Tri transcends sports

In sports we often lose sight of the small things in favor of the bigger picture. Individual stories and personal triumphs are swept aside in the race for victory and glory. The famous Vince Lombardi mindset that “winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” dominates throughout.

But ask the women participating in or watching the 2011 Maine Cancer Foundation’s Tri for a Cure in South Portland “who won?” and you’d likely get a bit of a blank stare, followed by a soft, knowing smile. Who won? Everybody who was involved – that’s who. Though, for the record, Anne Wilkinson of Falmouth won her third consecutive Tri for a Cure with a time of 1:15:34.

“It was a great race,” said Nicole Schrader of South Portland, still out of breath after she crossed the finish line. “There is a lot of camaraderie between the women out there, and that makes it a lot of fun.”

“This is my first time doing this event, and right off the bat it is a very moving beginning,” Schrader continued. “You realize all the challenges that the survivors have gone through, and the race feels like a peace of cake by comparison. I have had three grandparents lost to cancer, so it is a very important cause.”

The most powerful words were spoken by both the survivors and those who lost loved ones to cancer. April Powell, 45, of Kennebunk, who lost a brother to lymphoma and won her own battle against ovarian cancer, had tears in her eyes as she watched bikers stream by her on the middle leg of the race. There was pride tinged with unimaginable sorrow as she talked about her battle with the disease.

“(Cancer) is one of those things where everyone talks about having one of those life experiences like ‘what have I been doing with the rest of my life?’” Powell said. “I already had that going on when I lost my brother at 17. There was a push somewhere, and that didn’t really click until I was battling for myself.”

“There was a realization that I had three children, and I was going to be here,” she added. “I feel very fortunate – I brought them into this world, and I was going to be damned if I was going to leave them.”

Emily Bugbee, 56, of Cape Elizabeth also fought off tears in the moments after she completed the race.

“I had breast cancer 11 years ago,” she said. “But I did this for my sister-in-law, Liz Bugbee, who died of it in April. It was for her. She was afraid of swimming, but later on in her life she decided to conquer that, and she entered the Tri. She was a very good runner – she placed in Beach to Beacon in her age group. And this was really just something for her – it’s for her.”

Unlike our forbears a century ago, we are so rarely confronted by both the specter of death, and those who have personally looked it in the eye and overcome it. It was difficult to speak with these women and remain unmoved by their trials and triumphs, and thus it was easy to understand why hundreds more racers who had never battled cancer personally felt the need to race and show their support.

Eleven hundred competitors – more than any in any year since Tri for a Cure began in 2008 – leapt into the 66 degree waters of Casco Bay, battled through a 14.6-mile cycling course and then tested themselves on the final 3.1-mile running leg. About the only thing there wasn’t any consensus on was which leg was the most difficult.

“The bike route was a little more interesting – going down Shore Road was a little more technical, so that was pretty fun,” Bugbee said. “For me, the bike was the hardest, and that was because I couldn’t get on my bike much before the race – I just didn’t have time.”

“The swim was hard,” said Hannah Wolken, 39, of Westbrook. “There was a crowd, and just getting in and hitting people and getting kicked and not being able to see where you were going was tough. It was surprisingly warm, though. I didn’t do a lot of biking and running, but not as much swimming as I should have!”

Still more racers argued that the last leg was the most strenuous.

“I would say the most challenging – we were a relay team; my friend Tricia Pirone (of Old Orchard Beach) did the swim and I biked and ran – was the run,” said Michelle Vallee, 41 of Saco. “And that was only because it was so hot today.”

But whatever the most difficult part actually was, all of the women participating seemed very happy that they had come out to participate in the event, and most pledged to run again next year. With over $600,000 raised in 2011 alone and just over $1 million expected from this year’s event, the total raised for cancer research since 2008 is now over $2 million, the athletes in the Tri for a Cure know that the only way to spare others further struggles is to defeat the disease with a knockout blow. If the uptick in participation is any indication (the Tri has seen almost a five-fold increase since it began) they are well on their way to victory.

“It is awe-inspiring to be around so many courageous women,” said Paula Pock, 40, of Windham, “and to see so many women being physically active and healthy. I know many survivors, and their courage, their grace and their spirit are inspiring. It is wonderful that we have this race to honor them.”

Some of the more than 1100 competitors in Sunday’s 4th Annual
Tri for a Cure wait for their turn to enter the water at Spring
Point, while spectators line the hill, shore and breakwater to
cheer them on. The all-woman triathlon, including many cancer
survivors, was won by Anne Wilkinson for the third time, raised
over $1 million dollars to benefit the work of the Maine Cancer
Foundation.
Volunteers Jen Bragg of Gorham and Tim Wright of Scarborough
were part of the team of volunteers who helped the swimmers shed
their wetsuits so they could move to the bicycle leg in Sunday’s
Tri for a Cure.
Triathlete – and cancer survivor – Anne Wilkinson of Falmouth
shows the strain of winning the Tri for a Cure for the third
time.
Cancer survivor Emily Bugbee of Cape Elizabeth gathers her
thoughts as a prayer is read during the opening ceremony of the Tri
for a Cure.
Spectators cheer for Stacy Cimino of Cape Elizabeth as she
climbs the last hill to finish second overall in the Tri for a
Cure.
Carry Buterbaugh ignores the beautiful scenery she’s passing as
she nears the finish line of Sunday’s Tri for a Cure on the campus
of the Southern Maine Community College. Buterbaugh, from
Scarborough, finished third overall.