My local YMCA has a Triathlon group that I joined back in September. Our group gets together quite often to either do a lake swim, bike or run and as a group it is a great motivator. I met Rebecca Warriner through this group. She is training for a Iron-man Triathlon so she is a little (okay, a lot ) out of my league. How can you refuse to help when she sends a request for volunteers. She is so uplifting and infectious that its hard not to want to be around her. Her smile, positive attitude and plain old "big heart" was so evident that it should not surprise me she pulled this off sucessfully....in fact the whole Heritage neighborhood got involved by not only encouraging the participants but spraying them with hoses as they passed by.
WAKE FOREST, N.C.-- Hundreds of people swam, biked, and ran through the Heritage neighborhood in Wake Forest Sunday for the BASF Smile Train Triathlon.
It was the first triathlon ever held in the town, and the first triathlon in the world to benefit The Smile Train, a New York-based organization that helps repair cleft lips and cleft palettes in children in underdeveloped countries.
"It hits home because I'm a parent, and I can't imagine if I looked at my kids everyday and thought, 'I can't help you.'," said Rebecca Warriner, Wake Forest resident and organizer of the event.
"Some races might raise $500. We're raising almost $20,000. And that's huge."
Jonathan Park, a representative from The Smile Train, said the surgeries the money will fund change families' lives.
"She's going to provide surgeries for about 60 kids, which is quite a staggering number considering this is one person that decided she wanted to help," Park said of Warriner's efforts.
Because of support from corporate sponsor and other donations, 100 percent of the registration fees for the event go directly to the charity, Warriner said.
Warriner, who is training to compete in the August's Iron-man Triathlon in Louisville, said she was also excited about the prospect of sharing the sport she loves with her community.
She chose to make the BASF Smile Train Triathlon a sprint-length event so that athletes of all levels could participate. It included a 250 yard pool swim, a 12-mile bike ride, and 5K run.
"I think probably about half of the race are first time triathletes," she said. "So to have them come out and have this be their first experience, I was so stressed about making sure it was a positive first experience."
All in all there were 300 participants, 75 volunteers and dozens of sponsors.