{"id":15947,"date":"2022-07-08T16:44:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T14:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.220triathlon.com\/?p=107127"},"modified":"2022-07-08T17:00:17","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T15:00:17","slug":"one-more-tri-sam-perkins-mission-to-complete-one-last-triathlon-with-motor-neuron-disease","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/rss_feed\/one-more-tri-sam-perkins-mission-to-complete-one-last-triathlon-with-motor-neuron-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"One More Tri: Sam Perkin\u2019s mission to complete one last triathlon with Motor Neuron Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Tim Heming\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 08 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Almost 2,000 triathletes stand in their wetsuits by the side of the lake at the National Water Sports Centre, waiting to be called forward for the rolling start. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Most shiver a little, whether through the nip in the air before sunrise or the nervous anticipation of what lies ahead. They ease to one side as a young man in a wheelchair \u2013 a ventilator tube helping him breathe, a tartan blanket across the knees to ward off the morning chill \u2013 is pushed toward the pontoon.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the triathlon journey Sam Perkins envisaged when he started out in the sport more than a decade ago, but it\u2019s an opportunity \u2013 despite having no physical movement remaining \u2013 he will seize with everything he has.<\/p>\n

The moment is made more poignant as a minute\u2019s silence is impeccably observed for John Ball \u2013 the water safety maestro for Outlaw events \u2013 who passed away last autumn. It concludes with a round of applause that is extended as Sam is announced over the mic.<\/p>\n

Sam\u2019s wife, Emma, is by his side. \u201cYour time is valuable,\u201d she says. \u201cSam brought that to the fore when he said, \u2018I just want to get as much done as I can in the time I\u2019ve got left.\u2019 I replied: \u2018You and me both, Sam. You\u2019re no different to me on that one.\u2019 Spend it with the people you want to spend it with. Do the things you want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam wants to be here right now. At the Outlaw<\/a> <\/strong>Half in Nottingham. Here for one more triathlon<\/a><\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

What is Motor Neuron Disease?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Motor neurone disease (MND), called ALS or Lou Gehrig\u2019s Disease in the USA, is a progressive neuromuscular condition where the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord degenerate.<\/p>\n

The average survival time from diagnosis is between two and five years, although some people live much longer with the disease.<\/p>\n

Symptoms may start in the hands, feet, arms or legs, or speech or swallowing may be affected.<\/p>\n

On receiving the diagnosis, Sam and Emma started the charity, Stand Against MND<\/a><\/strong> (or SAM for short) to raise funds for research and local hospice care.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div> <\/section>

An army assembles<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Team Sam was made up of people important to Sam and his triathlon journey (Credit: Ryan Sosna-Bowd)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Steph Cobb is securing the tether that will allow her to tow the equivalent weight \u2013 made up of sandbags \u2013 of a 6ft 2in man in a kayak on the water at Holme Pierrepont. Just swimming 1.2miles wasn\u2019t enough of a challenge.<\/p>\n

Asking why she\u2019s put her hand up for this is met with a quizzical stare. \u201cWhy would I not? Sam is an amazing triathlete who has always helped me over the years. We both love this ridiculous sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

A club-mate of Sam\u2019s at 4Life Tri in the East Midlands, Steph was a junior when Sam first joined in 2010. Today, they are teammates once more, Steph handing over to Sam\u2019s stepfather Nick Rawling for the cycle, who 56 miles later will set Sam on his way in an adapted racing chair.<\/p>\n

Or Team Sam to be more precise, because the 40-year-old has recruited an army of willing volunteers to help push him around the half-marathon run course: friends, carers, triathletes, former players from his beloved Nottingham Forest, and for the final lap, his family.<\/p>\n

I realised this thing doesn\u2019t need to stop me. The biggest limiter is inside your head