Racing in the 2009 Burrito Union 10 Hour Tri, Pete Miller with the help of sponsors, raised $3,400 to support Bolder Options (a program to mentor inner city youth)... see below for more information and Pete's race report.
From Pete Miller:
For the past few years I have worked with Bolder Options—first as a mentor and currently as a Board member. Bolder Options is a program that matches adult mentors with at-risk youth. As a suburbanite, I became involved because I knew it was far too easy to pretend that our inner-cities didn’t exist. My life has been richly blessed. Many others, especially the youth in our inner-cities, at no fault of their own, experience lives of poverty and perpetual challenge.
My mentoring experience was a wake up call. I was matched with an 11 year old who lives in Minneapolis with his disabled mother and two siblings. He’s never known his father. His life consists of struggling with school and spending his free time in front of the TV or radio. The neighborhood is not safe—so he stays inside. I mentored Antonio for a year and still maintain regular contact. http://bolderoptions.org/
Bolder Options matches about 160 mentoring pairs a year—relying on a great staff to recruit, match, and support both youth and mentors. Like all non-profits, Bolder Options requires funding. We’re in the midst of a capital campaign, working to eliminate our debt service costs of $40,000 per year. As we do this, we can add an additional 40 youth to the program.
He’s what I am going to do: BURRITO UNION TRIATHLON (Sept 12 in Duluth) I have been doing triathlon for the past ten years (events ranging from sprint distance (90 minutes) to Ironman distance—but have never participated in an event like this: we’ll compete on a course for FIVE HOURS—repeating a sprint distance race (swim 600 meters, bike 14 miles, run 3.1 miles, repeat, repeat, etc.).
Race report: Burrito Union 5 hour Triathlon
This race really began on Tuesday, when I suffered through the day with a head cold and fatigue--same draining symptoms on Wednesday. I felt a little better on Thursday and started downing all of the fluids that I could tolerate (V-8, orange juice, and Pedialyte--an electrolyte replacement drink enjoyed mostly by infants—and by a few endurance athletes)--hoping to regain a degree of energy. By Friday, I was feeling “ok”.
On Friday afternoon, I picked up Antonio (the 12 year old that I have been mentoring) and headed toward Superior—getting out of the city was a unique experience for Antonio. An hour later he was suffering from a bad stomach and we had to pull over on I35 while he was throwing up everything in his stomach. (Nice start to a road trip!) Two or three more stops along the highway and he was stabilized. All the commotion caused us to miss dinner and the pre-race meeting on Friday night.
Saturday morning I had very little appetite--so I skipped my standard pre-race oatmeal and settled for a Clif Bar and small glass of milk. Luckily none of Antonio’s flu symptoms came my way, but I was still uncertain whether I would be able to get beyond the first swim portion of the race. (My motivation for the day was the donations that were at risk if I didn’t race (or put in enough miles!)).
My oldest daughter and her husband also spent the night with us and entertained Antonio during the race--he was feeling much better by mid-morning.
In triathlon the first leg is always the swim--a safety consideration (no sense in having seriously fatigued adults doing open water swimming!). We typically swim a pre-set course, outlined with large bouys. This course had 5 bouys. There was a beautiful light fog covering most of the forest that morning. Well, after the race (swim) started, a much denser fog immediately rolled in--covering the lake. I could see the swimmer in front of me, but that was about it--there was no way to see the bouys. So, like sheep, we just kept swimming, following the swimmers in front of us (and heeding the verbal cues of the helpers in the kayaks) and we all made it through the first swim leg (the second swim lap was cancelled due to the fog/visibility).
Then we headed off to the highway on the bikes—dense fog still present. We've all driven in heavy fog before--concerned with running into something. Add 300 bikes to the equation! Good news, northern Wisconsin was pretty sleepy on an early morning in September--few cars and no accidents. By the time I finished the 14 mile bike ride the sun was burning through the fog.
The run was a 3.1 mile trail run. In 12 years of triathon, I've never been off road--so this was an adventure. My son Ryan loves trail running—so he would have enjoyed this; going up and down through the forest--avoiding roots and appreciating the cool temperatures.
After the first full lap of the race (one triathlon) I was feeling grateful that my lack of nutrition and extended sickness wasn't going to seriously cripple my ability to race the entire 5 hours. The day heated up to the lower 80s--warm enough to make me appreciate the swim legs (nice cold, rust-colored lake water) and runs through the cool forest.
As I had hoped (with some uncertainty), I completed the course three times--swimming 1320 meters, biking 42 miles, and running 9.3 miles. A great way to finish the season—taking in a beautiful fall day and raising a lot of money for a great cause!
p.s. Antonio wanted to know who won the race. Well, long answer...there was actually several races going on--a five hour race for individuals, a ten hour race for individuals, and both events for 2 and 3 person relay teams. The majority of the participants were competing as part of a relay team. For most, the real competition in triathlon is with yourself--doing your best for the entire race. I did my that. They gave the trophy in my age category (age 46+ men--I haven't seen 46 in several years) to someone else--who I am sure was very deserving and much faster than me!
Thanks again for your support of Bolder Options!