Tri for Jamie: the race that started our journey

Two and a half years ago in Feb 2009, I did my first triathlon in ages, and the triathlon that started a journey that has ended up with me (and my husband) giving up our day jobs as financial services executives, leaving our relaxed beachside home in Sydney to move with our two young boys to a small rural Alpine village in France. Despite a suprising late start at the sport, I have loved the opportunity I have had to experience life as a professional athlete, racing across Europe.

The triathlon that was the start of a sequence of events that entirely changed our lives, was at the time truly important to me for an entirely different reason. My nephew, Jamie had been diagnosed with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) 12 months before. I saw my sister and brother-in-law go through hell that year as they discovered to their horror what a debilitating, degenerative and ultimately lethal condition DMD was. It has no cure, no effective treatment and affected boys rarely make it to adulthood. It impacts the muscles, slowly weakening them from the ground up.

Feeling totally disempowered to assist my sister and her family, I did what I knew how to do, which was get fit and take on a challenge. So I raised money for research into the disease by doing a triathlon to hopefully provide the next generation of parents more positive information, and sufferers such as Jamie, a hope for the future. I am really proud of my achievement at that race as I managed to finish fast enough to pass my highest hurdle (I had set myself performance hurdles that raised the amount donors owed) that meant I managed to raise over $10,000 for the research foundation. It also qualified me for the Long Course World Championships in Australia that year, and started another journey I never could have guessed at, at the time.

Carsten and Jamie



Well I am not the only one in the family who can get fit to positively impact the lives of DMD sufferers. Carsten, Jamie's dad is now in training to ride 376kms from Sydney to Canberra on a "Ride for Jamie" as a part of the broader Tour Duchenne with a group of 16 others who are looking to raise over $80,000 from their combined efforts for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of Australia.

It is a great and positive way that Carsten has chosen to both raise awareness of the disease, it's impacts on the children affected and their families, as well as raise much needed funds for research into future cures or treatments. As an avid cyclist (it is still my favourite discipline in triathlon) I also think it is great for Carsten personally to get out there, get fit and linked into a fantastic sporting community and allow the world to look a little brighter as it always does for me, from the saddle of a bike.

I will attach a local Canberra magazine article about the charity ride which has some lovely pictures of Carsten and Jamie as well as more details.

If you would like to support the ride I would really appreciate it, please donate to Team Jamie at
www.everydayhero.com.au/team_jamie