Sports
Athletes and Friends Join Together For Local Teen
At the inaugural Dunedin Duathalon, athletes of all ages and friends of a Countryside High School freshman join together.
Shortly before sunrise Sunday, March 27, almost 100 duathletes gathered in Weaver Park to take part in the first Dunedin Duathlon. Organizers created the running and bicylcing event to help 15-year-old Countryside High School cheerleader Sydne Mushaben, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma just before Christmas.
“The race is being used as a celebration for Sydne,” event organizer Suzanne Henslee said in between handing out race forms and counting medals. The high school freshman finished undergoing three two-day-long chemotherapy treatments at All Children’s Hospital two weeks ago; money collected from raffle tickets and food sold at the event will go to help defray those expenses.
Competitors in the event, sponsored by the Dunedin Waterside Rotary, Juice Plus and Healthy Fundraiser, Whistle Stop Grill, Base Camp Children’s Cancer Foundation, and Bayshore Breeze Market and Grill, ranged in age from 5 to 85, according to Henslee.
