This weekend at the Beach2Battleship Triathlon in Wilmington, NC, the Tin Men Relay team comprised of Brian Barndt, Kyle Garlett and Mark Black will conquer the Iron Distance triathlon event. This is NOT an ordinary relay team; it's a very unique partnership of 3 men that will try to become the first all-heart transplant relay team to complete an Iron Distance triathlon race. The trio will meet face-to-face for the first time in Wilmington.
It was a successful day for the Tin Men relay trio in Wilmington, NC. Kyle Garlett, Brian Barndt and Mark Black become the first all-heart transplant relay team to complete an Iron Distance triathlon race. They conquered the Beach2Battleship challenge in a time of 14:34.
The relay team name is loosely based on the Tin Man character from the Wizard of Oz who just wanted a heart. These guys have received their hearts and now want to use them, their motto: 3 Hearts, 2 Lungs, 1 Goal
The Tin Men Trio:
• Brian Barndt will start the team off in the water with a 2.4 mile swim. Brian received his heart transplant back in 2005.
• Kyle Garlett, who last month raced in the Ironman World Championship race in Kona, will do the second leg, a 112 mile bike. Kyle received his heart transplant back in 2006.
• Mark Black will complete the challenge by running the marathon, at 26.2 miles. Mark had a heart and double-lung transplant back in 2002.
The idea was conceived by Barndt of North Carolina who began looking for other heart transplant recipients to join him on a triathlon team. He found Kyle Garrett, of California, and Mark Black, of Canada, who both had heart transplants just like him. Brian swam at the U.S. Transplant Games a year after his heart transplant and then in 2009 competed in the World Transplant Games. www.heart2swim.com
For Garlett, it's an opportunity to continue his quest to one day complete and iron distance triathlon on his own. As the saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed, Try, Try Again..." Garlett this year conquered the swim portion of the Ironman World Championship made it out onto the Kona bike course but was pulled of the course by the medical staff because of dizziness and low blood pressure. "It was hot and I spent a lot of energy on the swim. It was really choppy out there but I was still able to swim 20 minutes faster. It somewhat blunts the overall disappointment of the day. But don't worry, my spirit and my dream remain strong." Kyle on Facebook
Black is a 3-Time Marathoner, Best-Selling Author and Award-Winning Speaker from Canada. www.markblackspeaks.com
We wish the Tin Men trio the best this weekend on their quest to finish and show others what heart transplant recipients can do and inspiring others to attain "unreachable" goals.
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• Kyle Garlett, Bound and Determined to Conquer Kona
