October 20, 2009
Mari

This is a letter I wrote to Lance Armstrong a month ago. I sent it to him about eight different ways. I don’t know if he ever got it. I haven’t heard from him. Since it tells the story of the past 5 or 6 years, I have decided to make it an open letter to everyone. Even if Lance doesn’t make it to the race and he doesn’t run that last ½ mile with me, and he doesn’t meet the team, I’ll know that he and all my other heroes helped me and Team WILD get to where we are now. And for that I am grateful.

And, today, October 20th is my 5 year anniversary of being diagnosed with breast cancer. What a journey it has been!


OPEN LETTER TO LANCE ARMSTRONG
September 21, 2009

Dear Lance,
The way you live life, the way you ride the bike, the way you speak about surviving, and the way you push yourself to excellence, these are powerful inspiration. In fact, the way you have inspired me is so potent and so intense, it moved me to action. I want you to know how you have influenced me and what action I have taken because of you. This is a long letter because it’s a long story of how you, without knowing, have been in my life the past 6 years.

At the end of this story, I have three things to ask of you. They are: ONE: if you would be willing to meet my team, TWO: if you have any ideas for how we might better promote ourselves and THREE: the request near and dear to my heart, if you might come run the last half mile of a 70.3 triathlon in Austin with me. Here’s the story.

THE WRISTBAND
It all started in June 2004, when one of my cycling buddies gave me one of the first yellow LiveStrong wristbands. My friend knew I was a huge fan of yours. I wore that bracelet on the Bicycle Tour of Colorado (BTC), a 400 mile ride over 6 days. This was a major accomplishment for me, since the day the ride started, June 26, 2004, was the 23rd anniversary of my diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes at age 16. I rode every mile thinking that if you could ride in the Tour de France as a cancer survivor, I could figure out my diabetes to ride across the mountains of beautiful Colorado. (I know you spend lots of time in Colorado and know what I’m talking about!) The BTC was a successful ride and I was officially hooked on cycling.

That wristband was with me on October 20, 2004, just a few months after the ride across Colorado, when I found out that I had breast cancer. Again, like my life with diabetes, I knew survival was an option. You and others before me had survived with courage. I too could access the strength to face the edge of death. I rode my bike all during chemo. Since it was winter and my balance was compromised, my bike was mounted in my living room, facing a poster of you and the Blue Train riding the Team Time Trial at the Tour de France. Your expression of utter determination in the face of such intensity and voluntary suffering (as the Tour most certainly is!) reminded me I too could find the depth and stamina to endure this moment at the doorway of death. I imagined that I was part of the Blue Train, part of your team. After chemo, I rode my bike to radiation, as Spring had arrived. The daily 8 mile round trip was some of the hardest riding I’ve ever done, but it was worth it to feel the wind, the sun and the spinning pedals healing me.

FIRST TRIATHLON – Celebration of cancer survival
A week after radiation ended, I participated in my first triathlon. It was a Danskin Sprint. I fell in love with the sport. I decided that this was how I wanted to live: in my body and with others choosing life. I started doing more and more events, including Livestrong events, and I began to experience the healing power of recognition of participants who had survived cancer. The celebration: a special shirt or jersey, a Survivor finisher water bottle, yellow roses at the finish line, all the incredible cheering, healed some of the deep pain and suffering of having gone through the cancer treatment, and in my case, survival, process.

WHAT ABOUT DIABETES?
I then did my 10th Tour de Cure ride. Tour de Cure’s are bicycle rides all over the United States put on by the American Diabetes Association to raise money and awareness to stop diabetes. At that 10th ride, I noticed that I had no idea who on the ride had diabetes. And there was no recognition or cheering. Diabetes was something people hid. My father, who was diagnosed with Type 1 when I was one year old, never really told anyone. I did not want to follow that lead. Instead, following the lead of groups like Team Type 1, I realized it was time for me to contribute to changing that silence.

Diabetes is a challenging health condition that must be managed every moment of every day. It is an epidemic and it is killing people at high rates. One of the key management components for diabetes is to exercise, as exercise is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease and other devastating diabetes complications.

FOLLOWING YOUR LEAD! Go Lance!
Taking your lead of recognizing participants with cancer, I approached the Tour de Cure of Colorado and joined their organizing committee and I brought them the Red Rider Recognition program. My training partner Sandria came up with the name and I came up with the recognition elements and philosophy. The foundation of the program is that riders wear cycling jerseys that declare across the back, “I ride with diabetes!” and as others see them on the course, they yell, “Go Red Rider!” in celebration of the dedication and courage it takes to be someone with diabetes who gets out there and exercises and takes charge of their health.

RED RIDERS take the nation by storm
The Red Rider Recognition Program first rolled out at the 2007 Tour de Cure Colorado. In 2008, about 12 Tour de Cure’s did the program. In 2009, over 58 Tour’s did it and 2010 it will be implemented at all 78 Tour’s. In addition, the Step Out for Diabetes Walks are rolling out the Red Strider Recognition Program. As you know, an idea sometimes touches a cord in people and it takes off. The time was right for this idea.

Through the process of launching the Red Riders, I realized I have a special passion for reaching women who are searching for ways to get active but who have diabetes and are hesitant about how to figure it out. I didn’t really start exercising until I was 35, and that was because I was scared of low blood sugar as my father had almost died many times when I was a child from uncontrolled low blood sugar.

CONTROL OF HEALTH – Exercise
Once I did start exercising, I gained tremendous control of my health. I felt better than ever and it’s what helped me survive the challenge of Stage IIa breast cancer. I want all women with diabetes and their close supporters to have a team of peers with whom to share the exercise and wellness journey. I also want them to have access to top of the line coaches and medical staff to show the way about how to get active safely. I want women to have what I desperately needed and wanted when I first started exercising.

Team WILD is born
Thus in November 2008, Team WILD: Women Inspiring Life with Diabetes, was born. Our first team is a 70.3 Triathlon Team. We have 20 women on the team, 15 of whom have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. With our coaches and staff, we will all come to your town, Austin, Texas, to compete in the Longhorn 70.3 Triathlon on October 25, 2009.

A few things about the 70.3 Team WILD Triathlon Team: We range in age from 25 to 55. We live in 10 different states and Canada. We have 3 coaches, an endocrinologist and a sports nutritionist on staff, and we are officially a project of the non-profit Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association. We had a training camp in April 2009 in San Antonio and we meet twice a month on the phone to discuss training, nutrition, diabetes management and to support one another. Our head coach posts our training schedule on-line and we all track our training for our coaches to review.

Mini PARTNERSHIP??
Lance, I am writing this letter to you now because I’m wondering if you would like to meet us when we come to Austin? I really hope you might like to, since in a fairly direct way, you are why we exist. Simply put, in case it’s not clear from what I’ve written so far, you are one of my heroes. And I am really proud of this first Team WILD team of women – this is the first 70.3 triathlon for ALL OF US! We have worked really hard to get ready to race and we exist to inspire, educate and motivate women to take charge of their health. It would mean the world to me if we could meet you and you could meet us.

What do you think?!

And, going out on a total limb, I just have to tell you, I have a wish that you might come and run the last ½ mile of the 70.3 with me. It would be the absolute coolest thing to cross that finish line with you. I imagine it on every training run I do, it keeps me going. I am fairly certain you can keep up with me!

My mom, who took care of me during my cancer treatments, and I are going to walk the Livestrong 5K on October 24, 2009 in Austin. Beyond launching Team WILD, for me personally, the Livestrong event and the Longhorn 70.3 are to celebrate my 5 year anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer, 28.5 years of living successfully with diabetes, and 44 years of life living every moment as joyfully as possible!

Launch of Team WILD
We are planning a media event for Saturday, October 24 at 2 PM at the Travis County Fair Grounds which is the site of the Longhorn 70.3 Race Expo. This will be the official launch of Team WILD. We are working closely with the race organizers and the Austin chapter of the American Diabetes Association to make this media event a big success. Any ideas you have for how to make this event awesome, would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Mari Ruddy
Team WILD Founder & Athlete
Type 1 Diabetes since 1981
Breast Cancer Survivor since 2004

Marty Ruddy, me, Mo Ruddy (my brother & sister) New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2004
A few days after all my hair fell out from 2 chemo treatments.
That’s the exact Livestrong wristband I mention in this letter.