Triathlon Competitors hit personal bests and raise $1500 for charity

By Sherry Mohan - Gazette Writer

Port Jervis — Last month, after more than two months of fundraising and training, three staff members of the Port Jervis Physical Therapy & Wellness Center headed to Gilford, N.H., to compete in the annual Timberman Triathlon.

At 7 a.m. Aug. 18, with the temperature at a windy and chilly 43 degrees, the first event, a one-thirdmile swim, began in the 74-degree water of Lake Winnepesaukee. After a quick dry-off, the athletes hopped on their bikes and pedaled 15 miles through the rolling hills of New Hampshire, then finished with a three-mile scenic run along the lake shore.

Physical therapist Kristin Banse and therapy assistants Kara Huntoon and Ellen Knapp not only challenged themselves to attain their personal bests, but also challenged their patients and friends at the Port Jervis center to help them raise money for deserving charities. For a $5 donation, donors could guess a finish time for each competitor, and indicate which charity they’d like to receive the winnings. As a special incentive, those guessing the winning times would also win a free half-hour massage.

The donations totalled $1,395, or $465 for each of three charities. PJPT&W added extra funds to bring the donations up to $500 per winning organization.

Results

Of the three, Banse had the best overall time, 1:50:20. Alice Scudder, who guessed 1:50, chose the Port Jervis-Deerpark Humane Society in Huguenot as her favorite charity.

Huntoon finished in 1:51:03; her winner, Kevin Krawczuk, guessed 1:51; he chose the Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, N.J.

Knapp finished in 1:55:07; her winner, Ruth Bohn, who guessed 1:55, chose Tri-State Pregnancy Center in Matamoras.

Last Thursday, Knapp and Huntoon had the pleasure of presenting checks, in person, to the two local winning charities and dropping a check in the mail for the third.

All three women met or exceeded their goals in the competition and plan to compete again next summer.