Tracey Richardson: Whatever it Takes . . .
Why would a person subject themselves to torture and exhaustion? In the case of Tracey Richardson, it seems, just because they’re a mother. Christine Miles explains.
There’s nothing mystical about Ironman. Boiled down, it’s a triathlon—a swim, a bike ride and run—of extraordinary proportions,” says New Zealand’s “ironman,” Tracey Richardson. “Yet there’s something about this event that brings out extraordinary qualities in people. To me, Ironman’s always been way more than just travelling the required distances. There’s a difference between doing an Ironman and being an Ironman.”
It’s the “required” qualities that Tracey has had to learn the hard way through life. Learning that her first-born child, Cameron (now 13), had inherited cystic fibrosis (CF) was a moulding force. “He was only four weeks old,” she explains. “The doctors also told me I had a one-in-four chance of having another CF child—something I’d just got my head around when I found out I was pregnant again.”
And when tests confirmed this child would also have CF, the couple had to make, what Tracey calls “the hardest decision of my life”—to terminate the pregnancy or continue. “I felt enormous unspoken pressure from everyone, including the medical profession, and in the end I had to go for the decision I’d be happiest with.” That meant going ahead and having her daughter, Makena.
Unfortunately, her husband disagreed, a factor that led to their separation a short time later. “But I’ve never regretted my decision, no matter how difficult it became,” she says.
Over the next few years, Tracey worked hard to provide her kids with the best life possible. Both children are seriously affected. “When I was first told about CF, I thought it was all going to be over in a few years. So I had this incredible sense of urgency to experience my children, to remember every moment,” she says.
Tracey went on to meet and marry her second husband, Kevin. Then, in May 2002, when Tracey was 38 weeks pregnant with their second child, 10-year-old Makena suffered a medical mishap. A wire from a catheter had lodged in her lungs and heart, putting her at risk of heart failure and in need of surgery.
“I’m good in a crisis, so even though nothing much was going right, I felt I was doing OK. But then, just when things began to settle down, I crashed. I felt like there was no point anymore. I was hugely overweight; I was a mess. I kept hoping that if I went to sleep, I’d wake up and it would all be over.”
The family decided it needed respite, so they went on a holiday. “We were at a beautiful beach in Tauranga, but I’d hit my lowest point,” says Tracey. “The kids were well, but I felt it would all be so short-lived, and they were just going to get sick again. I could only see the negative in everything. I felt so powerless to change what was being thrown at me.
“But I’m a strong person, and I knew that if I wasn’t there for my children, who would be?”
It was a life-altering moment. Upon returning home, Tracey visited a gym. “I went in, burst into tears, and asked them to help me,” she says. The staff showed her around and also gave her a piece of advice that she’s not forgotten. “Don’t commit to anything—except coming back tomorrow.” She went back.
Then, one morning, she read an advertisement for a women’s triathlon series (a 300-metre swim, nine-kilometre bike ride and three-kilometre run) on a pack of breakfast cereal. Despite not owning a bike, and having never run, she decided to enter!
“That changed my life. I had a goal. A friend also entered, so we trained together. We’d cycle and run together—and laugh. I still had sick kids, babies and a house to run, but this was for me.”
After watching an Ironman race, Tracey formed her plan to do Ironman and fundraise for CF. “I approached Brendon Downey, a professional endurance coach. I thought he’d refuse me, but he agreed to not only be part of my dream, but also be a sponsor, coaching me for nothing and helping fundraise.
“He believed I could do it. The training program he sent me was scary, but I remembered that advice from the gym—Come back tomorrow—and took it one step at a time.”
Doing Ironman required a massive commitment. Tracey completed hard hours of training, yet still attended the needs of her husband and four children, dealing with escalating medical issues plus a fundraising campaign. (In the 12 months Tracey spent training for Ironman, Makena spent 220 days in hospital.)
“It was hard, hard work, but so hugely rewarding. I was focused, determined and invigorated, like I’d never been.”
Next Tracey contacted Jane Patterson, the Ironman event organiser, and told her story. “I asked if she’d consider attaching a charity to Ironman and, after considering it, she agreed.”
With support from the Cystic Fibrosis Association of New Zealand, Tracey established Breath4CF to raise money to help increase the quality of life and longevity of people with CF by encouraging them to participate in physical activity. “Research has shown that the sooner a CF child can exercise their lungs, the better,” says Kate Russell, general manager of the Cystic Fibrosis Association. “People with CF have to have their lungs cleared at least twice a day with physiotherapy, and exercise helps this process and boosts the immune system.”
In March 2004, she competed in the Taupo event, finishing in 15 hours and 46 minutes. CF families from all over New Zealand came to watch and support the campaign. Tracey raised some $NZ120,000, which was used to establish Breath4CF.
Then Tracey was invited to the World Championship in Hawaii—the mother of all triathlons, according to Tracey—in October 2004, and to race for cystic fibrosis. Tracey struggles to explain her feelings as she raced. “On race day, I didn’t have that gut-wrenching fear and dread I’d experienced in Taupo. I felt calm and confident. When I finally got into the water, I felt this amazing sense of freedom.”
A glance at her watch at the end of the swim showed she was exactly on schedule for a personal best, as she headed for her bike and the 180 km cycle section.
“Hawaii is legendary for its heat, humidity and headwinds. I knew this was where my true test would come,” Tracey says. “When I got to the base of the 30-kilometre grind up to Hawaii, I instinctively threw the bike into a big gear. From that moment, I started to pass people. I felt brilliant.”
She completed her bike ride 30 minutes faster than she’d ever ridden. It was then a matter of one step at a time to cover the remaining 42-kilometre footrace to the finish line.
Kevin and the children were at the transition exit, and Makena was in tears. Unwell, she didn’t want Tracey to run on. After five minutes, Kevin took Makena back to their hotel for a sleep, promising to bring her to the finish chute. Throughout the run, Tracey thought about her kids, remembering everything they’d gone through. She says she thought of how her own pain was minuscule and transitory when compared to their battle, so she gave herself a mental kick and kept running.
“All I had wanted was to finish and to enjoy it,” Tracey recalls. “The view rounding the corner into the famed finish line will never leave me. Crowds lined the street, screaming and cheering. Complete strangers jumped out, high-fiving, slapping me on the back, making the avenue in which I could run smaller and smaller.
“As I approached the finish line proper, Cameron and Makena joined me, and together we jogged down the tunnel of sound, light and music. Crossing that line with my children beats any feeling on earth.
“My inspiration is my children,” Tracey says. “They display all the qualities of an Ironman athlete. Courage, persistence, perseverance, empathy, commitment, passion and focus.”
On New Year’s Day, 2005, Tracey was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to people with cystic fibrosis.
“I was stunned when I received the news. I always think of myself as just a mum from Napier,” she says with complete honesty. “I guess it just shows what us mums can do when we put our minds to it!”
Sources: www.breath4cf.co.nz; NEXT, February 2004; www.cure4cf.com; Cystic Fibrosis Association of New Zealand.
what is cystic fibrosis?
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disorder carried by one in 25 people. But in order to pass it to their children, both parents must carry the gene. Normally the mucus in our bodies is thin and slippery and works as a lubricant. In CF, however, the mucus is viscous and sticky, blocking the tiny tubes and ducts of various organs. In most cases the ducts in the pancreas are blocked, and so digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas are unable to flow into the digestive tract. Mucus may also block the tiny bronchial tubes in the lungs causing shortness of breath and a chronic cough.
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