SEATTLE — An early morning rain shower didn’t dampen the spirits of athletes and volunteers at last week’s fifth annual Give it a Tri triathlon.
As the nine participants, many of whom are local special needs youths, gathered for the start, the sun began to cut through the clouds making for a perfect day at Green Lake.
Tristie McJilton, a special education teacher at Shorecrest High School, helped organize Give it a Tri. An avid triathlete herself, McJilton came up with the idea for the triathlon while training for one herself.
“While I’m (training) I can probably get others involved and the students that I work with who don’t get much of an opportunity to participate in athletic events,” McJilton said.
Give it a Tri participants kicked off the Aug. 5 event with a 200-meter swim at Evans Pool. After the swim, they biked around the lake to the boathouse on the lake’s south side, the starting point of the running/walking leg. Give it a Tri’s total distance is roughly three miles.
McJilton doesn’t know of many other triathlons for disabled athletes.
“It gives (the athletes) a chance to see their friends,” McJilton said. “It also gets them moving and active.”
McJilton said the event is smaller, with eight to 15 participants each year, to keep the atmosphere fun and non-competitive.
“We don’t want anyone to get down or feel bad about themselves, we just want everyone to have a good experience,” McJilton said.
Give it a Tri veteran, 23-year-old Jeremy Wynne of Shoreline, has been coming out to the event since its beginning in 2000.
“It’s good to see all my friends,” Wynne said.
At this year’s triathlon, Wynne improved on last year’s time by shaving off 10 minutes.
“It felt good to do better than I did last year,” Wynne said.
Wynne’s mother Maryn said Give it a Tri provides the athletes an opportunity to participate in a physical activity as well as see their friends outside of school.
“Jeremy graduated and he really misses that connection with the people from school,” she said.
Matthew Sebastian of Lake Forest Park was one of this year’s first-time participants.
“Running was the best, then the biking,” Sebastian said.
Sebastian’s friend, 16-year-old Ben Fodor of Lake Forest Park, volunteered at the event and cheered Sebastian on throughout the triathlon.
“It’s a special event for the kids,” Fodor said. “It’s about making them feel good and supporting them.”
McJilton said the event organizers may change the date of the triathlon in the future to accommodate a few more athletes. If the event were to grow much larger, she said a change of venue would be in order.
But no matter how big the triathlon gets, McJilton said she loves to watch the athletes compete and wants to make sure they enjoy themselves.
“We want to keep it so everyone can do it and as non-competitive as possible so it’s just a fun event where finishing is winning,” McJilton said.
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