Why Do You Want to Be Epic?

That’s the question we asked our Zone Urban Epic racers.

Some of the answers we received made us laugh. Others left us choked up. Many of them inspired us. But most of them just made us relate: they made us feel connected to all the other triathletes out there racing to be healthy…to prove we can do it and find motivation…to celebrate Portland…to beat the alternatives…to be able to say “I did it.”

We know that everyone who races has an individual reason to be Epic (and that just signing up and going for it is Epic enough). And whatever your reason, we’ll be there to cheer you through on race day and still be here after, waiting to hear how your Epic adventure turned out.

In the meantime, as you prepare for race day, take a moment to meet some of your amazing fellow ZUE athletes and learn why it is that they race. Also look for their progress updates on race day on our twitter: www.twitter/urban_epic.

Follow their lead, get out there, and Be Epic. Make us proud.
           
Inspirational Athletes…

Erik Winchester
39, New Gloucester, Maine

Erik Winchester was coming around a turn on his motorcycle when he came upon a dog in the road. An obstacle, that little did he know, was about to become the first of many that he was going to have to figure out how to overcome. He swerved to miss it. His bike careened and he slammed into the guardrail. Hard. The force of impact drove his head down into his spine. It broke his back. It shattered his spleen and pierced his lung. It tore his kidney. And it ripped his left arm almost completely off. Erik was 27-years-old. He was in critical condition, but he was alive.

“You can’t survive an accident like that.” Erik loves it when people tell him he can’t do something. “If it’s possible,” he says, “I will.” In some ways, it seems he’s spent the past decade of his life proving so. It was something more than just a helmet that helped Erik make it through the accident; it was an inner determination, and the fact that in his early twenties he had been an ardent power lifter. At 5’10” and 240 pounds he was built like a barrel, and it was his muscle and bulk that absorbed enough impact to save his life. 

When the doctor said, “You should sell your tools and find a new trade because you won’t build houses again. You won’t walk upright anymore,”all Erik heard him say was blah, blah, blah. After invasive surgery involving the placement of metal rods and screws into his shoulders and back, and surgery to fix all the ruptured organs, and surgery to save the arm from amputation but not from function, he was released from the hospital in just 13 days – much sooner than the five weeks they’d told him he would need to heal. He was back on rooftops, returning to carpentry, in only four months.

“Don’t expect much movement in your arm,” the next doctor at Mass General told him when he began shock treatments to repair the nerves in his arm. Erik heard him, but still saw possibility in the implied can’t. Every week, his arm gained muscle definition and moved a little more until one day, the doctor told him not to come back because he was tired of being proven wrong. Erik wouldn’t have full use of his arm again, but he had movement – and that was something big.

“Like anything, you just figure out a way to do it,” Erik says. He wasn’t willing to turn everything in after the accident and stop living the way he wanted. As a kid, growing up in the West End in Portland, he was, to the nurses and doctors at the Maine Medical Center emergency, like Norm on cheers – a familiar face. He’d bounced back from all those visits and injuries before. This time was no different.

In 2002, Erik had to overcome another obstacle in his life. He and his wife had lost their third child at 36 weeks and the sorrow of it all had sent him into a depression. His doctor suggested he try walking. He started to walk at lunch and noticed all the runners around him. He decided to try jogging and was bitten by the bug. “Running became my salvation,” he says. “I always had that athlete in me, and running opened my eyes to a whole new world of good feelings – both physically and mentally.”

Then two years ago, Erik was building a house in Freeport when he saw signs advertising for the Lobsterman Triathlon. It made him curious. When the bikers whizzed by a short time later, he was blown away. His partner Bob saw the look on his face and said, “You’re going to do a friggin’ triathlon, aren’t you?” The following Monday, Erik went to CycleMania to buy a bike. He competed in his first-ever race in the Zone Urban Epic last year, and when he finished, he was on a high for two weeks. He was ready to do it again.

“Every race that I enter – I win. I want to teach my kids that,” he says. He has three boys, ages 10,8, and 5 and beyond proving to that he can do it, he wants to show his boys that determination beats all. They provide his fuel to keep going. At last year’s race he came out of the water and hugged all three of them before continuing on. “I love it when I go out to run and the boys ask to come with me,” he says. Eli, his 8-year-old, especially loves to run like his dad and is competing in the kids Aquarun this year. (“He’s going to be my Lance Armstrong story,” Erik says.)

Racing and training don’t come without pain for Erik, but you would never know it. Everyday he has discomfort in his back and shoulder and he has had to adjust to racing without a lot of movement in his left arm. (He says he “can’t” do the freestyle in the swim, then corrects himself and says, “won’t say can’t – just haven’t figured out how to yet.”) But pain or hindrance is the last thing you’ll find Erik dwelling on. Nor will you find him complaining about the lack of time. “I don’t have a lot of time to train, but you just have to find the time and determination to do it because the payback is incredible.”

Erik’s personal motivation is exceedingly contagious. He believes if he can do it, that everyone can, and he’d be the first to help you get there if you wanted him to. You can bet that when he crosses the finish line at the ZUE, you will be able to recognize him not because of the effects of his accident, but because he will be the one with the biggest smile of all.

Michael Doyle
19, Falmouth, Maine

Mike Doyle has always wanted to try a triathlon. “Always” might seem like too strong a word for someone who’s only 19-years-old, but the concept of time is something Mike has learned a lot about – especially over the course of this past year, when both Mike’s mother and grandfather had to battle through attacks of cancer. Now seemed like as good a time as any to try something new, so Mike signed up to be Epic for his first ever tri.

“My mother has survived invasive breast cancer and my grandfather has become a three-time cancer survivor,” he says. “The year was hard and emotionally draining, and I thought this would be a nice way to end the year – doing something for myself.”

Mike is a sophomore at Bryan University in Rhode Island, and he may be new to triathlon but he’s not new to athletics. Or the release they offer him. He ran track and played basketball in high school in Falmouth where he grew up and “sports” he says, “have always been my escape when things are hard.”

Mike is a little nervous about getting through the transitions smoothly and making it up the hill on Walnut Street, but mostly he’s just excited and confident he can accomplish his goal of making it to the finish line. Knowing that both his mother and grandfather are doing well will help propel him forward. His mother will be cheering him on at the Portland race. And if he likes triathlon enough after the event, he’ll go on to race in the Urban Epic Boston so his grandfather can be there to see him cross the finish line too.

Whether its triathlon or the next new thing he always wanted to try, Mike isn’t planning on stopping his activity level anytime soon: “I want to live life out loud and help whenever I can while promoting a healthy life,” he says.

Lauren Laws
34, Bridgeport, Maine

After the birth of her second child, in her late twenties, Lauren Laws decided to start running. She ran her way through two half marathons. Then, after the birth of her third child, since she enjoyed spinning and swimming she thought she should do a triathlon. She went out and completed an XTERRA in New Hampshire with her younger sister. Now, just seven months after the birth of her fourth child, Lauren is gearing up to do her second triathlon with her sister – and her first ever ocean swim.

“I want to inspire my four kids,” she says. “I want them to learn you can do anything you want at any time.” She says she likes taking part in triathlons because you don’t have to be amazing, or an Olympian, to succeed – you just have to have the motivation and the ability.

Training helps keep her sane and that crossing over the finish line will be the best sense of accomplishment. Beyond being an inspiration, Lauren also has a second lesson to teach her kids, and another reason to race – she has Type 1 diabetes. “I have to be more careful,” she says, “and I race to show my kids that I want to be healthy and be here for them for a long time.”

Her kids have already begun to follow Lauren’s lead. (And her husband who races too.) They are all active and like to take part in their mother’s victories. At the Big Lake Half Marathon in May, Lauren’s son helped pump her up by running the last 200-yards to the finish alongside her. And just like their mom, they are signed up to compete on race day in the Urban Epic Kid’s Race.

Out-of-Towners…

Brent Snow
52, Syracuse, New York

If there were such a thing as a Homecoming Race, the Zone Urban Epic would be it. At least for New Yorker and former Falmouth resident Brent Snow: “Coming back sort of feels like coming home,” he says. “It’s where my roots are. Portland is such a great city and I love the idea of racing through the streets. It makes the city come alive.”

Brent, at 52, now lives in Syracuse and hasn’t lived in Portland in 22-years, but he would love to move back one day. His trip out this July won’t be the first time he has returned to the Portland area to race. Last year Brent and his cousin, Rob Snow, decided to have a little friendly competition at the Scarborough Tri. Rob is five years younger and a Portland resident and despite Brent’s taunting, Rob bested Brent on race day. Brent will have a new opportunity to take home top honors when they rematch at the ZUE.

It was another speedy Portland-area cousin of Brent’s, however, that first got him interested in triathlons – Catherine Payson. Brent would read about Catherine’s wins and contemplate racing on his own. Then four years ago, friends of his finally “dragged him kicking and screaming” to a triathlon in Cazenovia, NY. Work required a great deal of travel and stress, so he was looking for something to help him stay in shape. His goal for that first race was just to finish and survive. “I was next to last in my age group, but I staggered to the finish line and felt so cool doing it,” he says.

Brent started to race and improve and soon went from being next-to-last to first in his age group. In races in his local area, Brent is now consistently in the top three in his age group. But last year he noticed the competition was stiff in Maine and found himself in 8th place in his age group. “I was blown away,” he says. “This year I want to give the Portland crowd a little run for their money!”

Mark Carbone
36, Charlotte, North Carolina

Mark Carbone had a dream of qualifying for Ironman Hawaii and everything seemed to snowball from there. He went from being a basketball and handball player in high school to a celebrated cross-country runner at Hunter College in New York to an elite amateur triathlete with multiple Ironmans, 12 Boston Marathons, a 2006 USAT Honorable Mention All-American award, and a 2009 Ironman World Championship 70.3 qualifier slot as if he were Secretariat streaming past competitors on his way to the finish flag. He accomplished his goal and more. Way more.

But it isn’t a new title that brings Mark to the state of Maine. It’s not the big competition or the warm weather (though he’s right that July can be the perfect time to visit Maine) or a world championship. It’s the spectators.

Mark is heading up from North Carolina for the Zone Urban Epic because of the chance to visit his dearest sister, who happens to live in Portland 1,000 miles away from him. He is also coming to the ZUE because the race caters to the spectators and offers something more for his fiancée Gina to do. After years of racing, his perspective on race selection has begun to change. “I’m starting to go after a different kind of race – one that is just going to be a real, fun day and have something more for my friends and family to do,” he says.

Competitive racing has been a way for the Brooklyn, New York native to see the world and all different parts of the country. Gina, whom he affectionately calls his race “sherpa,” travels everywhere with him but does not compete. Mark often seeks out new races and ones in warm, exotic places, but there is something about the level of competition and the way the events in Maine focus on family and friends that keep him coming back to the state. He has never done the Zone Urban Epic but has raced in the Lobsterman three times before. (We’d like to think our Maine races have that much charm, but we know his sister really plays the big part in it. We’ll just have to convince her to never move away!)

Jim Catchmark
44, Wyomissing, PA

Jim Catchmark’s transition from a hot-wing eating, beer-drinking enthusiast to dedicated triathlete happened overnight. Like a mid-life crisis that stems from an awakening of poor health, rather than age or unhappiness, he flipped a switch and changed everything. He was 39. He was getting married. He had recently snapped his Achilles tendon playing in his volleyball league and knew he’d be 200-pounds if he let himself sit around. When he went for a physical, he learned he had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. The news was enough to make him go home and change everything that very night.

First he joined a gym in his Wyomissing, PA town and started biking and running. Then he tried out a boot camp class. His instructor, Chris Kaag, suffered from a nerve degeneration disease and organized on a triathlon called Got the Nerve to fundraise and support research for diseases such as his. Chris encouraged Jim to do a triathlon and once he did, he was hooked. (He now helps Chris organize other triathlons too.)

Five marathons, twenty triathlons, and five years later, Jim, at 44, is in the best shape of his life. He’s lowered his cholesterol without medication and is the same weight he was in high school.  He’s completely engulfed in triathlon and loving it. So when it came time for he and his wife Katie to make their annual visit to Portland to see Katie’s family, Jim was thrilled to get to sign up for the Urban Epic and combine the visit with the tri.

“I think Portland in July is absolutely the most beautiful place on the planet,” he says. Every time he comes to visit, he looks forward to running over the bridge from South Portland and always finds the area makes him extend the length of his runs. “I love running in Portland, the air is so clear up there and it’s a great way to see the city.” On this visit, he’s looking forward to kayaking, swimming in Casco Bay for the race, and having his traditional beer at Three Dollar Deweys. “I can do that now,” he says, “because I’m in shape!”

(To learn more about the Got the Nerve triathlon visit www.gotthenerve.org.)

Racing Together…

Zack and Fowler Storms
25 & 27, Montreal & Portland, ME

When brothers Zack and Fowler Storms come together it’s usually to do something active. Their bonding time tends to involve things like skiing at Sugarloaf or spear fishing in Rhode Island. Two years ago, their joint adventure consisted of biking across the country together (and raising money for a local land-trust in the process). This year, they decided their bonding time should take place while tackling their first triathlons.

The Storms grew up in Essex, Connecticut, but the two reside now in two different countries. Zack is a graduate student in chemical engineering at McGill University in Montreal, and Fowler lives and works in downtown Portland.

The idea to ride their bikes together across the country transpired from Fowler’s return from New Zealand. They thought that taking on the challenge together, just the two of them, would be a great way to travel and see the country. Racing in the ZUE triathlon transpired in a similar way, but it also seemed more important to do because Fowler is getting married at the end of the summer.

The brothers plan to both just go for it on race day and see what happens. Their parents will be on site to cheer them on. Zack says his goal is to try and finish in a respectable time, hopefully in the top 50 percent, but Fowler is aware his younger brother has got another goal in mind too: he wants to come in first. “He’ll be an animal out there,” Fowler says.

Southeast Storm
Peter Comeau, Mike Freeman, Doug Cochrane, Ken Mitton, Stephen Corbett
New Brunswick, Canada

The Zone Urban Epic often sees a strong contingency of athletes coming from our neighboring country to the north, but this year, one group in particular is making the journey together. Five members from the Southeast Storm Triathlon Club are taking the friendly competition among their team on the road.

The Southeast Storm Club decided to do a race this summer that was a little out of the norm. New Brunswick has local races all summer that the team will compete in and support, but they wanted something different, too. Mike Freeman had been keeping an eye out for a new club event that was close enough to drive to and yet far enough away that it required staying over for a few nights. The ZUE seemed like fun to him, and a distance manageable enough that everyone could do it. Doug Cochrane had raced in the Urban Epic before and suggested that they head down.

Portland just happened to be the right distance away. Ken Mitton was in. He had run the Maine Marathon in Portland twice before and enjoyed the area. Doug liked the event (and his wife also liked the shopping opportunities in the area), so he was in. Mike was too, and Peter Comeau and Stephen Corbett as well. The team had found their event.

Ken Mitton says they are all age groupers who race for fun and to stay healthy. They are looking forward to their mini-vacation and enjoying the city while they’re here. And as far as a winner goes, Peter says, “it’s a road trip. Whoever recovers the best will have the best chance. We expect to compete because that’s what we do, but the race is an excuse to go…not the reason.” And if it all goes well, they hope to have lots more excuses to come down for the ZUE in the future.

Young Epic Athletes…

Asia Smith – Youngest Adult Athlete
18, West Gardiner, ME

In high school, Asia Smith kept herself really busy. Soccer. Swimming. Softball. A sport for each season. But this year, when she started school at Hutchinson University in Bangor, she found she had an unfamiliar sport-sized hole in her schedule. She needed something new to do. Enter the triathlon.

Asia’s boyfriend had just left for the Marines when she decided to sign up for the ZUE as her first race. Since her boyfriend’s father is in the Military, with experience racing in triathlons, she enlisted his help. She asked him to sign up with her. With his pointers and her foundation of athletics getting into training for the event has been enjoyable. The rainy weather has sometimes made it hard to get out on her bike, but Asia’s still enjoyed it.

Come race day, she’s only nervous about two things – swimming in the ocean and getting the hang of transitioning between two sports. “My goal for this race is just to finish say that I did it,” she says. “I’m most excited about the potential to improve for next time. Every time you race, you learn pointers from others and from the experience.” Asia, has had no trouble transitioning from three seasons of sports to three sports in one race, so we’re guessing she’ll fly through the race day transitions too!

Madolyn Connolly – Kids Racer
11 ½ , Cape Elizabeth

Madi Connolly is not afraid of setting big goals. She has some, in fact, for the Urban Epic Kids Race: she wants to finish her Aquarun in under 30 minutes, and, she wants to raise $1,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters too. Those are big goals indeed, but it’s easy to have faith Madi will succeed on both accounts because she’s just the sort of firecracker who knows how to accomplish big things.

Madi has never done an Aquarun before but she can’t wait for race day. Already an active 11-½ -year-old, she swims, surfs, plays tennis, and runs – even in a few 5ks. She decided to compete because she “wants to stay healthy and by doing the race, she has a goal to train towards.” She is looking forward to doing the best that she can on race day.

Along with an active spirit, Madi also has a big heart. That’s why she’s dedicated to fundraise so much. “I picked a large goal because I want to raise as much money as possible for Big Brothers Big Sisters,” she says. “Every penny goes towards a good cause. It gives kids the opportunity to have a great mentor and a good friend.”

We would all be so lucky to have Madi as our friend. We wish her the best of luck in meeting her Epic goals!

Owen Bean – Kids Racer
7, South Portland, Maine

Owen Bean’s reasons for racing in the Urban Epic Kids Race are these: to be strong and to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Well, okay, maybe three reasons – raising enough money to win tickets to Fun Town Splash Town sounds pretty good to him too! Owen would really like to raise $530 for Big Brothers Big Sisters so he can have a second Epic party.

Owen has never done an Aquarun before but he’s had a good role model – his dad David Bean is an adult Zone Urban Epic racer. Owen has run a 5k race in 29-something minutes though, and he feels ready. He is “looking forward to the finish of the race so he can tri to win the race,” he says laughing.

(Oh, and his younger sister Olivea says she is participating in the fun run for the party after too.) Go get ‘em Owen and Olivea – we’re rooting for you!

To read more about our kids racers and their fundraising goals, visit: http://kids-urban-epic.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=308906&li

And don’t forget to look out for our Are You Epic? Contest Winner too!

Stephanie Navaratt
23, South Portland, Maine

Stephanie wrote in with a killer answer to our Maine SWITCH/Mainetoday.com contest and won an Epic package to help her get ready and recover from her Zone Urban Epic triathlon feat.

Stephanie grew up in Oakland, Maine with a strong background in athletics (swimming and track in high school, and Division III cross country and track at St .Lawrence University in New York) but has never experienced a triathlon before. When she saw the contest online, she thought it was the perfect prompt to try her hand at the sport.

After receiving swim workouts and tips from coach Rob at Peak Performance Multisport, she jumped right into her training. The swimming and running have come easily, but adding in the biking has been a little tougher. “It’s much more high maintenance,” she says. “To swim, all you need is a pool, and to run you just need your shoes, but biking has lots of stuff. I’m still getting used to it. But I did learn that wetsuits aren’t as bad as I thought!”

Stephanie’s goal is to finish strong and be competitive in the run. The Urban Epic will be her first tri but not her last – she’s also signed up for the Tri For A Cure later in the summer. And she’s preparing to run in the Hartford Marathon in Connecticut as well.

She will be wearing a special Urban Epic/Mainetoday.com shirt so look for her along the running course and at the finish to offer special congrats!

Thanks to all for sharing your stories with us!

Keep sending them to amy@urban-epic.com.