I received the following email over this past weekend from a former high school classmate. Of course I have edited some parts out but at any rate it would mean a hell of a lot for the Real. Life. Woman. Talk. readers to vote for him to show our support for his cause! Remember if you don't stand for something then you will fall for anything. Please read this and just like we used to do as kids ---> PASS IT ON!!!!
Dear friends,
I am happy to announce that I have been nominated as one of three finalists in the Sports Illustrated's Greatness in Sports contest. I am asking for your support by way of your vote in the contest. Many of you I know and some I only know through Facebook or by some other means. I was wounded while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq in July of 2005. I later was introduced to the sport of handcycling and have found great joy in competition and teaching the sport to newly injured veterans. As a believer in paying it forward, I have agreed to donate half of my winnings to the Achilles Freedom Team. The Achilles Freedom Team is a chapter of Achilles International, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that is composed entirely of wounded veterans. Achilles pays all costs for these wounded warriors to participate and travel to major marathons across the country. I had to write a short essay on what sports means to me.
ESSAY
I was always active growing up as a kid. I played baseball, soccer, even practiced martial arts. The opportunity to become an athlete didn’t happen until I was injured fighting in Iraq in 2005 and lost both of my legs in an explosion. During my recovery at Walter Reed, I was introduced to the sport of handcycling by Achilles International out of NYC. My first race was their annual 5 mile ride in Central Park in 2008. After being confined to a wheelchair for over three years and not being able to enjoy many of the activities I use to when I was able bodied, the feelings I got after that first ride on my handcycle were indescribable. The feelings of competition and the rush of speed were what I needed to get back into sports. I started training and a few months later did my first marathon, a little race called the 2008 New York City Marathon! It took me almost 3 hours to finish, but when it was over, the sense of accomplishment I felt was overwhelming. I proved to myself that my disability does not limit me from being competitive; but that it was my own fears and thoughts of failure that were disabling me. I have now competed in over 12 marathons with my best time being this year’s Boston Marathon in 1:34. I now work on mentoring newly injured veterans and continue to race in marathons with the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans.
Please take 5 minutes of your time to vote and help me give back to the sport that has meant so much to me during my recovery. The more votes I receive= the more money I can donate to this worthy charity.
P.S. You can vote once a day if you feel so inclined :). Contest ends November 14th. Please post the contest link on your Facebook page or Twitter feeds, and feel free to forward this email to your friends to help generate as many votes as possible. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much for your time and support.
Contest page: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/greatness/
Achilles International: http://www.achillesinternational.org/programs/freedom-team/overview
Yours in sport,
Joe Beimfohr
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