One journey is complete but the fight continues

This past spring, we set out on a journey to participate in multiple triathlons in an effort to raise money and awareness for Tasha and Stacie's fight with cancer.  Unfortunately, during this journey, we had to say goodbye to Stacie as the good Lord welcomed her into his kingdom.  With your generosity, we have raised more than $3,000 for Tasha and Stacie's families.  Your support has truly blown us away!

Our final triathlon of the season took us to Branson this past Sunday to complete 70.3 miles where we would find out if our training had prepared us for the challenge ahead.  The up and down drive into Branson was enough to make you second guess your decision for choosing Branson as the destination for such a physical test.  We had an ominous start to the weekend with thunderstorms setting in most of the first day catching us in the middle of our final warm up sessions before race day.  So adversity had set in early and the weather was expected to be unfavorable for Sunday's race.

Fortunately, the weather held off for the start of our 70.3 mile trek.  There was a slight overcast, but temps were perfect and we all made the most of this good fortune.  I imagine at the start, most of us were merely concerned with finishing the swim and thinking little about the bike and the run.  As good students of competition, we think about 1 game at a time or in this case, 1 disciple at a time.

All having successfully finished the swim, we moved on to the most treacherous part of the course, the bike course.  We all knew the bike course was going to be incredibly difficult with the extensive size and amount of hills, but I don't know that we expected the consistency with which we would have to battle the hills.  I suppose it is like many things in life and part of the reason we are on this journey together and doing our best to ease some of the constant battles Tasha and Stacie's families might be facing financially.  Together we can all rise up to the challenges.  The bike course tried to take down one of us (Eric) with mechanical issues, but he would have none of it and slugged out the remainder of the ride with limited gears. The roller coaster of a ride finally ended at the Branson Landing with one last spiked hill to see if you were man enough to continue.

Upon arriving at the Landing for the run, the clouds above decided to unleash their fury making us finish our race in a wild thunderstorm.  However, we were very grateful it waited until the end to do so.  Despite the water rushing past us, much faster than we were running I might add, we all overcame the mini rapids and crossed the finish line.

We can't thank enough all those who traveled to Branson in support of our cause and efforts.  I ran with pride knowing so many from Tarkio where there cheering us on!  And to hear about all those who were following online was truly amazing!

I don't doubt that through various parts of the race we all struggled a bit physically or mentally or both and just wanted to stop. But, realizing how minute our temporary struggle was and is to Tasha's continual fight with cancer and Stacie's family's mourning of her passing, the least we could all do is push ourselves to the limit in response.

Thanks again for those who followed along with us on our journey having a lasting impact with your thoughts, prayers, and support for Tasha and Stacie.
-dlee

Stacie (Mather) Knop

It is with great sadness we let you know that Stacie (Mather) Knop passed away earlier this morning.  Our sincerest condolences go out to the Mather and Knop families.  Please extend your thoughts and prayers to them in their time of mourning as well as celebrate the wonderful memories you may have shared with Stacie.

All monies raised on Stacie's behalf will continue to go to her husband and children for whatever needs they may have.

Railsplitter Triathlon...that of which we have not spoke

My apologies in a delayed update on our most recent triathlon.  But first, let me again thank all those who have helped in raising over $2,500 for Tasha and Stacie!

Our fourth triathlon for the year took us to Petersburg, IL with ties to the 16th President.  This would be our last real test before the half in Branson coming up in a couple of weeks.  The five of us loaded our bikes and gear into the Levings SUV and headed across the state of Missouri.  I believe the driving time was 6 hours, but seemed like 8 to 10.  We had our pregame meal at the Mark Twain Dinette in Hannibal, MO.  It was a good home cooked pasta meal with the best breadsticks around.  Following dinner, we continued on speeding past our exit to Petersburg detouring through Springfield and finally arriving after 9PM.  And then the real fun began!

As we made our way to our hotel rooms bikes in hand, we had a minor traffic accident with a couple of bikes leaving one with an inoperable spoke.  Trevor being our resident bike expert quickly had the wheel disassembled assessing the situation.  We soon determined a new spoke was required prior to the race with check-in beginning at 5:30AM.  As you might expect, the existence of a local bike shop in a town the size of Tarkio at this hour of the night is non-existent.  With Springfield only 20 minutes away, we hopped in the truck and quickly made our way to the city.  Having worked out a deal with Dick's Sporting Goods, we were well on our way to ending the broken spoke dilemma when Eric spotted movement in a bike shop as we passed by.  We did a quick u-turn and found ourselves knocking on the door of this shop at nearly 10PM.  Holding up our broken wheel and with desperate looks on our faces the kind owner, let us in.  We explained the situation and he quickly called in for mechanical backup.  Thankfully the shop's mechanic lived just around the corner.  Trevor was behind the counter assisting with repairs while Darin and Eric had full reign on browsing the empty shop with the owner.  Once the bike was repaired, we realized it would have been too much for us to fix on our own and we couldn't thank the local bike shop enough.  We finally found our way back to the hotel for a quick sleep prior to race day.

Fearing poor weather the day before, we couldn't have asked for better racing conditions.  The event was fairly small, but very well organized and setup with a great course.  I think we would all make the trip again. We only experienced on mishap during the race where Pat had to complete the second half of the bike portion on a flat tire, so the wheel saga was not quite over from the night before. 
-dlee

Update

Stacie has reached a critical stage in her fight.  Please keep Stacie and her family in your thoughts and prayers especially at this time.

Another Milestone

We again owe each of you a huge THANK YOU for helping us surpass the $2,000 mark!!!!!  Thanks to all who have contributed to this cause!

Currently, we are on pace to raise $1,000 for each triathlon.  Let's keep it going!

We really appreciate the support!!

Prayers Needed!

Training for a triathlon or any other endurance event is much easier and rewarding when you face the challenges that lie ahead with God and others rather than trying to overcome them alone.  There are times in training when you sit at the bottom of a steep hill wondering if you'll be able to make the climb or partially through a workout wondering if you have the energy and will to finish.  In these moments, you often find perseverance through your training partners as they charge up that hill pulling you along or drafting for you to make the final miles bearable.  But above all, you find perseverance through the Holy Spirit.

So, even though we've reached a milestone in funds raised, there is nothing that can replace the power of God through prayer.   Please continue to pray for Tasha and Stacie that they may have strength and endurance throughout their fight, and in doing so,  please keep the Doug Summa family in your prayers as they learn more about Doug's prognosis.

For without God, the burden is too much to bear.

1K and counting

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all those who have donated so far helping us raise over $1,000!!! to date.  What a blessing you all are!