SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED ON THURSDAY! On Thursday I arrived at the Reynolds Dog Park early to get a run in prior to our club ride. As I was approaching the trail to start my run, I saw a family putting up a finish line tape. Shortly afterwards a woman ran through the tape and finished whatever it was that she was doing. Back in November, as many of you know, there was a fundraiser to raise money for a memorial bench for Kristen Oswald. The goal was to raise $900. Thanks in large part to many of you, we ended up raising over $5,000! We decided to purchase both a bench and a tree in Kristen's honor and early in the year we were starting to plan for some sort of celebration event and also considering options for the use of the extra funds raised. Then COVID-19 hit and our plans went on the back burner. We're now restarting the discussion, so stay tuned for some updates on that coming later! Last weekend we received on our Gators public Facebook page a note from Tricia Durham that started as follows... "I hope this is an okay question to ask. There was a GoFundMe for a memorial bench for Kristen Oswald a while back. I was a few cyclists behind her in Ohio. I personally was not able to continue afterwards. I was planning on doing IRONMAN Muncie (Indiana) 70.3 in her honor with her bib number from Ohio, written on my heart." Unfortunately IRONMAN Muncie was canceled shortly before it was to take place. So with no IRONMAN 70.3 events in site, Tricia, who was fit and ready to complete her first 70.3 event, decided that she'd do so in a self-supported way. Tricia, a Pennsylvania resident, was reaching out to the Gators to learn if Kristen's bench had been installed so that she could include it in her 70.3 plans. Tricia went on to say... "I never knew Kristen but she has changed my life." Since IRONMAN Ohio 2019, she and her husband, Matthew, have received certifications for first aid, CPR, and AED usage and also completed other similar courses. And they've already been able to put that training to good use in a couple of life saving situations. We were pleasantly surprised to learn a few weeks ago that the bench was installed and the tree had been planted. In fact, if you've been to the dog park any time recently, you've very likely ridden/run right past it. It's situated at the top of the trail in a perfect spot, flanked by a freshly planted sapling, sending riders and runners off and then welcoming them back from their workouts. So as I was about to set off on my run, Tricia (who is now a member of our Facebook group), cheered by cowbells, shouts, and applause from Matthew, her sister Tracie, her brother, and one of her sons passed through the best kind of finish line... one held by her mom and another of her sons... and completed the 70.3 mile journey that she started almost a year ago... right in front of Kristen's bench and tree... Congratulations, Tricia!... and thank you! And welcome back to our workouts, Kristen! XO💚KO💙CO — feeling inspired with Tricia Durham at Reynold's Dog Park.