Ironmanlife: One last send off for Jon
Kevin Mackinnon catches up on some e-mails and files a race report from Raynard Tissink
Email This Story Print This Story Published on Friday, Aug 31, 2007 at 07:21 PM.
I can’t be there this evening, but I sure can’t let this go without a request to you all that you remember Jon Blais with a thought and a prayer tonight. This column is going to go up at exactly the time that the Blazeman warriors will be doing a last “send off” for Jon in Rhode Island. Here’s a note I received from Mary Ann Blais (Jon’s mother) earlier today:Just asking if you would think of Jon on Friday, August 31st at 7:21PM EST and call out - FREEDOM!!!! That will coincide with our Braveheart sendoff as the Duffy men pull the William Wallace sword from the ground and we shall all be calling FREEDOM for Jon.
I know that we’ll be celebrating race number 179 at many Ironman events to come.
Speaking of inspiring people:
I’ve had a number of e-mails about Danniela Nichols this week, confirming what I gleaned in my interview with her last week. She’s a pretty amazing woman – it was great to see her finish in Kentucky last week. Here are a few of the notes that came in:
I read your article on ironman.com about Danniela Nichols. I just wanted to reconfirm everything that you experienced and everything that she said ... It is because of her that I competed in my first triathlon this past July. As she put it, a fire has been lit inside of me to do more. Before I met Danni, I was very content with just cruising along at my steady pace in life. She has given me the confidence and the support to push myself to the next level and to achieve goals that before I would have never thought were possible. Her positive outlook on life and constant energy have allowed me to stop concentrating on the negative aspects of life and look at the positive of what I can achieve. I owe more to Danni than she will ever know …
Libby Harty
Nice interview Kevin! The story that you miss the most about “who” Danni is…is the fact that she has that positive life lifting spirit about her all the time. She is awesome. There is a true meaning of the love for life with every whooper-n-holler-n “whooooooohooooooo” from her inspiring voice! I think IronMan for her is just a symbol of her belief that she can accomplish anything she puts her heart to ... and NOTHING is going to prove her different! FYI…Danni is my personal trainer!
John Benson
Email This Story Print This Story Published on Friday, Aug 31, 2007 at 07:21 PM.
I can’t be there this evening, but I sure can’t let this go without a request to you all that you remember Jon Blais with a thought and a prayer tonight. This column is going to go up at exactly the time that the Blazeman warriors will be doing a last “send off” for Jon in Rhode Island. Here’s a note I received from Mary Ann Blais (Jon’s mother) earlier today:Just asking if you would think of Jon on Friday, August 31st at 7:21PM EST and call out - FREEDOM!!!! That will coincide with our Braveheart sendoff as the Duffy men pull the William Wallace sword from the ground and we shall all be calling FREEDOM for Jon.
I know that we’ll be celebrating race number 179 at many Ironman events to come.
Speaking of inspiring people:
I’ve had a number of e-mails about Danniela Nichols this week, confirming what I gleaned in my interview with her last week. She’s a pretty amazing woman – it was great to see her finish in Kentucky last week. Here are a few of the notes that came in:
I read your article on ironman.com about Danniela Nichols. I just wanted to reconfirm everything that you experienced and everything that she said ... It is because of her that I competed in my first triathlon this past July. As she put it, a fire has been lit inside of me to do more. Before I met Danni, I was very content with just cruising along at my steady pace in life. She has given me the confidence and the support to push myself to the next level and to achieve goals that before I would have never thought were possible. Her positive outlook on life and constant energy have allowed me to stop concentrating on the negative aspects of life and look at the positive of what I can achieve. I owe more to Danni than she will ever know …
Libby Harty
Nice interview Kevin! The story that you miss the most about “who” Danni is…is the fact that she has that positive life lifting spirit about her all the time. She is awesome. There is a true meaning of the love for life with every whooper-n-holler-n “whooooooohooooooo” from her inspiring voice! I think IronMan for her is just a symbol of her belief that she can accomplish anything she puts her heart to ... and NOTHING is going to prove her different! FYI…Danni is my personal trainer!
John Benson
Excellent article on Danniela Nichols!! Danniela is my trainer and she is an inspiration to everybody. You can’t help but be in a good mood when Danniela meets you at the Y at 5 AM with a cheerful “Good morning sunshine.” Her story is very inspirational and I’m happy to see others learn about a positive person. Thanks again for sharing the story. I will be sharing it with others!!
Karla Eppler
Thank you so very much that is so sweet!
