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It was the summer of 2008, and with a young family and a small business, Stevens, who lives in Maumee, Ohio, was determined to make time for himself. He thought triathlon could be a way he could carve out that time. So he joined his local triathlon club, Team Toledo, and started attending group workouts.
“My teammates were like, hey we do open water swims, and they’re awesome. And I was like, yeah, I should do that,” says the 45-year-old Stevens. “I never once thought about safety. It never really crossed my mind.” |
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The swims were in a local lake. “The water is polluted constantly with feces,” from the geese that call the park home, he says. (Another member of his race team described the lake as a “goose toilette.”) But he was a healthy, mid-30s guy. When everyone jumped in, he did too.
Triathletes are a tough bunch. It’s a point of pride for most of us. Race a 140.6 on a 100-degree day? Hardcore. Bike despite an oozing saddle sore? Beast mode. But there’s a time to draw the line—and that line could be in the sand of a dirty lake. Triathletes must care about water quality because swimming in lth can have real consequences. We’re a powerful group. If we organize, we might be able to clean up our waterways. |
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