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The finish line banner was already down, the bikes lined up in a neat row and even the sausage ladies were gone when Kendra Wilson (37) finally crossed the finish line. But she made it!
Kendra, captain of the "Mudslingers" team from Faith Evangelical Missionary Church, Kitchener, will be the first to admit that she found the 100 km ride grueling. She had not ridden a bike in over 20 years and she didn't do enough training to be prepared for such a long route.
Buffeted by 60-70 km winds, she completed her course in 6 ½ hours and was one of the last to cross the finish line riding a 20 year-old bike.
"I know what it means when athletes say they have to dig deep," she said. "For me, what got me there was Jesus."
Kendra knew she could quit at any time but she felt there was a lesson to be learned. She had donors counting on her and, she thought, this 100 km is only a small portion of the distance that refugees have to travel on the infamous Refugee Highway.
As a diabetic, Kendra had to pull over at every rest stop to check her blood sugar, take a shot of insulin or gulp Power Gel.
Kendra's team of ten, who ranged from 8 to about 60 years old, raised $5000. Fifty percent of that amount was used to build shelters for a community of people displaced by earthquakes in Las Brisas, El Salvador.
"I thought, there's no way I'm doing that again!" she said.
But this year Kendra has already committed to another 100 km ride.
"In less than 6 hours - that's my goal for 2008," she said.
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