KAILUA-KONA >> Larry Parker was in "the best shape of my life," preparing to compete in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship for the second time. Triathlon delay over
for 9/11 firefighter
By Ron Staton
Associated PressHe had taken vacation from the Fire Department of New York's Ladder Co. 129 in Queens, and was training for the October race.
And then, Sept. 11, 2001.
He spent the next two weeks helping in the rescue effort at the World Trade Center.
"I still could have come (to Hawaii)," he said, "I wanted to show the resolve of the Fire Department and compete.
"But with so many of our men unaccounted for and men coming in off vacation, it just didn't feel right. The Fire Department has been good to me, and there was a time of need.
"I didn't train hard for a long time. I wasn't motivated."
But the 39-year-old Parker found new motivation by running in memory of his fallen FDNY brothers.
"I have a poster in my bedroom with the names of the guys we lost. That motivates me," he said.
Parker is among nearly 1,600 triathletes registered for tomorrow's annual race, which includes a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon.
The names of the 343 lost firefighters are on the back of the red shirt he'll wear during the bicycle leg.
"It will be very emotional, but I usually race with emotion anyway," the Marine Corps veteran said.
"I'll be racing with an unfair advantage. I've got 343 sets of wings holding my feet up. My coach tells me, 'Don't give up on them.' That keeps me going."
Last November, Parker ran the New York Marathon, starting last with a New York City police officer as "chasers" sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase. Each had been pledged $5 for each runner they passed -- Parker raised $180,000 for the fund to benefit the widows and children of firefighters who died at the World Trade Center.
Parker will not be competing in the Ironman race to raise money.
"It's more of a spiritual thing this time -- just the spirit of the guys," he said. "I don't want years from now for people to forget what they did."
County of Hawaii
