Movie shown when Jim MacLaren was presented with the 2005 ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage
I never knew Jim, who died on August 30 at the age of 47, but I am honored to have his brother as friend.
Jim's story seems larger than life. He had to...no, he chose to.. rebuild his life completely from the ground up...twice! The first time, after being an all-American football player at Yale, he was hit by a NYC bus and woke after an eight-day coma to find that one of his legs had been amputated. He came back from that to become a pre-eminent triathlete, winning the Hawaii Ironman among others. The second time he was hit by a van that had been mistakenly allowed into a closed course on the bike leg of a triathlon. His friends put together the San Diego Triathlon Challenge to raise money for him, and that became the seed of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) which provides equipment and other resources for disabled athletes from recreational to world-class levels.
Any who come by this page are inspired by his story are invited to contribute to go to http://sdtc10.kintera.org/jimmaclarenmemorial.
Now to change the subject..but don't worry, there is a connection...
Some of my clients have suggested I carry ToeSox as they provide a great grip for the feet and and are better in a studio environment than bare feet for a number of reasons. I am now carrying them in the Studio;; all proceeds above the wholesale cost and shipping will be donated to CAF. It won't be much, I know, but, one of the things that Jim said was that he believed that if we all gave just a little of what we have to those who need, the world would be a better place. Those who know recognize how much that jibes with my philosophy. I truly believe that.
So, my clients get something that will make them stronger in their work on the Reformer, a little goes back to help with the CAF's mission, and maybe we all can share a bit of the energy and inspiration of this amazing man. And yes, I realize that it may seem a bit tactless to sell socks to honor a man who had only one foot, but if his sense of humor was anything like his brother's, I think he would have been amused by the irony...
All proceeds from the September 30 Client & Appreciation Open House Raffle went to the Challenged Athletes Foundation!