Fox Lake Triathlon- Just What I Needed

 

Fox Lake Triathlon June 7, 2026

"Once you choose hope, anything is possible." Actor Christopher Reeve and activist

I had just one goal with this race. I needed a sprint triathlon to qualify for the National Senior Games in Tulsa next year. Wisconsin does not have a triathlon event in our State Games. So to qualify, I just needed to complete a sprint triathlon this year.  

I cannot remember the last time I did a road-based sprint triathlon. I skipped the National Senior Games last year due to broken ribs. I was saving myself for the Para-National Championships in Milwaukee, but they were canceled due to massive flooding.  Many of my races now have been off-road races. 

I would be happy to race a sprint. That is how I got started in the sport. I went into this race, being so happy for the chance to race. I realize every race is a victory for someone with CMT. Racing is a privilege when so many with CMT struggle to even walk and do simple daily tasks.

Venue
The race was held in Fox Lake Park, in Fox Lake, Illinois. It is just a 50-minute drive from home. No hotel stay was needed.  The park and the surrounding area were so beautiful.  The surrounding area is very similar to the lake counties in my State.  The park and lake were beautiful. Packet pickup was easy the morning before the race. It gave me a chance to figure out parking.

Swim
The air temperature on race morning was around 60F. The water on race morning was 78F. What a change from the 55-degree temperature at the National Multisport Championship in May in South Haven.  I decided to do the swim in neoprene capri pants.  That gives a bit of buoyancy. They keep the body level without overheating while wearing a full wetsuit.  It turned out to be the perfect choice.  The water felt warm during the swim warm-up.  was ready. I lined up in the very last wave. I do this because I hate being run over by other swimmers.
I am used to that wave because that is where I usually start as a para-athlete.  

Since this was a small race, I decided to compete as an age-group athlete rather than a para-athlete. I wanted to save the race directors a medal. That is an extra expense for a small race. This race had about 150 athletes in 2025. Plus, sometimes I just want to be a face in the crowd and not answer lots of questions about my impairment.  I did not expect to place in my age group, even in a small race.

The swim was beautiful, but a little choppy. No problem for me.  I have come so far since my early racing days, when I had to wear a wetsuit for the swim. I finished in 19:38, which was a good swim for me.

Bike
I took forever in transition, trying to get into a jacket. It was 61°F, just a bit cold for a bike ride when you are wet. There is some room for improvement there.  The 20 K  bike course had a giant, and I mean giant, hill right after a sharp turn, after transition. There was no chance to gain any speed. I ended up walking. The rest of the course was gentle rolling hills. It was well-marked and well-staffed with volunteers. My bike time was around 55 minutes. Lots of room for improvement there.

Run
Then it was time for the 5K run. I was tired and wanted to walk. But I counted steps. I alternated 100 faster-paced steps with 100 slower steps. Again, the course was well marked with no chance of taking a wrong turn. I appreciate all the effort it took to make that happen. I finished in around 39 minutes. Better than the 42-minute stand-alone 5K I had last year. I've lost about 7 pounds, and that has helped.

It was a good day, made even better by winning 3rd place in my age group. I had not pushed the pace at all because I was just hoping to finish. I am now qualified for the National Senior Games next year in Tulsa.  

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World Championship in Cozumel, Mexico

Chris Wodke
Founder Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete, Nordic skier, and long-distance runner. She is a three-time participant in 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.

She has won national championships as a physically challenged athlete in Aquathlon, Duathlon, Aquabike, and Winter Triathlon. She was the national champion in her age group in 2023 for gravel duathlon.

 In 2014, she represented the U.S. as a Paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.  

She was the 2023 Gravel Duathlon National Champion in the 65-69 age group.

She has won state championships as an age-group athlete in cycling and triathlon. She has represented America as an age-group athlete at world championships in Chicago, Denmark, Cozumel, and Norway. She earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Winter Duathlon World Championship in Norway.

In 2020, she was named a National Ski Patrol Subaru Ambassador and a USA Triathlon Foundation Ambassador.

She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.

She is the author of the book “Running for My Life,” which details her experience as a CMT-affected athlete, and of “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 find a cure for CMT. We currently have 257 athletes in 43 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 website: 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.

Keywords: Running, Running and CMT, triathlon, triathlon and CMT, athlete and CMT, cycling and CMT, Para triathlon, challenged athlete, Team CMT, Running for My Life-Winning for CMT. Hereditary Neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

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Multi-Sport National Champsionships-Not the Week I Planned

 

"The key is to keep company only with people who will uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. " Epictetus, Ancient Greek Philosopher

I had planned a big week at the May National Multi-Sport Championships in South Haven, Michigan. It is only a 3-hour drive from home.   The race was scheduled for May 13-17th.

I had signed up to race:

SS Duathlon
SS Trithlon
StandardAquabike
Aquathlon
Standard Duathlon
DL Duathlon
DL Sprint Aqua bike

May is early for racing in the Midwest. We had a cold and rainy spring. I had been watching the water temperature of the venue lake for weeks.  

The day I arrived, the water temperature was 60 degrees, and the wind was 20 mph. The Open Water Swim race was canceled.

To make a long story short, the water temperature dropped to 58.5 the next day and held for the race I had scheduled.

I've had problems with racing in cold water twice.  The first time I got cold water shock at a race in Chicago.  I was actually hanging off of the fire rescue boat, wheezing. They should have pulled me, but urged me on.  I would have dropped out if I had been getting enough oxygen to process what was happening.  I could not catch my breath the entire race.

The second time it happened was at a local race in June. The same cold water and the same reaction. I dropped out halfway through the swim.

So I scratched all the races with swimming. I also ended up dropping out of the DL duathlon. The World Championship is in Hamburg, and I have been to Germany. Thunderstorms were also expected, and I did not want to race through that.

That left me two races. The first was the SS Time Trial Duathlon and the Standard Duathlon.

SS Time Trial Duathlon

It was 45 F race morning. I had to bundle up with long pants and a jacket. I love the SS because the distances are all short.  The format is:

2.5 K run
10 K bike
2.5 K run

It is a great warm-up race. I would have company in this race. There was a young para-athlete and her handler in the race. Our category takes off last. That usually means racing alone for me. I was looking forward to having some company.

The race started, and I soon outpaced the other athlete. It was a cold but uneventful race for me. I secured another National Championship.

Standard Duathlon.
When I raced in Irving, Texas, I had lots of other para-athletes competing in the short-distance events. I decided that if I wanted to win, I had to go longer. That was actually a good plan. The shorter-distance races did not have para-athletes this year, but there were many age-group athletes. My para times are placed together with age-group athletes to determine spots on Team USA. The top 18 are selected, with the number rolling down to 30 if someone does not want their spot. This year, all the non-duathlon events had more than 18 women in my age group. With the World Championship in Edmonton next year, most of the women will go. My chances of getting a spot were not strong.

This race consisted of
10 K run
40 K bike
5 K run

I had run all winter, so I was ready to run.  But biking in Milwaukee in the winter is a challenge. I got out several times a week on my fat tire bike. But not the kind of distance I would cover in this race.

The best part about triathlon is that it is such a positive environment. I was in the last wave for both races. This gives me lots of time to visit with other athletes. At the race start, I got to visit with both the race director and USAT Chief Operating Officer Tim Yount.

The race was off. I was very much in the back of the pack. It was an out-and-back course, so at least I could see runners coming back. I just ran at a comfortable pace. I distracted myself by picking up trash along the road and dropping it at the aid stations.

The only excitement was a rottweiler that came out on the course. We were running in the country, and it belonged to one of the homes. I did my best to scare it off until the owner came. These dogs are very protective of their homes, and we were trespassers.

I got back to transition, and it was time for the bike. It had warmed up to 61F, and I was able to ditch my jacket. The course was two loops. I did have some company as the faster athletes passed me. I even passed a couple of athletes.  I just pedaled at a steady pace, and I was fine.

Last was the 5 K run. I liked the running courses because part of it was on dirt roads in the park, and it went past the lake.

I finished in 4:05 on my watch, and I started it when the wave before me left. The official time on the race results was 4:28, which was incorrect. But it really does not matter. It would not have affected my placement in my age group.  There were only 11 of us in the age group, so I made Team USA for Edmonton in 2027.

************************************

Chris Wodke
Founder Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete, Nordic skier, and long-distance runner. She is a three-time participant in 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 and Paratriathlon Open Division Champion.

She has won national championships as a physically challenged athlete in Aquathlon, Duathlon, Aquabike, and Winter Triathlon. She was the national champion in her age group in 2023 for gravel duathlon.

 In 2014, she represented the U.S. as a Paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.  

She was the 2023 Gravel Duathlon National Champion in the 65-69 age group.

She has won state championships as an age-group athlete in cycling and triathlon. She has represented America as an age-group athlete at world championships in Chicago, Denmark, Cozumel, and Norway. She earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Winter Duathlon World Championship in Norway.

In 2020, she was named a National Ski Patrol Subaru Ambassador and a USA Triathlon Foundation Ambassador.

She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.

She is the author of the book “Running for My Life,” which details her experience as a CMT-affected athlete, and of “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 find a cure for CMT. We currently have 257 athletes in 43 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 website: 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.

Keywords: Running, Running and CMT, triathlon, triathlon and CMT, athlete and CMT, cycling and CMT, Para triathlon, challenged athlete, Team CMT, Running for My Life-Winning for CMT. Hereditary Neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

CMT and running, CMT and triathlon, CMT and athlete, Charcot-Marie-Tooth and running, Charcot-Marie-Tooth and triathlon, Team USA and Team CMT, Running for my life-Winning for CMT, CMT athlete, athlete, and CMT, triathlete and CMT, Boston Marathon Bombing, CMT disease, CMT and exercise, exercise and CMT, CMT, athlete, and CMT. Team CMT, CMT athlete, athlete and CMT, bike4CMT, walk4CMT,  CMTA, HNF, Tri4CMT, Walk4CMT, MDA, #kneedeepinwo

 

 

When I had coaches, they always told me duathlons were much harder on your body than triathlons. I was pretty wrecked after this race, since I was a bit undertrained.  But it was my last race, and I could rest and recover.

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