TeamCindy to Raise Funds, Awareness for Brain Aneurysm Foundation at 2012 U.S. Ironman Championship

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“We are truly impressed by the dedication of each athlete who is competing on behalf of TeamCindy at the 2012 U.S. Ironman Championship,” said Christine Buckley, executive director of The Brain Aneurysm Foundation. “Their work does not go unnoticed."

Hanover, MA (PRWEB) April 25, 2012

On August 27, 2007, Triathlete Cindy Sherwin suffered a fatal brain aneurysm while training in New York City for her first Ironman. Five years later, on August 11, 2012, five athletes will participate in the 2012 U.S. Ironman Championship in her honor. These amazing individuals will be raising awareness of brain aneurysms and funds to support The Brain Aneurysm Foundation.

The inaugural 2012 Ironman U.S. Championship is a grueling race, covering 140.6 miles in parts of New York City and New Jersey. The course will include a 2.4 mile swim in the Hudson River, a 112-mile bike ride on the Palisades Parkway and a 26.2 mile run, beginning in New Jersey and finishing in Riverside Park in Manhattan. In addition to the training required, each athlete has committed to raising funds for The Brain Aneurysm Foundation.

“We are truly impressed by the dedication of each athlete who is competing on behalf of TeamCindy at the 2012 U.S. Ironman Championship,” said Christine Buckley, executive director of The Brain Aneurysm Foundation. “Their work does not go unnoticed. Their dedication both to training and fundrasing will help make a big difference in our efforts to raise awareness and funding for brain aneurysm research.”

The athletes competing on TeamCindy come from a wide variety of backgrounds:

•     John Joseph, who grew up in the New York State foster care system and then was a runaway in New York City, has had an amazing journey through life. After having spent time in juvenile correctional centers, he joined the U.S. Navy before hanging out in Washington, D.C. for a few years, in and out of trouble and simply trying to survive before being introduced to yoga and vegetarianism. He formed the Cro-Mags, a hardcore punk turned crossover thrash band in 1981 and has been touring ever since. He’s currently writing a film based on his memoir. The US Ironmen Championship will be his first Ironman Triathlon.
•     Orion Mims is a highly accomplished personal trainer, and a dedicated athlete. He was a colleague of Cindy's and at her persuasion he decided to take part in his first Ironman distance race. Since then, Orion has gone on to complete 9 Ironman races all in foreign countries, as well as 12 Olympic distance triathlons, 19 70.3s and 10 marathons. He considers himself a dedicated athlete as opposed to just a triathlete. He embraces the challenges of the sport and believes that indulging in triathlons at a high level has positioned him to master strength/endurance modalities/philosophies that are applicable to all sports and all forms of movement.
•     A 35 year old, native of Baltimore, Maryland, Jeremy Bohlen works as an X-Ray technologist. He has been involved in triathlons since 2009, competing in every distance except for the Ironman 140.6. He has chosen to race his first Ironman as part of TeamCindy.    
•     As an undergrad at UC Davis, Danielle Hauptman was introduced and developed a passion for cycling. During her 4 years on UC Davis Cycling team, she raced on the road and spent 2 summers racing the track. Her love of the bike and addiction to adventure travel led to several multi-week self supported trips through Europe. In 2005, after a few too many years off the bike and too many hours at the desk, Danielle decided to mix things up and train for a triathlon. And as they say, the rest is history! Danielle started out racing 70.3 and 2 years ago, she finished her first Ironman, Ironman AZ with an 11th placed finished. Danielle currently works at UC San Francisco as a Registered Nurse specializing in oncology research
•     R. Loch Macdonald is a neurosurgeon at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Keenan Endowed Chair and Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgery at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His professional career has been dedicated to the treatment of patients with brain aneurysms and blood vessel diseases. While he appreciates the progress in the treatment of ruptured brain aneurysms, he believes more scientific work needs to be done to understand why aneurysms form and rupture, and how to improve the outcome of patients who suffer from a ruptured brain aneurysm.    

TeamCindy is organized by Elaine Roberts Schaller, the mother of Cindy Sherwin. In 2010, Schaller published her first book Dear Cindy, Love Mom. What began as a journal at the suggestion of a grief counselor turned into an honest first-person account of Schaller’s struggle to cope with the grief of losing her daughter. This compilation of letters and lessons learned is a must read for anyone struggling with the grief of losing a loved one.

It is estimated that more than 6 million people in the United States have an unruptured brain aneurysm. Most are small and an estimated 50 to 80 percent of all aneurysms do not rupture during the course of a person’s lifetime. However, in 2012, more than 30,000 people will be affected by a ruptured brain aneurysm.    The Brain Aneurysm Foundation continues to fund education and research to promote early detection.

About the Brain Aneurysm Foundation
The Brain Aneurysm Foundation was established in Boston, MA on August 19, 1994 as a public charity. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the nation’s only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to providing critical awareness, education, support and research funding to reduce the incidence of brain aneurysm ruptures. The organization also provides education materials and awareness information to health care professionals and the general population, as well as providing support for patients and their loved ones.

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation relies on fundraising support from individuals and organizations to continue to fund education and research to promote early detection of brain aneurysms, which ultimately saves lives. For more information, visit: http://www.bafound.org.

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