On Sunday, September 9th, we had the 16th annual “Tri for Sight” Sprint Triathlon/Duathlon under … wet conditions. The triathlon was founded and continues to be organized by our own Dr. Sheila Sanders, and all the proceeds go to support our department’s UK Eye Research Fund. It’s estimated that over $300,000 have been generated and some of this year’s proceeds will benefit our newly established UK GO outreach division.
Over 350 athletes swam the 400 meter serpentine length of the pool, biked the (usually picturesque) 12.6 mile ride through the rolling horse farms, and 3.1 mile jog around the Spindletop estate.
Unbeknownst to certain program directors that thought they finally possessed superhuman speed and endurance at the end of the jog, the course was actually shortened to 2 miles this year at the last minute because of the rain and lightning risk.
Despite the weather, it was another great event. We had numerous faculty, staff and even medical student volunteers that arrived before sunlight to spend the next 6 hours waterlogged.
We also had several faculty and residents compete this year, with a notable relay team of Drs. Ellen Sanders, Laura Coyne and Michelle Abou-Jaoude completing the event, aptly named “Velocirefractors”
The date for next year’s race has already been set – Sunday, September 8th. More than enough time to put it on the calendar!