Posted: October 23, 2007

Triathlon: Ottawa couple to race 16 Half Ironman Triathlons for charity

"We Agreed To What?" OTTAWA, Oct. 23 /CNW Telbec/ - We both seemed to feel that way for the first few minutes after we realized what exactly we had agreed to do the night before. See, we had wanted to create a challenge that we could attempt that was so crazy, so "out there" that it would dwarf any awareness campaign that either of us had ever participated in. There is no way we had agreed to compete in 16 Half Ironman Triathlons? Certainly not in 12 different countries and on 5 different continents! Most definitely NOT in only 8 months? We sure did! Brian Doan and Heather Thomson, two Ottawa athletes are passionate about two things: Triathlons and causes that hit close to home. Brian, a Testicular Cancer survivor is fulfilling his 'obligation of the cured' by continuing to challenge himself beyond the battle with cancer. "Ten years ago, I pushed myself through treatments to get better. Now, I continue to push myself to the extreme in challenges like this so I can bring awareness to Testicular Cancer and the need for early detection and a cure". Heather Thomson, who's only sister was involved in a very serious car accident in 2005, knows that our global community knows very little about Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). "Many thought we should just walk away from Tammy... they said there was no hope. This summer at the cottage, Tammy and Heather sang around the campfire just like they we used to when they were kids." We do NOT know enough about ABI. We decided to use our love for triathlons as the perfect vehicle to reach the masses. In our minds, one triathlon would not suffice....nor would two or three. Our challenge: compete in 16 Half Ironman Triathlons in 11 Countries on 5 Continents in 8 Months by 2 athletes with 1 goal: AWARENESS. Interested in hearing more? We would love to talk to you about it www.TriTheWorld.ca. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest