Kathy Sasso
Kathy was lucky enough to be introduced to running (age 25) by joining an incredible running club in Milford, CT. The club had one 2:13 marathoner and several under 2:30, so excellent coaching was available! At that time (1983) females under 3 hrs (marathon) could qualified for olympic trials. She wanted to go, just to participate, but fell short with a 3:07, then met Dom and lived her life! Ran on and off until almost losing a leg in a horse-related accident at age 50. Her Bucket List, set back in the ‘eighties’, included doing an Ironman. In November 2020, she decided time was running out, so sent in entry for Florida 140.6/2021! Wow, what an education along the way! Did a sprint, an olympic, Florida 70.3/4th (qualifying for Worlds), Utah 70.3/14th, Augusta 70.3/3rd, then Florida 140.6 (although she dnf’d the swim). In 2022, finished Florida/5th and Chatt/6th in spring, then Augusta/2nd and Wilmington/1st in the fall, ending with Florida 140.6 /1st in November. 2023 will include Worlds in Finland, Augusta, Wilmington, and maybe Florida 140.6! Our TriAugusta club has offered me encouragement, training, education, and validation.
Nick Orr
Nick Orr has lived in the Augusta area on and off since 2014, stationed at Fort Gordon as a Cardiologist in the Army. After having surgery for a herniated disc in late 2019, he started biking in early 2020 as a means of rehab. His first triathlon was in March 2021, the Dare to Tri Sprint Triathlon on Fort Gordon. Prior to this, he couldn’t swim the length of the pool without stopping. At that point, he was hooked on multi-sport. Nick joined TriAugusta in September 2021 at the IM Augusta 70.3 expo, the day before his first half IM. He needed a swim buoy to do the practice river swim but didn’t know what a swim buoy was. Seeing that everyone was so helpful and friendly, he decided to join the group (they even threw in a discount on the swim buoy). Since then, Nick has completed 4 half IM races and will complete his first full IM in September 2023 at Chattanooga. He enjoys the daily challenge of triathlon training, the camaraderie of the training groups and being inspired by others surpassing their personal milestones.