View of the Crew - Elizabeth the "Organizer"

So it was a fantastic three-day “Mock Ultraman Weekend” for Sway, Trung and Jamie who have been training for Ultraman Canada. Stewie, who is also prepping for the race, but was out of town, was also on our minds. Though we are cheering all of them on, Cherie, Raj, and I are crew for Sway. The goal for the weekend was to stay prepared to meet her needs for each of the segments of training. It is privilege to support Sway who is not only an awesome athlete and very dedicated to her training, but even more so an amazing person. If you know any of these athletes, you know that it is easy to hold each of them in high regard. We also had the good fortune to assist in supporting Trung at different times and the opportunity to take many pictures of him; this is the least we could do for someone who is an avid photographer of all of us throughout the tri seasons. Sway assisted us in supporting her by creating a spreadsheet of her needs during the swim, bike and run. The weekend culminated with a 30 mile run on the clay road on Monday. It was a hot day - we stopped every 2 miles the first lap for nutrition and hydration and then on the second lap we began to stop every mile. Sway did awesome, as did Trung and Jamie, who completed the mock training on a different day due to illness. Since we were there as Sway’s support crew, what stood out to me during the weekend was her strength, her consistent mental focus, and the time that she took to plan for and communicate the ways that we could best be of support.
But what also stayed in my mind was the care and spirit of those involved, athletes and friends alike. As these athletes show great care to the people in their lives, whether it is within the community, the training group, or with family and friends, it is privilege to assist. Other acts of kindness that were highlights of the weekend included Sherri’s hospitality and cooking for the athletes and crew for the weekend dinners, Keith’s venture to the store after his ten mile run to get more ice and water, Luc and Mike’s drive to check on the runners and crew and Sonny’s visit to the clay road with his son for the sole purpose of support. What makes this a fun and amazing endeavor is for Sway, Trung, Jamie and Stewie to reach beyond themselves to accomplish their Ultraman goal as well as to experience the sense of community and care of the athletes and friends as they reach beyond themselves to support each other.
The Organizer....Elizabeth