Advertisement

Among the 160 competitors, one was an amputee and the other had survived after several months in a coma.

It could well be the reason one competitor was quoted as telling a member of the Chamber of Commerce that the race was "the jewel of the north."

Maybe organizers will eventually coin the phrase. But, it was definitely taken as a compliment.

"As far as participant satisfaction, it always gets high reviews," race director Thomas Birgy said. "They love the volunteers, and the enthusiasm. And, we do a couple of things differently that help make it more participant-friendly, and even spectator-friendly."

Before the race, volunteers go around the entire course distributing handbills alerting residents when the race will take place.

Short biographical information on some of the participants is included in the hand-outs as well. It has the desired effect, as many residents set up chairs in front of their homes to watch, and cheer, the participants as they follow the course. From start to finish, there's about 20 miles contestants have to traverse on land, so distributing the handbills is a pretty major undetaking for the volunteers.

The bicycle course covers 19.9 miles, and the participants complete the rest on foot - running. "We have a very enthusiastic crew of volunteers," Birgy said. "I don't think I've ever had a volunteer say that they wouldn't be back to help next year.

"Everbody enjoys it enough that they're willing to come back again. Part of that is some of the human interest stories that go along with some of the participants."

Among the participants this year was a 61-year old man who had double knee replacement surgery, and survived a bout of cancer a year ago. Birgy thinks the man has been coming to the race for 15 years now, and his daughter participated this year.

There was also a former Navy SEAL who was part of an elite sky diving group. Some time ago, he was 3,000 feet up when another sky diver shot through his deployed parachute.

He plummeted to the ground, and was in a coma for two months. When he came out of it, he was paralyzed for about six months. But his troubles weren't over.

"This guy had severe frontal lobe damage, so he has balance issues, and some reasoning issues sometimes," Birgy said. "He started to work out at a gymnasium after he was able to walk again, and started participating in the race last year. "It's just pretty heartwarming to see someone who has battled back from those kind of issues to be able to have a smile on his face when he finishes."

Lastly, there was a 19-year old girl left on a doorstep in China, badly burned.

She was brought to the United States an amputee. But, she did the race, and didn't ask any help. She did the swimming part of the race with only one leg.

"You feel really gratified that you've been a part of that," Birgy said.