 | | Cole Braun will ride 112 miles after swimming 2.4 miles as part of the Madison Ironman Triathlon. Braun is competing in the triathlon, in part, to raise money for Lake Country Lutheran High School. |
Ironman Journey Is Its
Own Reward
Coach competes to raise money for school
TOWN OF ASHIPPUN - The passion in his eyes and the passion for his goal are almost as tangible as the bracelet he wears.
The words "commit, train, and pray" are still visible on the bracelet that has faded from red to pink from the sun, wind, rain, and snow that he has trained in for nearly a year.
At 46, town of Ashippun resident Cole Braun is training to compete in the Ironman Triathlon in Madison on Sept. 9. He will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run a marathon of 26.2 miles, all in the amount of time most people will have risen, gone to work, and gone back home to bed.
"The cutoff is 17 hours. It starts at 7 a.m., and you have to finish by midnight," said Braun, who hopes to finish in less than 13 hours.
Braun works as a cross country assistant and junior varsity basketball coach at Lake Country Lutheran High School in Oconomowoc, which has motivated his intense Ironman training. He initiated a challenge to raise $140,600 for the athletic department at LCLHS' new school building planned for Hartland through the school's association, equal to $1,000 for every mile of his Ironman triathlon. Though not certain of the actual figures, Braun says the funds he has raised are probably near the $90,000 to $100,000 mark.
"As I started to train and do five hour bike rides in the snowflakes and run three hours in the pouring rain and dark and get up at 5 a.m. and do all the crazy things you have to do, to do this, I realized that the journey to get there, my reward, is the learning about myself and my body and what it can endure," he said.
"I have been very sore and tired at times. but I never once thought 'I can't do this.'"
His drive and passion have led Braun to unique paths in his life, including fund-raising for special groups and involvement with the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer. While training for a summer event this spring, he received an e-mail from a group called the Challenged Athletes Foundation that was putting together a program called Project Rebound. The program specifically targets raising money for wounded soldiers from Iraq.
Braun decided to get on board and help raise money for them.
"The sports heroes are fine, but the real heroes are these guys and girls defending our country," he said.
With a background in sales and marketing, Braun hoped to raise $10,000. He was able to achieve that and more. Currently, he has raised more than $43,000 for the group through online work and contacts he has made over the years. As his involvement with these two programs comes to an end on the day of his Ironman, Braun will begin another journey.
Through his years of association with the MACC fund, Braun has developed a strong friendship with Jon McGlocklin, co-founder of the organization. After talking with McGlocklin and mutual friends, Cole come up with an idea called Racers Against Childhood Cancer.
The MACC Fund will receive donations from the group and the two will remain separate entities. McGlocklin is thrilled at the prospect and considers the idea a great complement to the MACC Fund.
"Cole is a very impassioned guy who gives his all to whatever he does," McGlocklin said. |
