Reflecting on the past month with Team PH: Kathleen Richardson
Much has been happening with Team PHenomenal Hope in the last month.
I was scheduled to be participate in my second sprint triathlon on September 9th. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma (which left our area minimally affected… thank God), however, thanks to a few of my friends, we still got to participate in a sprint tri. Carl, Patty, Leslie and I set up our own sprint tri on the 23rd of September. I came in first in my age group (I was the only one in my age group 🙂 ) and third over all. We had a great time and are thankful to my husband, Jody, and Carl’s son, Zephran, and Leslie’s husband, Tim, for helping us out with timing, security, cheerleading and photography!
As part of the mission of Team PHenomenal Hope to meet immediate and urgent needs of PH patients, the board made funding available to PH patients who were affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. A few other PH related organizations joined with us in making finances available: PHAware, Blue Lips Foundation, and Reata Pharmaceuticals.
Several Team PH members had races in the month of September, two of note: Patty George, MD, one of the founding members of Team PH, raced a PHenomenal 508 miles across the desert of Nevada, coming in first in her category! She did it in 37 hours and 50 minutes! Julie Tracy blew through the Ohio RAAM 200 mile race! It was her first double century and she came in first! Not only that, she broke the record by 11 minutes as she finished in 11 hours and 55 minutes! I’m so proud of my team mates and the work they all are doing to raise awareness for PH!
As we wind down for 2017 (still several races to go throughout the country, but just 3 months until the new year!), we’re gearing up and planning for 2018. Team PHenomenal Hope is recruiting new members for the new year. If you are interested, or know any endurance athletes who might be interested in joining Team PH, visit https://teamphenomenalhope.org/contribute/join/ to learn more about the team and get started!
As always, I am grateful for our supporters, for your encouragement, your friendship, and your participation in this effort to “kick PH’s butt”!
