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An Athletic Sisterhood; Women Who Never Competed Find Support, Inspiration at Triathlon

Posted on: Monday, 4 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

Betty Schroeder faced a tough challenge in college while earning her accounting degree at Notre Dame University.

She had never learned to swim as a child and had to pass a swimming test as a P.E. requirement to graduate. It was hard work, but she passed, graduating in 1981. But exercise took a back seat in her busy life as she went on to establish her career, get married, have a child and earn her MBA.

"I was basically a non-athlete," Schroeder says. "I never exercised regularly in my life."

Swimming still intimidates her, but the 46-year-old Whitefish Bay woman will dash into the water of Kenosha County's Lake Andrea with about 4,000 other women on Sunday for the Chicagoland Danskin Women's Triathlon in Pleasant Prairie.

Schroeder signed up for the first athletic event in her life in March at the urging of a college friend.

They will swim half a mile, ride bicycles for 12.4 miles, and run 3.1 miles.

Schroeder's story is a familiar one among the competitors of the Danskin triathlon series, which sponsors races across the United States.

More women discovering their "inner athlete" at all stages of life are flocking to these events because Danskin creates an atmosphere that is safe, supportive and fun, says Sally Edwards, spokeswoman for the series.

"In this kind of environment, it's about sisterhood," Edwards says. "It's about togetherness and support and sharing, and it sounds corny, but it's about love."

Finishing the race is considered winning at a Danskin race, organizers say. But it didn't start out that way.

"At the time, in 1990, it was an age-group competitive event," Edwards says. "There was prize money. It was like any other co-ed triathlon."

But the race evolved as it grew from three races and 1,100 competitors the first year to eight races and an estimated 25,000 competitors this year. Chicagoland's triathlon started in Naperville in 1997 and moved to the LakeView RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie in 2002. Race organizers expect more than 4,000 competitors at this year's event.

Organizers attribute the growth to the participants, who recruit friends and family to join them. The all-women event proved less intimidating for recreational athletes, and organizers work to focus on support rather than cutthroat competition, Edwards says. Edwards, 57, of Sacramento, Calif., also has evolved. She has been training and racing in endurance sports for more than 30 years, much of that as a professional triathlete. At age 33, she placed second in her first Ironman triathlon, a grueling race of a 2.4-mile swim, 112- mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. When she set the world master's record for the Ironman at age 40, Danskin called and offered her a contract with a new race series that the New York-based athletic clothing company was launching.

"I raced professionally for the first two to three years, then I got injured," Edwards says. She told the director of the race series that she could skip the race or finish last.

"She said, I dare you to finish last,' " Edwards says.

Edwards finished last and has ever since, sparing others the dread of being the last to cross the finish line. Her mission is to ensure that every woman who starts the race finishes. She has never missed a race.

"It's a journey that I'm really happy I've taken," she said. "I could have stayed at the front of the pack the whole time, but the heart stuff is at the back of the pack."

That support also appeals to women like Sonya Trueblood. A runner since eighth grade, she competed in track in high school and has continued to run as an adult for fitness and fun. She has entered several races over the years, not to win, she says, but to improve her fitness and maintain her health.

But the 38-year-old Hartland woman's first triathlon last year in Pewaukee didn't go well.

"It was very windy. It was exhausting. I didn't feel there were enough boats out there," she says of her swim. "Every time I would take a breath, a wave would come over me."

Trueblood would likely have given up on triathlons after that, she says, but a friend suggested the Danskin race.

She finished last year's Danskin in an hour and 35 minutes.

Trueblood is racing again this year, hoping to improve her time. She doesn't expect to win; the winners typically finish in about an hour.

Entering races motivates her to strive harder "to improve myself physically and mentally."

Exercise helps Trueblood balance the demands of her life as a part-time bereavement manager at Vitas Innovative Hospice Care, a student working on her PhD in psychology, a wife and mother of two daughters.

Feel healthier'

Schroeder enjoys the rewards of her newfound athleticism. Her busy life as a part-time treasury officer for M&I Bank, a wife and a mother of a son often requires her get up early to cram in her training.

"When I first started this, it seemed so far away. I couldn't run a block without stopping to rest; I couldn't swim a length without stopping," Schroeder says. "I absolutely feel healthier, and I'm eating healthier."

Schroeder isn't worried about time.

She's worried about getting through the swim, which is a common fear for rookie triathletes, organizers say.

Danskin deploys extra support for that reason "angels" with noodle-like floats offer encouragement and a place for swimmers to catch their breath and gather their courage.

Edwards thrives on being part of that encouragement team. She offered to step down when she turned 50, suggesting that Danskin might want a younger spokeswoman.

"They told me to get up there and tell them my age, give them a new idea on aging," she says.

Many women had limited opportunities for sports as a child, so it's empowering for them to take control of their health, work toward an athletic goal and accomplish it, Edwards says.

"Every woman can do the Danskin if she trains," Edwards says.

If you go

What: Chicagoland Danskin Women's Triathlon

When: 7 a.m. Sunday

Where: Lakeview RecPlex, Pleasant Prairie

More info: Finish times range from 1 to 3 hours. Ten percent of entry fees will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. For more on the races and training for triathlons, go to www.danskin.com/ triathlon.html.

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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