First I want to repost some information about the triathlon as we are now just a week away. It is in Mt Shasta and everyone is welcome at Camp Eric participants or not. We will meet there for the triathlon and then move the camp to the Burreson's (we love you C & H!) home for a BBQ. I would like to say to all of the people who are able to join us, please, please, please, give a shout out to the Rotary Club when you are there. They went out of their way to support us, and make it easier for us all to be able to participate. They welcomed us and embraced us and we appreciate it so much. In addition to that they also have thrown out an additional welcome to all Law Enforcement. Any Law Enforcement that wishes to join the triathlon this week, they have offered to waive the fees. They want everyone to be able to participate who would like to. I know that they sent out a letter to the local law enforcement agencies and that Shasta County SO has three members who are going to participate, and they don't even know Eric. I also heard that another team from Butte County SO has also jumped in to participate. Thank you so much. Much like the BBQ the SO just had, it is a wonderful opportunity for our girls to see the kind of support they have. It is so important for them right now as they miss him so much. It makes them feel so safe and protected to see all of these people who care so much for their daddy. I appreciate it so much. They are and always have been his number one priority and I try each day to make it safe and secure for them. Thank you for honoring him.
A bit of a re-post about the Triathlon:
You can download the entry form from the Rotary website (www.dunsmuirrotary.org) and fill it out ahead of time. PLEASE let Kelly (or leave a comment here) know if you are putting a team together so we can compile a master list of our “Friends of Eric Teams”. We are asking that all teams use the name Friends of Eric #. It will help if K know you are registering so K can keep track of what number each team is assigned. She will also need to know how many ERIC Triathlon shirts and what size is needed for each team. This is not the event shirt included with the Tinman registration but one created just for our “Friends of Eric” Participants. She will have them available at the carb loading dinner and the day of the event for $15. *Please also note that if you are unable to make it to the triathlon but would still like a "Friends of Eric" t-shirt, please contact Kelly at skmora@netzero.com and let her know how many and what sizes so she can get them for you. Thanks Scott for the one of a kind art work! With each day we get more excited about the event. The organizers have been very supportive of our group and are excited to share in the celebration of Eric and his strength and will to recover. Anyone entering the Triathlon, Please call Kelly Mora @ (530)824-1111 or e-mail skmora@netzero.com with your team details.
The story of his first two triathlons...I feel it is only fair to tell you this, as I do not want anyone to think he is some well oiled triathlon machine, or that you have to be to particpate. It has never been about that for him. It is the "doing" he has never been afraid of failing, he just wants to get out there and do his best. That is all we are doing, celebrating his attitude and letting him know that we all support him and the road he has to travel.
The first triathlon he was ever in was the City of Gold in Oroville. I had actually forgotten about it until I was reminded of the details at the BBQ. He had decided to give it a go (and no he had not been "training", just decided to go for it), and signed up.
He had worked an overtime shift the day before the triathlon, and as he was on his way home that night, had been called to another case. He got home very late with very little time to sleep. He set his alarm but slept through the first part of it. When it finally woke him, he jumped out of bed, threw on the nearest clothes and went to the event. He got there and started almost a full hour late. This is how it was described to me by a friend who was expecting to do the triathlon with him "We all got finished and were just sitting there hanging out, getting ready to pack up, when we heard an announcement. "And here comes the last particpant, who got here an hour late......Eric Christopher" We looked up shocked to see him. We thought he did not come, and there he comes running over the finish line in some bright shorts, and a ripped tank top. He had a great big grin on his face and his hands raised up in the air." He finished dead last, but he finished.
The second triathlon, was the Whiskeytown Ironman. We had to go up the night before so we decided to camp with friends. Of course he was working until later than he thought and we didn't get there until late. It was dark and we had to carry our gear down a path to the campsite and set up camp in the dark. He laughed as he put up the tent by the beam of his headlight and said that he would not know how to put it up in daylight as he had never done it. He started the triathlon with everyone else, first the swim, and then the bike. We saw him leave on his borrowed bike, but as everyone else came in....no Eric. The others were finishing the run. We waited and waited, and finally we saw him. Even from a distance you could tell something was wrong. When he got in we could see the front tire on his bike was badly bent. The bike portion was off-road and he had borrowed a bike from a friend's wife for the day. He had gone off an incline and landed badly mangling the front tire. He had picked it up and carried it on his shoulder running for about a mile, then decided it would take forever to get back that way, so he laid the bike on the ground and jumped up and down on the rim until it was straight enough to pass through the fork. He rode it the rest of the way back. He got back to base and left for the run, and again finished dead last. But he finished.
He has always been about the journey, experience, just "doing it". Whatever it takes to make it to the end. It doesn't matter where you place, just as long as you can say you didn't give up and you finished. Thank you all for joining us on this journey, helping us support him now on his way to the finish line. It doesn't matter if he finishes dead last, just as long as he finishes. That is really all that matters...
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