STAR's Sunday fundraiser has new twist

May 05--Runners and walkers of all ages will converge on Sherwood Island State Park in Westport on Sunday to participate in the STAR 5K Run, Walk & Stroll.

Proceeds go towards STAR to support its work with people who have developmental or intellectual disabilities -- the fundraiser has been going on for 13 years. But this year, there will be a slight change in the lineup of athletes. Among them will be a handful of STAR clients ready to participate in specially made racing wheelchairs.

It's the first race for a group that began training together early this year. Curtis Lueker of Westport recently started a Connecticut chapter for myTEAM TRIUMPH, an organization that uses racing chairs to overcome disabilities that would normally make racing difficult. People with disabilities captain teams of athletes, who push the chairs through the course. After months of practices, the team is ready to tackle its first 5K.

"We're having a lot of fun," Lueker said. "And we're just starting. We're just starting to take off."

Right now, the chapter covers Fairfield County, but its goal is to cover all of Connecticut and perhaps New York with time.

While Leuker is self deprecating ("I struggled," he said of his first endurance races), he is no stranger to duathalons, triathalons and even ultramarathons.

One day, while in California, he went to watch a triathalon, and saw a man swimming in an ocean pulling a boat behind him.

"I thought, what are they doing, is this a rescue?" Leuker recalled. Inside the boat, there was a boy. And upon reaching the shore, the man got out of the water, put the boy in a chair attached to a bike, and set off for the next leg of the race.

They were Team Hoyt, a father-and-son duo who have participated in over 1100 athletic events since the day in 1977 when Rick Hoyt, a disabled child, told his father he wanted to participate in a five-mile benefit run for a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident.

"They became my heroes," Lueker said.

He researched organizations he could join in Connecticut to bring the same experience to others and wound up founding a Connecticut chapter for myTEAM TRIUMPH.

STAR is their first partner, although they're seeking out others.

"We just realized out missions match up extremely well," Lueker said of the nonprofit.

myTEAM TRIUMPH also open to new volunteers. In addition to athletes, volunteers who don't run can help set up for events.

And while the teams are readying for their first race, Lueker stressed that's only part of what it's all about. Practices happen every other week, giving people with disabilities time with their teammates outdoors.

"Let them have some breeze through their hair. Let them have some fun," he said. "My goal is to help them feel included."

It's not too late to walk, run, donate or volunteer at STAR's event. Go to http://www.starct.org/

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz

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