East End i-tri program empowers middle school girls via triathlon training
Theresa Roden decided to train for a triathlon on a whim.
After enduring the physical and mental training of race preparation, she saw how the experience changed her life and her self-image for the better, and about two decades ago decided to start facilitating the same experience for East End girls.
“Growing up I never thought of myself as an athlete; I hated gym class, it was a tough go,” said Roden. “It wasn’t until my thirties over in Block Island, all of a sudden these crazy lunatics came running down the beach and they had numbers written on their arm in Sharpie. Everybody was cheering, they were jumping over sandcastles and I turned to my friend and was like ‘What are they doing?’ and he said, ‘Oh it’s the Block Island Triathlon,’” says Roden.
Having never run a 5K race, Roden was inspired by their energy and took to Google with friends in her book club to figure out how they’d complete the quarter-mile swim, 12-mile bike ride and four-mile run feat. Just a year later, she completed the Block Island Triathlon herself.
“I realized very quickly that if I was going to reach this goal, I couldn’t continue to be the person I always was — the girl, the woman, the mom who had such a negative internal dialogue who was my own worst bully,” said Roden. “At the same time that I was training my body for the race, I was training my emotions, my mind, body and spirit.”
To read more about the youth triathlon training held in Riverhead, visit northforker.com.
