By Cameron Elford
March 31, 2007 -- When you pick up
Triathlete magazine or surf to triathletemag.com, you're looking for training info, race results, tri-related news, gear reviews. What you're not looking for is two-bit political opinion or commentary -- and as long as I'm an editor of this magazine you won't find it either in the pages of the print edition or online. Most of us get more than enough exposure to polemical political bickering from other media outlets. Triathlon is, and should be, a healthy and fun diversion from daily stressors.
That being said, regardless of our individual opinions and the current political maelstrom over the military action in Iraq, I think we speak with a united -- and genuine -- voice when we voice our support for the troops serving overseas -- if for no other reason than many of these folks are triathletes and have supported our sport as athletes and as volunteers (as those racing the Oceanside 70.3 event this weekend can attest). Indeed, the pages of Triathlete have carried numerous stories of triathletes setting and accomplishing self-imposed multisport challenges while deployed in Iraq (such as Chris and Amanda Harris and the Baghdad Half Ironman in 2005?).
As a tri mag, there's admittedly very little we can to help out the servicemen and women -- other than perhaps provide a bit of distraction and serve as a touchstone to a slice or normalcy.
However, we regularly receive e-mail from all branches of Armed Forces personnel, and we always enjoy interacting with these folks - as we do with all of our readers. A couple of weeks ago, for instance, we received a message from a soldier-triathlete named Chris Lunsford, currently serving his third tour in Iraq. Chris was contacting us to see if we could help him track down any sports-nutrition supplements, which the troops use to help fuel their activities.
"I read your magazine during my off time to keep my mind on other things," said Chris in his e-mail message. "The reason I am writing to you is for information. On my previous deployments here the chow halls used to carry GU gel and PowerBars. These came in handy, especially during foot patrols through Ramadi during the summer. They no longer offer those products to us. How can I go about purchasing large amounts of GU Gel, PowerBars and replacement-drink powder. I appreciate the help in pointing me in the right direction. So do the members of my special-operations team."
Of course we could do little directly to help out Chris and his team, but we knew a few folks who were willing and able to help out -- not in an effort to make either an implicit or explicit political statement -- but out of a sense of shared responsibility and a desire to, in a very concrete and meaningful way, provide a measure of support for the troops.
Which brings me to my point. I'd simply like to give a shout-out to the companies who stepped in and, at their own expense, sent Chris and his team products they can use to ward off the bonk and stay sharp as winter rolls into spring and the desert heat cranks up to blast-furnace intensity.
Let me note that this should not be misconstrued as a crass marketing
maneuver by any of these companies -- quite the contrary. Once our
company forwarded Chris's note to them, they acted without contacting
me to first secure any editorial coverage of their gesture. Indeed, I
had to chase them down after the fact to get any confirmation that they
had even acted on the request. My only motivation is to call attention
to a good deed and give credit where it's due -- and to thank Chris for
allowing us to help him and his team out in a very small way.
Thumbs up to these companies -- and to Chris for continuing to tackle a tough job on the ground in Iraq.
I'd like to hear your feedback -- good, bad or indifferent -- on this story. Please feel free to
e-mail me.
CE