When you come across someone who is always helping others and actually cares,

they should be recognized! This Quarter, we wrote about Patti Spence!

For over 45 years, Patti Spence has been participating in marathons, triathlons, duathlons, and cycling adventures worldwide.  She has been a local race director and even spent 10 years as a USAT Level 1 coach for Florida’s first sponsored youth triathlon team, Team Trilogy, which she developed in the early 2000’s so her two young boys could enjoy racing with her as well.  She’s traveled to multiple continents to race, taken countless trips to discover the world on her bike, but still finds herself equally excited about introducing others to multisport, volunteering at the packet pickups to meet new participants, and even helping athletes acquire affordable gear through herself established charity.

In early March, while doing her weekly Wednesday 10-mile training run, Patti noticed a young woman running ahead of her.  After about a half mile, she passed the woman, and Patti continued along the shoreline, then briefly stopped at a water fountain.  After Patti resumed her run, she passed the woman again, at which time, the young woman said, “Oh come on!” because she obviously realized that Patti was at least twice her age.  Patti laughed and asked the woman how old she was, and then they agreed to run the last mile together.

It was no surprise that both Taylor and Patti had several friends in common. Taylor is studying for her MBA but also works part-time at St. Pete Running Company for Cody Angell.  Taylor revealed that she had just acquired her first bike and had signed up for her first triathlon, Escape from Ft. DeSoto, on April 11.  Patti then offered to help Taylor with acquiring some gear and offered to coach her for transition.  Patti made some calls and found a friend to lend Taylor a wetsuit (thank you, Mandy Zipf!) and even gave Taylor some swag, including a bike chain brush, Chamois Butter, a swim dry bag, and even pickle juice to proactively prevent potential cramping during the race.

For the past few weeks, these two newfound friends have enjoyed sharing time preparing for Taylor’s first big adventure in multisport.  Patti even went so far as to cancel her previously committed event for that weekend and opted to race Escape herself so that she could be there to help Taylor set up transition and give her some last-minute encouragement.  Patti said, “it was so random meeting Taylor, and as the weeks passed, I started to realize that I had to be a part of her first race; I just didn’t want to miss it!”

Last weekend, while Patti was volunteering at packet pickup for the CLASH Mississippi race, she encountered another first-timer, Cody.  Patti said, “When Cody asked me where he was going to change his clothes in between the three events, I politely excused myself from my volunteer post and told him to go get his bike and all his gear.  I felt compelled to at least provide him with a crash course to ensure he had a positive experience.  Transition can leave athletes rattled if there isn’t at least a basic understanding of how to move from one discipline to another as efficiently as possible, while being cognizant that your legs aren’t necessarily going to cooperate as expected the minute that you get off the bike.”  Throughout the entire race, every time Patti spotted Cody on the course, he had a huge smile from ear to ear and appeared to be really enjoying himself despite the unexpected, challenging weather conditions.  Patti came through the finish before Cody and immediately requested to remain in the finish shoot to prepare to place Cody’s medal on him, so she could share in his first finish.  Patti described her first-place podium win at CLASH as “my first Medicare card-carrying win” since she just turned 65 in March.

Just as of today, when Patti went to visit Taylor one last time before next week’s race, Taylor and Patti convinced Taylor’s fiancé, Anthony, to compete in the Escape from Ft. DeSoto duathlon next week so that Taylor and Anthony could have their first multi-sport experience together.  It was of no coincidence that Patti already had an extra race belt in her car, assuming that they would be able to convince Anthony to join them!

Look for 30-year-old Taylor Stamm, a Navy vet, out on the Escape from Ft. DeSoto course, competing in her first triathlon.  Make sure that you cheer for her and Anthony! 

Patti heads back out to Colorado in mid-May, where she lives half the year, training in the mountains at altitude and preparing for her upcoming trip to Worlds in Abu Dhabi in November.  She volunteers out West as well for all the local race directors, competes in countless events, and trains with many of the local Boulder athletes, including the Petunia Mafia and CU Boulder’s tri team.  “Gratitude is my superpower,” Spence says.  “It’s the single greatest focus of mine so that I never lose sight of wanting to help others enjoy what brings me so much personal growth, friendships, and health benefits.”