A very Special announcement

As my 2011 triathlon season came to an end, I decided I wanted to focus on the Olympic distance races for my next season.  In my very first post of this blog (Trying this again...), I mentioned that I was also hoping to plan something special for my 2012 triathlon season.  In a post just before New Year's (Happy New Year!!!), I mentioned that one of my goals for 2012 was to raise funds for a local charitable organization.  Well, I would like to announce what I am going to do.

In 2012, I will be racing to raise funds for Special Olympics Utah!

My dad is an Adaptive Physical Education teacher, and I remember him occasionally doing things with the Special Olympics down in Las Vegas.  I remember helping him out with it occasionally, but I probably didn't appreciate it then as much as I would now.  It is something I wish I would have done more of while I was growing up, but instead of regretting not doing more in the past, I have decided to focus on doing what I can now!  

The decision to focus on Olympic distance triathlons came at the end of the VikingMan race in Burley, Idaho, ( Sept. 10, 2011) where I took 2nd place in my age group.  Over the next month, I developed the idea to not only race, but to do a fundraiser while I train and race.  The idea to raise funds for Special Olympics came from my memories (vague as they may be) of the past, and in thinking that it would be cool to tie the Olympic theme between my races and the organization I was going to raise funds for.  I haven't come up with an official name for the next season, but it will be a special olympic triathlon season: racing the Olympic distance to raise funds for the Special Olympics!  

Like any catchy name, plans for the year and fund raising effort are not final yet.  I have been in contact with the Special Olympics Utah organization, and they are being extremely helpful in figuring out how I am going to do this.  We are working together to set up an internet page where anyone can go to donate money for this cause.  When that is final, I will post a link here on my blog so anyone can easily access that page.  I also have to finalize my race season.  I have looked at race calendars, and there are a number of races that I would love to do.  I hope to be able to find a person or business (or two) who may be interested in sponsoring me.  My hope is that these sponsors will be willing and able to pay for at least a couple of my races so that I can do more than I could pay for out of my own pocket, and therefore be able to raise more money for the Special Olympics. As plans start coming together, I will keep everyone updated right here! And as the race season develops, I will update experiences from training and racing, as well.  I hope everyone will enjoy what I hope to be able to share over the next year!