On June 2nd I had the opportunity to not only share a triathlon race course with my older brother but to share in the experience mostly together. To be clear we were very careful to not do anything on the bike to earn ourselves a blocking or drafting penalty. That being said, being able to leap frog each other a few times over the hilly 56 miles was pretty awesome. Thinking back, Matt and I used to do this while we were just kids training for sprint and Olympic distance triathlons. To realize that over 30 years later we are able to share in a passion that we each have for this wonderfully strange sport of triathlon. Not to mention that in some respects we keep getting faster as we each set a PR on the 1.2 mile swim.
Early in April as a family we experienced some challenging days as Mom’s health took a turn for the worse and after a fast drive to Redmond and calling my brother to grab a flight from Boise to Redmond, we were not sure if mom was going to make it through the weekend. During that weekend Matt and I took a walk/run to clear our heads and he suggested that we “do the race together”. After giving it some thought I was all in.
After spending more than 30 years literally chasing my big brother and never coming out in front of him it has recently been my turn to take a few. However this race would be different, this race we would support each other every moment that we could. Whichever one needed picked up emotionally, physically anything, the other was there. While fortunately it did not come to it, we each would have found a way to carry the other if it had come to it.
There are so many reasons why people pay good money to race. All of the reasons are valid and good. This race was not about best time or a certain placing, it was about celebrating the ability we each have to move our bodies through three different sports rolled into one. Life will not always be a straight road, the ability to adapt to and celebrate the opportunities that we each are given is where it’s at. Showing up day after day, enjoying the process, thanking the volunteers, congratulating others and being there for one another whenever it is needed, that is success. Your reason for racing may change over time or in a given season, embrace it and be thankful for the opportunity. I will get you next time bro:)
