting every day.  He has little use of his arms; mainly his biceps and he doesn't have the use of his triceps, fingers, core, and legs.  In order to participate in a triathlon, Cougar needs someone to do the entire race with him. 

I spoke with his mom Colleen on Thursday and it was settled that I would drive 2 hours to Cordele, GA to help him out with his race on Saturday morning.  By the way, Coleen is a rockstar! She has pretty much put her life on hold to become Cougar's caregiver and she does everything with a smile.  She is the true meaning of selfless. 

I arrived at the race site on Friday evening and Cougar and Colleen were just checking in.  I got my swim cap and t-shirt and then we headed to check out the race site.  After a brief look at transition (which was very small) Colleen and I headed down to the swim start.  It was grassy and a little bumpy and it was easier for Cougar to wait for us on the pavement.  We looked at the swim course and walked up the race route to transition, satisfied that we had a plan on getting Cougar from the water to transition.  We headed out to dinner and then went to bed, since we had to get up early. 

Race Day: We take for granted the little things and I definitely learned that here.  The effort required for me to get ready for race day is minimal. Get dressed, fill up my water bottles, eat breakfast.  But for Cougar, it is a lot of work.  Colleen seems to have the routine down. I watched in amazement as she got him ready for the day! 


We arrived at the race site and unloaded the car.  There was so much stuff!  We lucked out that there were a few therapists at the race site who were there to assist with the paratriathletes.  Anything that Colleen and Cougar needed, they were there. Once we had everything set up in our own corner of transition, we headed down to the swim start.  

Swim - 400 yards
Cougar and I were scheduled to start about 5 minutes before the rest of the racers.  Colleen lifted him out of his wheelchair and carried him down to the water. She got him situated and then left the two of us alone.  Cougar swims on his back, so he was floating and I had a hand under his hips to keep from sinking.  After the national anthem, we were off. 

My job in the water was to steer Cougar. He uses both arms at the same time while on his back. He takes a few strokes and then pauses to let his legs pop up, since they sink while he swims. I used his feet like a rudder. When he was veering off course, I would push them so he turned the direction he needed to go. The swim course was a triangle, so we only had to make two turns.  We got to the first buoy and it was mostly uneventful. I had brought him a little too close to the buoy so he hit it a few times as we were turning. As we made our way to the second buoy, things got rough. Swimmers had been passing us, but now they were swimming very close and hitting us occasionally. I tried to stay right on his feet so I could turn him as needed, but multiple people swim between us. Essentially, they were swimming over Cougar's legs! The second buoy was like a war zone. I was trying to turn his feet and people kept swimming so close that we would get separated. I suppose it would have been less crowded if we had taken the turns a little wider. The last leg of the triangle was great. As we got close to the finish, Colleen ran over to the dock to cheer on Cougar.  We got to the end and Colleen was in the water to meet us. She picked up Cougar and set him down in his wheelchair. One of the therapists wheeled him up the hill on the grass, which I could tell was a huge help for Colleen. Even though Cougar is the one racing, she puts forth so much energy to make it possible.

T1: Wow! Transitions are a lot of work.  Once we got to the top of the hill and in transition, it took a few people to transfer Cougar from his wheelchair to the hand cycle. We had one person supporting most of his weight from behind and then 1 person on each of his legs.  Getting him in the bike is an art. Once he was seated, then it was time to get him situated.  The cycle is adjusted for him, but it was a matter of getting his legs bent at the correct angle and getting the straps on his legs just right.  Because he doesn't have the use of his fingers, getting the braces on his hands takes some work as well.  He used his teeth to adjust them a little, but he did have help. It took about 12 minutes to get Cougar ready for the bike and then we were off.

Bike - 13 miles
For the bike portion, I was just there if Cougar needed anything.  I rode just behind him; close enough to hear him talk, but not too close so I would run into him. This is the only triathlon that I can legally draft! At this point, we were towards the back of the race. It was actually nice, because we had the whole road to ourselves.  Cougar didn't need much, but this would be pretty tough for him to do without assistance. The first time I stopped to help was to adjust his shifter.  He uses his elbow to shift gears and every time he does it slowly slides out of position. I had to push it down so he could reach it.  I did this at least 4 more times throughout the race.  We stopped a few times for water, nutrition and to adjust his hand braces. This course was tough for Cougar because it was mostly flat.  There were a few long, slight uphills, but that also meant there were little to no downhills.  On the uphills we were moving anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 miles an hour. For me, this was tough to keep my balance, but I managed.  We were almost to the end and Colleen showed up.  She was getting worried because we had been out on the course for a long time.  We finished the bike portion with Colleen and the therapists close behind. 

T2: We arrived in transition and the crew was there to assist as before.  The plan was to transfer Cougar from the hand cycle to the racing wheelchair.  Unfortunately, because the bike course was pretty tough for him, his arms were toast.  He didn't want to continue the race in the racing chair. So T2 consisted of getting Cougar from the Hand Cycle to his wheelchair.

Finish Line: Once Cougar was back in his wheelchair, one of the therapists wheeled him over to the finish line while we packed up his gear.  He went through the finish line and got his medal. He was also interviewed by a local news station where he shared his inspirational story. We left the finish line area, loaded up the cars and then headed back to Atlanta. 

Observations: This was such an amazing experience. It was humbling, moving, and every other possible emotion throughout the day.  After helping Cougar, it definitely makes me want to get more involved in our Paratriathlon program as well as some other options for assisting athletes. If I can help someone experience the things that we may take for granted, isn't that what its all about? If you have the opportunity to do something like this, do it.  You won't regret it!

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass.... its about learning to dance in the rain.

**Check out Cougar's story at cougartracks.net**