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Above the obstacles
Some competitors have already beaten their biggest challenge.
By DEMORRIS A. LEE, Times Staff Writer
Published November 10, 2007
CLEARWATER At age 13, Brian Melekian began suffering headaches so intense he would lie in the fetal position until he passed out. Three weeks later, a slit was made from the back of his head to the base of his neck to remove a golf-ball size tumor from his brain stem. The location of the tumor affected Melekian's balance and his vision. For three years, the first thing he did when his feet hit the floor in the morning was throw up. His senior year in high school he weighed just 90 pounds. He couldn't walk in a straight line, no matter how hard he tried. He saw double, though glasses helped correct that. But then he began to find a system. If he slept a certain way, or if he didn't eat certain foods before bed, he wouldn't get as nauseated. If he tilted his head just right, he could bring things into better focus. But whether he's running or walking, it's a given that for every three steps forward he takes, there's going to be a side step. Melekian, of Los Angeles, will take a moment to reflect this morning before he charges into the Gulf of Mexico for the first leg of the Ford Ironman World Championship 70.3. "Every single race, I hear 'I don't want to do this'," said Melekian, who is now 32. "But then right afterwards, I point up and I say, 'Thank you for letting me be here. I'm not in a wheelchair, in a hospital or underground.' " Today's championship includes a 1.2- mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and 13.1- mile run. There are athletes from all 50 states and 52 countries competing. As the more than 1,500 athletes take to the local beaches, streets and the Pinellas Trail, many of them will have stories of triumph. There will be stories of overcoming cancer, a lost limb or a loved one. Of the 1,500 bikers, swimmers and runners, only 83 are professional athletes. The remainder are people who love to challenge their endurance. "Everyone has something to prove to themselves or other people," Melekian said. "You are either running towards something or away from something. Either way, you are running. When I started, I was running away from the pain of what I went through. Along the way, I started running towards helping people." Melekian participated in his first triathlon 14 months ago. In March, he competed in a 70.3 event in Oceanside, Calif., and barely missed the qualifying time for the world championship. Determined to make it to Clearwater, Melekian traveled to Baja, Mexico, for another 70.3 event. This time he made the championship cut. A few weeks later, he competed in the 140.6-mile Ironman in Couer d'Alene, Idaho. He finished in 11 hours and 49 minutes. "Everybody gets something they love and that they are passionate about," Melekian said. "I'm passionate about endurance sports, which for me means triathlons." For Wendy Chioji, her story begins with a diagnosis. The Orlando television news anchor noticed a lump in her breast and mentioned it to her doctor in 2001. It was stage II breast cancer. The same year, she had a modified radical mastectomy with reconstruction. She then completed two rounds of chemotherapy. Chioji, 46, is now cancer-free. "Every time you cross that finish line, you are farther away from being sick," she said. Blair LaHaye, Ironman's communications director, said Ironman 70.3 and the sport of triathlon is full of people who have overcome life-changing events. Not only do many start competing, they also raise money for charitable organizations. Chioji's cause is the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Another team competing today supports Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ALS in honor of former triathlete John Blais, who died in May. Melekian raises funds for the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the facility that took care of him during and after his surgery. "You can never ever get bored at this sport because everyone has a story," LaHaye said. "There is something that started them competing in triathlons." Demorris A. Lee can be reached at dalee@sptimes.com or 445-4174 More info What to know? Whether or not you are going to watch the triathlon, chances are it will affect your travel plans. Take a minute to look at the route map and get all the information you may need, including travel tips and the best places to watch. Page 7
[Last modified November 9, 2007, 23:14:21]
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