“The women who participated came in all sizes, ages, colors and abilities.”
Tatiana Haas-Castro, 49 | Clayton, NC
Well, October 5th was a big day for me. I competed in the Ramblin’ Rose triathlon as part of the “Fantabulous Trio” relay team. The women who participated came in all sizes, ages, colors and abilities. The youngest person I saw was 10 years old and the oldest one was 72 years old (Our ages are written on our calves. There’s no hiding that!) . There was a lady with a prosthetic leg, there was me with multiple sclerosis, and likely plenty of women who suffer from chronic illness with symptoms that are invisible to us. Then, there was the last person to come in, about an hour after the event was officially over. This woman was diagnosed with ALS a few months ago. My relay team members and I stayed to watch her along with the event crew and a few other spectators, cross the finish line. Tears were in everybody’s eyes. WOW! She was such an inspiration to me. Gotta keep moving!
I received so much support from family, friends and the event’s crew. Patty E. Hilburn had absolutely no doubt that I wouldn’t have any problems completing this swim even though I hadn’t trained. Thank you for believing in me! My daughter also gave me the same support and said that I would have no problem whatsoever. I did miss them at the event but they were with me in my heart and spirit throughout the whole thing. A long time friend showed up at the event which was a surprise to me. It was awesome to see you Karin Mills and Linda. Thank you for your support and all your assistance. Sorry that I gave you a few heart attacks with my every once in a while swaying and tipping.
Susan Haynes Little is the friend that made this all possible for me. She, who was a couch potato, ran her first Ramblin’ Rose four years ago and just recently ran her first Ironman. She is an inspiration to me and the person who got me going. She believes so much in me. Gracias Susan!
Now on to the third person in our trio. Marci Hicks is a coworker of mine. We’ve been talking to each other for a few years but, we really don’t know each other extremely well. She is a single mom and I thought that this would be a wonderful event for her to try. She was so cute and asked if she could run or walk the two miles and I told her she could crawl fast if she wanted to. She needed only to get from point A to point B in this event. In the end, she KILLED it!! She was awesome. I think I will be seeing her in more of these events come the spring time . Thank you for saying “yes” to racing with me at the very last minute.
Thank you everybody for supporting me in this! Life is Good!
