Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Thousands exercise their right to make a difference

By John Burbank

 Our family has been in three sports events in the past 10 days. The first was the Crohn's and Colitis Three Mile Run in Seattle. Seven hundred people showed up to run, walk and push baby strollers past Safeco Field two Sundays ago.

Some were great athletes. Some were sick from Crohn's. Some showed the effects of medication. One was Mike McCready, the bassist from Pearl Jam.

All were out exercising on a Sunday morning, thumbing their noses at these diseases and living their lives as healthfully as they could. Plus, altogether we raised $140,000 for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.

Then Friday, along with 1,300 other people, I got to join the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party), organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club. This bicycle ride wound its way up to Bellingham on Friday and continued to Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday. Bicycling through Snohomish County opens your eyes to a lot of countryside you never see on I-5. On the Centennial Trail from Snohomish to Arlington you forget your worries about cars and enjoy the smooth path, easy going, and views of Mount Pilchuck.

Going north on Highway 9 from Arlington makes you appreciate the Snohomish County countryside and Washington's Growth Management Act, which helps preserve rural agriculture. Chuckanut Drive was breathtaking for the scenery and the energy required to get to Bellingham. We made it to Vancouver at noon on Saturday, having pedaled 190 miles.

Early Sunday morning was my wife's turn: We headed off to the Danskin Women's Triathlon. It was cold and rainy, but by the time we got to the start, the energy and enthusiasm was palpable. This is a rough event. You swim for almost a half a mile in the open water of Lake Washington. Then it's a quick run over to the bicycles, putting on bike shoes and rain jackets, and off bicycling up Lake Washington Boulevard, onto the I-90 express lanes to Mercer Island, and back. As you come off I-90, you're forced to walk because it's so slippery. Then back on the bike for a sprint to the finish area. There you change into your running shoes and take off again, down the opposite direction on Lake Washington Boulevard, and then turn around and come into the finish after a run of more than three miles.

There were 4,000 women, from teenagers to octogenarians, in this triathlon.

Hundreds of cancer survivors participated. Some are fast, some are dogged, and all are tough. The first woman finished in one hour flat, averaging 24 mph on her bike and running a 6-minute-mile pace. Matsue Watanabe of Tukwila, at 80 the oldest competitor, finished in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The last woman came across the finish line in three and a half hours, having covered more territory and burned far more calories than the vast majority of us do in a week.

Snohomish County was well represented, with 36 women from Lynnwood, seven from Mountlake Terrace, 12 from Mukilteo, 13 from Arlington, 12 from Marysville, 68 from Everett and 20 from Lake Stevens.

But the triathlon, the Crohn's run and the RSVP are not about who goes fastest, or who is in the best shape. All the participants made the events part of our world. When my daughter and I got to the triathlon swim area, we watched as hundreds of women, including my wife and sister-in-law, flung themselves into the water for a long, tough, cold swim, each wave of 100 women going in with color-coded swim caps, creating a beauty of motion, athletic drive, hope and spirit. That is a moment to mark for how we can live our lives.



John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute (www.eoionline.org ), writes every other Wednesday. Write to him in care of the institute at 1900 Northlake Way, Suite 237, Seattle, WA 98103. His e-mail address is john@eoionline.org.
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