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Monday, August 17, 2009

Team Terry is made up of 5 Mom's that are doing the Iron Girl Triathalon this Sunday, Aug 23rd. One of the Ladies in our group wrote these words to define why we are participating in the race. I thought her words were so poignant that I wanted to post her thoughts.
Team Terry had the humblest of beginnings. The idea of participating in the Columbia Iron Girl arose over a conversation between several mothers talking in a group after dropping their kids off at preschool. A couple of us were turning the big 4-0 and wanted to do something to commemorate the year. What better way to prove your youth than to participate in your first ever triathlon! Eventually, several other mothers also considered it for various reasons and soon, one by one, each of us would show up at school and say “its official, I registered.” So even though turning 40, or being a strong Mom, might be enough of a reason to want to be an Iron Girl, it’s actually just the beginning of this story.

One particular mom in our group was debating her decision to register for the Triathlon. Her name was Terry Hendrix. While she, like the rest of us, wanted to do something out of the ordinary for herself, she had concerns that originated from living with serious complications of Crohn’s disease which might preclude her from training appropriately. She thought on one hand it would be a great way to get in shape and lose a little weight, but on the other hand she was living with complications from Crohn’s disease which might preclude her from training appropriately. She never got the opportunity to think about the decision any further though, because less than two weeks from our original group discussion our friend suffered a seizure and was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive brain cancer that had spread to her spine. While the rest of us prepared for the race she was in a battle for her life.

Our group, comprised of 5 preschool moms from Crofton Maryland, decided that we would run the race for her. It was our morale booster. We battled the sore, stiff, and pulled muscles while she battled the cancer with chemotherapy and other available treatments. Despite the complications along the way all of us truly believed that Terry would be here to see each of us finish the race. She was the strongest woman that any of us have ever known (emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually) and if anyone could win life’s ultimate battle, Terry could. Unfortunately Terry passed away this Fourth of July at the age of 42 leaving behind a loving husband and 5 year old son.

The five of us have banded together to compete in the Iron Girl and to commemorate the life of Terry Hendrix by swimming, biking and running in her honor. Everyone on Team Terry got involved with the triathlon for different personal reasons; however the death of our dear friend has made this event something bigger than us. It is our intent to take Terry’s memory to the end of the course on race day. We will be racing in shirts that will say Team Terry on the front and her favorite quote on the back: “Love Life and Never Look Back.”

The five Crofton mothers that comprise Team Terry and will be participating in the Iron Girl race in Terry Hendrix’s memory are: Laurel Landry, Jena Cochrane, Cindy Wood, Karen Kuhn, Sarah White, and Carol Streeter. Look for the purple shirts (designed for us by Nightmare Graphics).


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