by Catherine Wilson, On Purpose WellBeing Center

I still can’t get over how much Gorham has to offer! In just three short weeks myself and Rhonda Berry, Triathlon Training participant, will be partaking in this year’s Tri For a Cure Virtual event. This year, with COVID19, participants have from August 1 and August 30 to complete the race anywhere and anywhere they would like.  That means that we will be choosing our own place and time, to swim, bike, and run to raise money for Maine Cancer Foundation. It makes us both happy that Maine Cancer Foundation decided to keep The Tri for a Cure on the books this year. This will be my fifth year of either participating in the event or volunteering for the event (injured for two years). This will be Rhonda’s second year. 

When I started training with Rhonda this year with On Purpose WellBeing Centers Signature Beginner/Intermediate Triathlon program, I had no idea we would have these challenges through covid19. But once we canned Zoom training and went out on the roads and water, I switched gears and found that Gorham has widened and groomed a beautiful trail off of Libby Avenue that has been perfectly cool and shady for our runs! As it got warmer, I soon started to think about where we could swim for not only our training (all pools were closed at that point and the ocean was too cold) but also where we could actually do this event on our planned date, August 8. 

I researched where others were training on the Tri for a cure Facebook page and it was quite the same as before. When the lakes opened it was Crystal lake and oceans in Falmouth, Pine Point and some were at the site where the event has been held each year (SMCC campus in South Portland). I did not want our training to be held captive to tides this year and Crystal lake is a long way after a workday. But then, I recalled in years past when walking, biking and on dog adventures, how amazing Shaw Park was. I remembered that it has trails, a swim area and even a bike rack that we can use as a transition area! It has everything we need! Since the end of May we have been out at Shaw Park! 

Rhonda and I have done swim training right off the beach in Presumpscot River, swimming 25 yards up the river and 25 yards back down—it has definitely served us well! It is so close and easy to get to from my Studio on Main Street in Gorham. Clients are excited that I had decided to train there. The water is much warmer than the ocean and we are the only ones there while training. We have done a few run days there and this weekend will be our first bike/run brick—this is when we put the bike and run together in one workout!

The event for On Purpose WellBeing trainees will be starting out at 8 a.m. in the water for our 25 strokes one way and 25 the other way, 11 times. This will make the 1?3 of a mile swim (or as close as possibl). We will run up to the parking lot and take off our wetsuit. After changing into our bike shoes, we will hop on our bikes and take the trail on the left onto the Maine division trail for our 15-mile bike ride, we will go 7.5 out and 7.5 back. Once we are back to our transition site, we will get ready for our 3.1-mile run taking the other end of the trail to the right. 1.6 out and 1.5 back onto the ball field. 

We are excited to do this and almost ready. I am so proud to be training my clients right here in Gorham, but even more proud to be back into the action side of this much needed event. On the Tri for a Cure website you’ll read that since the day after the 2019 Tri for a Cure, Maine Cancer Foundation has been excitedly working towards plans for July 19, 2020. 2020 is “lucky” year 13 for an event that has come to be MCF’s largest fundraiser and which represents a celebration of women who have taken on a personal goal to swim, bike, and run while supporting a cause that is close to them. There has been over 16 million dollars raised for Maine Cancer in the last 12 years from this event. 

Rhonda and I both have people in our lives that have either been touched with cancer and survived or have lost the battle. We both know that it may have been a long 19-week training journey but that does not compare to what loved ones go through when cancer hits. 

If you love Gorham as much as I do, check out all that it has to offer and if you would like to support us please come down to Shaw park on Saturday August 8 and cheer us on. We are going to bring a picnic lunch for after our event and social distance with a small group of friends and family. We will share as much fun as we can without the thousands that we would usually have supporting us during our race.

You can also make a contribution to either of our Tri for a Cure fundraising pages to help us reach our goal to help Maine fight cancer! Thank you Gorham for being such an awesome town, and thank you to any one donating for our event! 

Donation links: Catherine Wilson https://mainecancer.donordrive.com/participant/Catherine-Wilson; Rhonda Berry https://mainecancer.donordrive.com/participant/27971.

On Purpose WellBeing Center is located at 381 Main St #4, Gorham. Visit them online at onpurposewbc.com, call (207) 222-0142, and follow them on Instagram (@onpurpose_wbc) and Facebook (@OnPurposeWBC).