She didn’t know how to swim or own a bike, and she hadn’t run as far as a mile in years. But last December, Karen Cloutier, with the help of some friends, found the inspiration to do all those things while mourning the loss of a friend to breast cancer
“We decided that night we would do the Tri for a Cure in her memory,” said Cloutier, of Cumberland, a breast cancer survivor who recently turned 40.
Soon after, Cloutier signed up for a training class at Pineland YMCA in New Gloucester. The seven women in the class were all there for their own reasons: to get fit, to take on a new challenge, to bounce back from an illness.
But, under the tutelage of Beth Birch, a New Gloucester resident and member of the USA Triathlon Team, they would find strength in each other, and earlier this month, they all completed the Tri for a Cure in South Portland, Maine’s first all-women’s triathlon and a fundraiser for the Maine Cancer Foundation.
“It wound up being just a wonderful, wonderful thing,” said Birch, 67, a four-time age group participant in the triathlon world championships. The coach found that each of her students, ages 26-55, had an athlete inside ready to blossom, regardless of their experience.
“They each had in their minds individual goals they wanted to achieve,” said Birch.
Training at Pineland, Birch pushed the burgeoning triathletes during their twice-a-week practices. They worked inside in the pool and on the cycles. They moved outside to take advantage of the hilly countryside. For the days on which they did not meet, she created individualized, week-by-week training plans for each woman, adjusting to fit schedules.
“Anything I asked them to do, they tried to do me one better,” said Birch. She altered each day’s workout to fit the mood and strength of the athletes, pushing to always move forward.
“If somebody couldn’t run that day, we walked. It’s as simple as that,” said Birch.
Two of the women, Cloutier and Susan Ryberg, are breast cancer survivors. But Birch said that didn’t by them any slack during training.
“None,” said Birch, with a laugh. “I treated them same as everybody else.”
But Birch did have to deal with the varying levels of experience held by her students. Only one of the women, Janet Davis, had any experience, having completed a couple of sprint triathlons. Cloutier did not know how to swim. Another competitor, Kim O’Connell, carried a fear of bikes from a childhood accident. Most of them were not in competition shape.
But little by little, minute-by-minute, in the pool and on the road, the team built their endurance and overcame their fears. Cloutier did well in the swimming portion of the Tri for a Cure, her proudest moment in the race. O’Connell’s time was not great on the bike route, but only because, after years harboring a fear of biking, she spent so much time smiling and waving to the crowd, Birch said.
“How can you not be inspired by that?” said Birch.
During both the training and the race, the team hung together, always positive, always encouraging, said Cloutier.
“The power of sisterhood is an amazing thing,” she said.
Now with the Tri for a Cure over, the athletes are looking forward to the next chance to show their stuff. In addition to next year’s race, which they have all signed up for, Birch and Davis are competing in the Lobsterman Triathlon in Freeport.
Cloutier will compete in the Trail to Ale 10k in Portland on Sept. 21, and completing a road race will have plenty of personal significance.
As a result of her illness, Cloutier underwent reconstructive surgery, which took part of her abdomen muscle. The plastic surgeon said Cloutier would likely never “climb mountains or run road races” again, which at the time did not mean much to her. Now, it seems like just another obstacle to overcome with the help of her friends.
“That’s my next challenge,” she said.
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