Photo/Jim Neuger
Lat year, more than 27 female athletes representing 27 states and Canada, participated in the Tri for a Cure triathlon.
Updated: May 4, 2020
Maine's Tri for a Cure cancer fundraiser goes virtual
Photo / Jim Neuger
Swimmers entering the water in the first stage of the 2019 Tri for a Cure fundraiser.
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"Cancer Tries. We TRI Harder" is the motto of Maine Cancer Foundation's annual Tri for a Cure triathlon fundraiser, and this year will be no different, except that it will be virtual and open to even more female athletes.
The event will also take place throughout the month of August rather than on a single day in July.
While logistics are still being worked out and subject to change, organizers underscore that the importance of Tri for a Cure remains, amid training and fundraising challenges prompted by COVID-19.
They also note in a May 1 announcement that they are dealing with a very fluid situation in terms of event and gathering restrictions, and that it is likely that the regular South Portland venue would continue to have limitations in the fall, particularly if Southern Maine Community College students are back on campus. That makes postponing the event difficult.
Kelly Martin, director of finance and operations for Maine Cancer Foundation, refers to this year's swimming, biking and running event as an experience.
"I say 'experience' because we have every intention of this virtual event being the one where our participants feel connected with each other, with MCF and with the good they will be doing by raising funds for Mainers facing cancer," she told Mainebiz.
Asked about the number of expected participants, she said organizers had anticipated being at around 1,300 on July 19, the date of the originally scheduled event, "and, to be honest, we hope to be there, if not higher."
Last year, 1,312 women ages 16-81 from 27 states and Canada raised more than $2 million. Organizers see the 2020 edition as the "lucky" year 13 for Maine Cancer Foundation's largest fundraiser.
Besides going virtual, organizers have tweaked the logistics and fundraising requirements of this year's fundraiser, removing the $500 fundraising minimum and opening the event to any woman who wants to register for $50. Participants need not be from Maine or in Maine to take part, Martin said.
"If you want to set a goal or always wanted to Tri or want to support a critical need in Maine, we invite you to register," she said. "It's up to the participant to decide where and when in the month of August she would like to do her own Tri. We are still working on details of ways this will be shared and how participants can document completion of their Tri."
Presenting sponsor WEX Inc. is pumped about the virtual event, with about 25 employees set to participate.
Molly Steele, partner growth manager in WEX's corporate payments division, has participated in Tri for several years and will serve as one of this year's co-captains for the WEX team.
She said that after seeing several emails over the past few months about canceled events, seeing that Tri for a Cure will still go on was energizing.
"Yes, it is going to be different but it also gives the WEX team and other participants an open canvas to be creative about how we can adapt and add fun to the new experience while being socially responsible," she said. "Our team is meeting this week to start the conversation, and I can't wait to hear what we come up with and, as always, we want to beat our personal goals and fundraising efforts from 2019."
Another longtime sponsor, Scarborough-based Town & Country Federal Credit Union, will also lend its support to the virtual event. It has been involved with Tri since 2011 and contributed nearly $500,000 to Maine Cancer Foundation in the past decade.
"While we are disappointed that the Tri will not be held in its traditional form this year, we fully recognize the need to move it to virtual this year, said David Libby, president and CEO of Town & Country and a past board member of Maine Cancer Foundation. "We understand how important the funds raised through the Tri are to the efforts and mission of MCF, so we are fully embracing being involved and providing strong support in this new format."
Burgess 'will be there'
Meredith Strang Burgess, a breast-cancer survivor, leading fundraiser and advertising executive with Burgess Marketing & Advertising in Falmouth, traditionally gives each group of swimmers a pep talk when they enter the water.
Photo / Jim Neuger
Meredith Strang Burgess, center, giving athletes a pre-swim pep talk at last year's event.
She always starts first and finishes last, has been in every Tri since the first one in 2008, and says she wouldn't miss the virtual edition for the world.
"I haven’t yet figured out how to motivate the participants along the ‘virtual' way, but you can be sure we will work hard to come up with some very creative ways to keep in touch and encourage everyone," she told Mainebiz. "One of the many positive twists of the virtual Tri is that we can finally allow all the women who have wanted to Tri but maybe didn’t want to swim, bike and run. So we will have many wonderful strong women this year that probably do not need me — but if they do, I will be there."
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