Hartford Ski Spectacular-Finding Our Place

"Our thoughts and beliefs are the blue prints from which we create our physical realty." Loraine Mueller

I recently attended the Harford Ski Spectacular in Breckinridge, Colorado.  I signed up for the Nordic Race camp hoping to improve my skating ski skills. More about that in a future article.

The camp has been around for over 30 years and is sponsored by a number of groups that work with impaired athletes and veterans. It is sponsored by the Hartford Insurance Company.

I've gone to clinics for the impaired before and races with Physically Challenged athletes. Sometimes the reception is chilly. I see other challenged athletes completely look me over trying to figure out what I was doing there.  I've had several race directors give me a hard time. I always take these as teaching momemts. Not every impairment is visible.

I once asked if I would be welcome at a triathlon clinic being run by the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). The answer was no, the clinic was only for amputees.


So before I even signed up for the Hartford Ski Spec as it is called, I emailed the sponsoring organization.  I was assured I was of course welcome.  I explained that I had CMT and my challenges are not visible.

When I checked in, the head coach for the Nordic camp was at the check in table. I told her I was nervous about the camp. She asked if I was worried about staying warm.  I told her I was worried about being accepted.  I was part of a triathlon group out of Chicago for impaired athletes for a bit. I quit because I felt unwelcome.

There were 10 athletes that were in the camp all week. A few others came and went. They must have also been doing the Alpine camp.  That camp had 800 participants, almost 200 in the learn to ski program.

The Nordic program had athletes with a range of impairments, including a young women like me with no obvious impairment.  I was worried I would be the oldest and was not.

I could not have been made to feel more welcome. Everyone was fantastic and friendly.  There was even a young man from Wisconsin and we bonded over our love for the Packers and Badger football teams.

The coaching staff was impressive.  I was assigned a person to coach me on the first day and be my contact person for the week.  Mark is an adaptive instructor from Sun Valley,
He started our coaching session by asking about my limitations.  He said he does that even when teaching able bodied skiers, because there are so many hidden challenges.

Many of the coaches are either on the US Olympic team or are past team members. Most of them were wearing Team USA kit.  Several were Olympic biathlon team members.  I think I counted more coaches than athletes.  I got to work one on one or in small groups with each of them.  All of them were encouraging and made me feel very welcome.

I'm very excited for the CMT community.  I've already connected the HNF with one of the sponsor groups.  At the very least I am hoping opportunities for camps like this can be advertised through the HNF.  I would certainly recommend this camp to anyone that wants to learn to ski.  Adaptive skiing is what groups like the Disabled Athletes of America do.

These groups do more than skiing, I know some of the other athletes talked about rock climbing. I am hoping the HNF can get a camp or seminar put together for just those of us with CMT.

Based on the welcome I got, I am hoping to return to the Hartford Ski Spec next year and maybe try some of the other camps.

In the past I felt like I lived in a gray area as an athlete. Not able to keep up with able bodied athletes, but not welcome at camps and clinics for those with challenges. That all changed with the Hartford Ski Spectacular. Thank you to all the sponsors.  Hopefully this will be the start of greater involvement for those with challenges like CMT.

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Chris Wodke

Founder & Manager Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a three time participant of the Boston Marathon.  In 2012 she finished 2nd at Boston in the Mobility Impaired Division. She was on the course in 2013 when the bombs exploded.

She has appeared three times at the Paratriathlon National Triathlon Sprint Championship. She was the 2012 and 2014 National Champion Paratriathlon Open Division Champion.

In 2014 she was the PC Open Champion at the Duathlon National Championship and at the Aqua bike National Championship in 2016. She represented Team USA at the Aquathon ITU World Championship in Chicago in 2015i, Cozumel in 2016 and Denmark in 2018. In 2018 finishing 5^th in the 60 to 64 age group.

 In 2014 she represented the U.S. as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.  She has won state championships in cycling and triathlon as a senior Olympian. In 2017 she placed 2^nd in her age group at the Winter Triathlon National Championship, earning a spot on Team USA for the World Championship.

She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.

She is the author of the book, “Running for My Life” that details her experience as a CMT affected athlete and the book “Soup Sundays, A Journey Toward Healthy Eating”.

http://www.henschelhausbooks.com/catalog/memoir-biography/215-running-for-my-life-winning-for-cmt-9781595982827.html

You may visit her author page at:
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Wodke/e/B00IJ02HX6

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMTWe currently have 230 athletes in 41 states. We also have members in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Vietnam, Iran, Scotland, France, Turkey, Poland, Norway, Mexico, Wales, Ireland and Sweden!. If you wish to join us visit our web site; www.run4cmt.com or www.hnf-cure.org

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

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