Triathlon for Charity: Running to Cure Colitis
Tax deductible
This fall I will be competing in the Virginia Quintuple Anvil Triathlon: USA Ultra Triathlon
Located in Lake Anna State Park near Charlottesville, VA, it will consist of a 12-mile swim, 560-mile bike, and a 131-run. 703 miles total, all to be completed solo. All to be completed in a single 132-hour push. The clock never stops, and you have 5 days to get to the finish line. This year I will be running for charity: The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and Teton Adaptive Sports.
In 1993 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis: an ulcer that affects the length of your large intestine. It is a disease that is embarrassing and painful at the best of times. It’s debilitating and excruciating at the worst. Little is known about its cause and there in no known cure. It is believed I got sick as a result of a hyper-immune reaction to unpasteurized organic apple juice that had gone bad.
I was placed on numerous medications with countless side-effects: from face swelling, bad acne, hair loss, and spontaneous muscle atrophy. I was being destroyed by the illness and the medications. Occasionally the drugs worked but I was still admitted to the hospital often when my condition would flare up and I had to be given drugs intravenously. I weigh a healthy 150lbs: the last time I left the hospital I weighed 115lbs. I went to my parent’s house and tried to get to my upstairs bedroom: I collapsed walking up one flight of stairs I was so weak.
I had always prided myself on being an athlete…now I couldn’t even walk a flight of stairs. I put on a pair of my road cycling shorts and they dangled around my legs I was so badly atrophied.
The pain was so unbearable I would collapse and shake for minutes and hours at a time. In 1996 I got to the Cleveland Clinic of Florida: one of the foremost hospitals in the world for my condition. The head of the department reviewed my file and two weeks later I went back for my follow-up. My options were these: have surgery, or have colon cancer by the time I was 30. I was 25.
January 10, 1997 I entered the hospital and had my entire large intestine removed. After two 8-hour surgeries it was time to begin my recovery…and my life over. 24 years later its ramifications still affect me daily and made me what I am, and who I am.
The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation is dedicated to advanced research in finding a cure for this debilitating disease that over 1.6 million people suffer from: most are between the ages of 15 and 35. It has defined itself by sponsoring the best and brightest researchers and seeding the field with groundbreaking studies and research initiative to advance the understanding and treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease ("IBD")
Crohns and Colitis Foundation
Seeing as I live-in small-town USA, I am always trying to shop local, and live locaI. As such, I wanted to keep some of the monies raised local. Enter Teton Adaptive Sports. This is an important local organization that provides incredible winter and summer outdoor recreation opportunities for people with disabilities.
Teton Adaptive Sports
This is the donation page for The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.
If you are interested in donating to Teton Adaptive Sports, click here: Teton Adaptive Sports fundraising page
Or consider splitting your donation and give to both!
Anything you can donate to help is appreciated. No donation is too small. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Located in Lake Anna State Park near Charlottesville, VA, it will consist of a 12-mile swim, 560-mile bike, and a 131-run. 703 miles total, all to be completed solo. All to be completed in a single 132-hour push. The clock never stops, and you have 5 days to get to the finish line. This year I will be running for charity: The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and Teton Adaptive Sports.
In 1993 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis: an ulcer that affects the length of your large intestine. It is a disease that is embarrassing and painful at the best of times. It’s debilitating and excruciating at the worst. Little is known about its cause and there in no known cure. It is believed I got sick as a result of a hyper-immune reaction to unpasteurized organic apple juice that had gone bad.
I was placed on numerous medications with countless side-effects: from face swelling, bad acne, hair loss, and spontaneous muscle atrophy. I was being destroyed by the illness and the medications. Occasionally the drugs worked but I was still admitted to the hospital often when my condition would flare up and I had to be given drugs intravenously. I weigh a healthy 150lbs: the last time I left the hospital I weighed 115lbs. I went to my parent’s house and tried to get to my upstairs bedroom: I collapsed walking up one flight of stairs I was so weak.
I had always prided myself on being an athlete…now I couldn’t even walk a flight of stairs. I put on a pair of my road cycling shorts and they dangled around my legs I was so badly atrophied.
The pain was so unbearable I would collapse and shake for minutes and hours at a time. In 1996 I got to the Cleveland Clinic of Florida: one of the foremost hospitals in the world for my condition. The head of the department reviewed my file and two weeks later I went back for my follow-up. My options were these: have surgery, or have colon cancer by the time I was 30. I was 25.
January 10, 1997 I entered the hospital and had my entire large intestine removed. After two 8-hour surgeries it was time to begin my recovery…and my life over. 24 years later its ramifications still affect me daily and made me what I am, and who I am.
The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation is dedicated to advanced research in finding a cure for this debilitating disease that over 1.6 million people suffer from: most are between the ages of 15 and 35. It has defined itself by sponsoring the best and brightest researchers and seeding the field with groundbreaking studies and research initiative to advance the understanding and treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease ("IBD")
Crohns and Colitis Foundation
Seeing as I live-in small-town USA, I am always trying to shop local, and live locaI. As such, I wanted to keep some of the monies raised local. Enter Teton Adaptive Sports. This is an important local organization that provides incredible winter and summer outdoor recreation opportunities for people with disabilities.
Teton Adaptive Sports
This is the donation page for The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.
If you are interested in donating to Teton Adaptive Sports, click here: Teton Adaptive Sports fundraising page
Or consider splitting your donation and give to both!
Anything you can donate to help is appreciated. No donation is too small. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Organiser
Ryan Ravinsky
Organiser
Victor, ID
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Inc.
Beneficiary