Dogs and owners run in 10 kilometer Iams Doggy DuathlonBy Kate Brennan for Hollywood Today
NEW YORK, NY (RUSHPRNEWS) 7/20/2008 – “My dog Besame and I will be competing in the New York City Triathlon as a team,” says dog owner and triathlete Stella Dellamore. “As soon as we got into the New York City Triathlon, I decided to do the event for charity.”
Besame and Dellamore are raising $5,000 to provide a therapy dog to a boy named Jack who has autism. “One of the great challenges related to autism is that it is virtually invisible,” says Dellamore. “Children with autism often do not get the attention, support, and understanding that children with more visible types of disabilities. One of my aims is to increase awareness of autism.”
This Sunday thousands of endurance athletes will take to the river, highway and streets of New York City to compete in the 8th Annual Nautica New York City Triathlon. “The New York City Triathlon includes 3,000 people from every state and nearly thirty countries,” says event organizer John Korff. “The entrants are a mix of type A Wall Street guys and people out for a fun weekend in New York City.”
“I love watching the professional triathletes compete,” says 26-year-old triathlete Christine Anderson who took up the sport after graduating from college. “It’s inspiring to witness their speed as well as learn from their technique, especially on transitions. Anderson placed first for female racers in the Batavia, Illinois Triathlon this year.
The race kicks off at 5:50am Sunday and covers the same distance used in the Olympic Games. Athletes will swim down the Hudson River for 1,500 meters. Racers continue by biking 40 kilometers up and down the Henry Hudson Highway. They then finish with a 10 kilometer run through Central Park. The Hudson is clean, points out an organizer. “You don’t need shots.” At least, the humans don’t. All dogs are checked by veterinary staff prior to competition.
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