Scott's Ride Carries Quest To Raise Stroke Awareness
It started out as a dare between two brothers at a family wedding.
A dare which Ogdensburg's Scott Wright will take the distance later this summer at the Tupper Lake Tinman Triathlon. While completing the 1.2 mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13-mile run, Wright also plans to raise stroke awareness in the North Country and hopefully raise significant funds for stroke related causes in the Ogdensburg area.
"Scott's Ride For Stroke Awareness" is extremely personal. And part of his family's three-generation commitment to improving local health care. The Richard Winter Cancer Treatment Center is named after his grandfather.
He will never forget the July 4 night a few years ago when he got a phone call from his mother, Bonnie Wright, telling him that his dad, Dick Wright, had been stricken and was lying on the floor of their kitchen motionless.
"Dad was one of the lucky ones. He has made a complete recovery with just minor effects," says Wright who is a third generation member of the family-owned business Ogdensburg Pepsi Cola Bottlers.
"But fewer than one in five Americans can identify one stroke symptom and every 45 seconds in America, someone has a stroke. So we need to educate people and hopefully the money I raise can go toward the purchase of equipment in the Claxton-Hepburn Emergency Room to help in the diagnosis of strokes."
Wright has completed duathlons in the Norwood Lake Series, at Henderson Harbor and at Wilson, N.Y. and is currently training 8-12 hours per week for the Tupper Lake Tin Man which is half the dimensions of an Ironman Triathlon.
Wright and his wife Amy swam all winter at the OFA pool and he has been taking swim instructions from triathlon trainer Will Wheeler. Wright has geared up his biking strength by riding with the Wear On Earth Team in Potsdam.
"My first goal is to finish but I've put the time in and I want to do well. I would like to finish in under seven hours," said Wright who hopes to raise $7,020 or $100 per mile and all donations to his ride will go directly to the Claxton Hepburn Medical Center Foundation.
Wright's entry fee and expenses for the triathlon have already been paid.
Donations may be mailed directly to Scott Wright at P.O. Box 708, Ogdensburg, N.Y. 13669 or the CHMC Foundation, Attn: Scott's Ride For Stroke Awareness, 503 Mansion Ave., Ogdensburg, N.Y. 13669-2433.
Anyone making a donation should note on the donation that they would like a receipt for a tax deduction.
