By Joe Nuss

When Mick Gunter’s mother, Karla Bolen Gunter, was killed in a car accident nearly 20 years ago, he was a senior in college and getting ready to start a tour of duty in the Marine Corps.  While he hoped to eventually do something to honor his mother, a well-respected teacher, he fell into a trap of postponing his grief in order to deal with his immediate challenges. 

“I really had to step into the role of executor of her estate and help clean up all of those things,” said Gunter who was attending college on an ROTC scholarship. “I was going into the Marines as an officer, too.  So, during those first five years after her death, while I was serving in the Marines, it was easy to distance myself from my family and put a lid on the grieving process.”

As years went by, Mick completed several marathons and transitioned to triathlons. He started to recognize a therapeutic element in training for endurance events and thought that in some way, he could honor his mother by putting together a triathlon.  But, before he was able to act on his idea, close friends lost their 15-year-old daughter, Brittany Groover, in a car accident in 2002.  While comforting the family in Lynchburg, VA, Mick and two of Brittany’s uncles, David Broman and George Broman, Jr., decided to make the triathlon a reality in honor of Brittany.  Six months later, their grass roots effort became the Angel’s Race Triathlon.

The new team of race directors learned a lot that first year and have improved the race since.  But, they also established some traditions that year that have come to make the race unique. 

Who is Your Angel?

During the first race during the time trial start in a pool, David Broman began to ask people the name of the person they were racing in honor of, their “angel”.  “Who is your angel,” he would ask.  Unaccustomed to such a personal element to a race, many triathletes didn’t understand the idea.  But, many, many more did and were deeply affected by the personal moment of reflection they had. 

“It’s become a real hallmark of the race,” says Gunter.  “So, instead of writing a number on both arms, we write the name of your “angel” on your right arm.  Even if we change the race to include a lake swim rather than a pool, we’ll still keep the time trial start, so that people have a chance to announce the angel they are racing for.”

According to Gunter, the tradition has helped tie together the competitive, physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of triathlon into a race which is unique to each participant because of their deeply personal reasons for racing. 

“We’ve found that being able to recognize ‘your angel’ at the start of the race changes the whole meaning of the race for some people in a way that’s very therapeutic,” added Gunter.

The Last Shall Be First

Another tradition, is that the “last shall be first” meaning that the last finisher, is the first to receive an award. 

“We gather the crowd near the end of the race so they can all cheer in the last triathlete,” says Gunter.  “And that person is the first to receive an award.”

While it was actually another triathlete who recognized the similarity to a verse in the Bible, Gunter originally started the tradition to help recognize those that were racing in more for the memory of someone else. 

“Typically those are the last people you’d see on a podium,” said Gunter.  “But their reasons for racing are no less important than those trying to win their age group and I wanted to reward them for that.”

Paying it Forward

The Angel’s Race has proved to be therapeutic for many of its participants, especially during that first year when the race was really all about honoring Brittany.  But, with each race, Gunter found himself more able to grieve over the loss of his mother, something that he put off many years earlier.  While originally intended to help others, Gunter found himself more able to deal with the loss of his mother as the race helped others year after year.

“In the first six or seven races we put on, I would get very emotional and choked up,” said Gunter, “but now that it’s helped me grieve in my own way, I’m so filled with joy and excitement to be able to create an event for other people who may be going through the same thing.”

But the event is much more than a great race.  Through Mick and extended family of friends who help put on the event, the Angel’s Race Triathlon has contributed significantly to an education fund for teachers in honor of Mick’s mother, an education fund for students in honor of Brittany Groover, and also to the YMCA’s that support the event.

 “When I started reconnecting with my friends and family,” said Gunter, “I would often here what an amazing teacher my mother was and how it was a shame that kids would no longer be able to learn from her.  So, I thought the best way to honor her would be to provide grants to creative and dedicated teachers and give them the opportunity to take a good program and make it great.”

The next Angel’s Race Triathlon will be held at Tanglewood Park in Winston-Salem on September 20th.  Please visit http://www.angelsrace.com/ for more information.