Robyn Benincasa Hip Resurfacing
Link
http://www.thenewstribune.com/tacoma/24hour/consumer/outdoors/story/811676.html
competed in close to 40 expedition-length events - gnarly, multiday, multisport
killers such as Primal Quest and Eco-Challenge. She has biked through jungles in
Borneo, climbed Himalayan giants in Nepal, trekked across lava fields in Fiji,
rafted rapids in Chile - and racked up multiple world championship titles along
the way. In her spare time, Robyn, 42, is a full-time firefighter in San Diego,
on the nation's first all-female crew. She previously competed in college-level
diving and gymnastics and raced six Ironman triathlons.
Robyn might know better than anyone how to push through sore muscles and achy
joints...
Adventure Racing World Championships in Scotland in 2007, Robyn
was hit with sudden pain in her hips so severe she almost couldn't finish the
race. She had entered the competition with her team as a favorite but wound up
barely able to make it across the finish line. She literally picked up each leg
and placed it in front of her, dragging herself up the last few mountains of the
course. Back home, doctors diagnosed Robyn with osteoarthritis and proclaimed
her days of professional racing over.
In her 15-year career as a professional adventure racer, Robyn
Benincasa has competed in close to 40 expedition-length events - gnarly,
multiday, multisport killers such as Primal Quest and Eco-Challenge. She has
biked through jungles in Borneo, climbed Himalayan giants in Nepal, trekked
across lava fields in Fiji, rafted rapids in Chile - and racked up multiple
world championship titles along the way. In her spare time, Robyn, 42, is a
full-time firefighter in San Diego, on the nation's first all-female crew. She
previously competed in college-level diving and gymnastics and raced six Ironman
triathlons.
Robyn might know better than anyone how to push through sore muscles and achy
joints...
But at the Adventure Racing World Championships in Scotland in 2007, Robyn was
hit with sudden pain in her hips so severe she almost couldn't finish the race.
She had entered the competition with her team as a favorite but wound up barely
able to make it across the finish line. She literally picked up each leg and
placed it in front of her, dragging herself up the last few mountains of the
course. Back home, doctors diagnosed Robyn with osteoarthritis and proclaimed
her days of professional racing over.
She was crushed. But her competitive spirit wasn't quiet for long. In fact,
Robyn's love of adventure racing is what kept her afloat through the difficult
time after her diagnosis. Competing again, "is the mental carrot I dangled in
front of myself to get well," she says.
Soon after, Robyn founded the Project Athena Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated
to helping women who've endured medical setbacks achieve their athletic dreams,
whether it means climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or running a local 10K. The goal? To
encourage survivors not just to survive - but to thrive in the wake of their
diagnoses...
...Robyn, however, is back in full competition mode. After successful
hip-resurfacing surgery in 2007, she has recovered and returned full force to
the sport she loves. This month she'll lead Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure at
Primal Quest Badlands, a 600-mile adventure race across the canyons, caves, and
hills of South Dakota. She's in it to win it, of course, but now she has a new
goal: raising awareness for the Project Athena Foundation - and showing other
survivors that medical setbacks don't mean the end of athletic goals. Sometimes,
in fact, they can lead to better things.
Track Robyn's progress August 14-23 at
www.ecoprimalquest.com
