Orange Park teen with disability completes memorable event at Ponte Vedra Beach

By MAGGIE FITZROY / maggie.fitzroy@jacksonville.com

Brienna McElyea was a little nervous but she tried not to let it show.

She’d never participated in a triathlon.

The 13-year-old from Orange Park, nicknamed “Bri,” knew she would have a lot of support from family and friends at the Lifestyle Realtors Beaches Fine Arts Series Sprint Triathlon Saturday at Mickler’s Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach.

So every time one of her supporters looked her way, she lifted her head and gave them a wide, brave, eye-sparkling smile.

Bri was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that permanently affects body movement and muscle coordination.

She can’t speak or use her limbs.

But she’s bright, and can lift her head to say “yes” and shake it to say “no.”

When her mom, Jill, asked her if she was excited about being part of the race that featured a quarter-mile ocean swim followed by a 10.5-mile bicycle ride and 3.1-mile run, her beaming smile said “yes.”

“We want to have fun,” said Bri’s orthopedic surgeon, Eric Loveless, who planned to pull her on a raft for the swim portion.

“And we want to have Bri smiling throughout the whole time.”

Brian and Jill McElyea decided to enter their daughter in the triathlon to prove that children with disabilities want to participate in the same activities as other people and that they can, if they have the right support and accommodations.

They recently created a foundation called Endless Horizons and a Web site called brisendlesshorizons.com to raise awareness that public parks and playgrounds can and should be modified to be more accessible for people with handicaps.

“They should smooth paths so there is not so much sand,” Jill McElyea said.

They can put in “wheelchair swings,” made with platforms to hold wheelchairs, “so they can do things that other kids do.”

Loveless, who competes in triathlons, came up with the idea of having Bri participate in the Beaches race after watching a father and son compete in a similar way in the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii.
He volunteered to pull her in a raft for the swim as Brian McElyea swam next to them.

Jill McElyea, a cycling enthusiast who has done the 160-mile Multiple Sclerosis 150 race, decided to do the bike portion with Bri in a “Duet,” a handicap-designed bicycle that has a detachable wheelchair on the front.

A family friend and competitive runner, Wanda Lastrapes, volunteered to do the run with Bri in a large “Advance Mobility” jogging stroller with Loveless running alongside.

Brian McElyea said his family likes to include Bri in all of their recreational activities and is grateful that they can afford the expensive equipment to do so.

He realizes many families can’t, and would like to see insurance companies help pay for equipment such as Bri’s bicycle, which cost $9,000.

“It’s considered an integral part of a child’s well-being to be with the family,” he said. “Instead of finding reasons we can’t do things together, we are finding reasons we can.”

The big, bright orange sun was just rising over the ocean at 7 a.m. Saturday as about 500 triathletes in the race headed to the beach to begin.

Brian McElyea carried 55-pound Bri over the sand, then placed her in their raft so he and Loveless could pull her south to where the race would begin.

She was still smiling when their group took off.

“They made it over the breakers,” Keith Lastrapes, Wanda’s husband, said as he watched them swim out in the final, novice group.

Bri’s team held their own, beating some other swimmers in their novice division.

As they caught a wave onto shore, Brian McElyea picked Bri up and raced over the walkway to the parking lot and her bike.

He gave her a drink of water, put her bike helmet on, then watched Jill and Bri take off.

“I think it’s great,” said Chris Crotty of Satellite Beach, who was there to cheer on her own daughter.

“Everybody should be able to do this, one way or another. There are no boundaries anymore.”

The race’s overall winner, Will Pearce, ran in at 50 minutes, 23 seconds as Bri’s supporters were still waiting for the special triathlete to return for the run portion.

Hordes of competitors began crossing the finish line, including the first female, Mallory Dunn of Daytona Beach, at 55:54.

“They have a radio on the bike; my sister can hear it too,” Tara McElyea said. “They’ll just turn it on and jam.”

About 8:30 a.m., Jill and Bri arrived.

“She needs water; she’s hot,” Jill McElyea said.

“One more leg, she’s ready,” said Wanda Lastrapes.

After Bri took a long drink, they switched her to the jogging stroller and took off again.

Shortly after 9 a.m., Wanda Lastrapes, Loveless and Bri crossed the finish line to cheers from onlookers.

Bri was beaming as her sister and parents ran up to greet them.

“You’re a triathlete now!” Brian McElyea said.
“You’re an official triathlete.”