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VOL. 3/ISSUE 41
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
Vietnam veteran organizes second triathlon to help Down syndrome awareness Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE
pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com
Vietnam veteran Jerry Kyckelhahn is organizing the second Chasing Caterpillars Triathlon to benefit the Treasure Coast Down syndrome Awareness Group. He said it’s a great place for tri-newbies to get experience at a USA Triathlon sanctioned event. “The Chasing Caterpillars Triathlon is a swimming-pool based triathlon,” he said. “It’s the only swimming-pool based one for adults in the area.” Triathlons do ocean swims, which are harder because of currents. Plus, some folks just don’t like jumping into the ocean. There’s another huge plus to using the swimming pool at Sailfish Splash, 931 S.E. Ruhnke St., Stuart, for the triathlon, people will get to cheer triathletes. “There’s bleachers for the spectators to see the pool and see them run to get on their bikes,” Kyckelhahn said. After a 250-meter swim, the triathletes will bike 10 miles and run 5 kilometers, a tad more than 3 miles. It’s called a sprint triathlon. Kyckelhahn said the bike ride and run will pass the water park several times, giving spectators several chances to rattle the cattle bells. The first Chasing Caterpillars Triathlon was in 2014. It’s named after Kyckelhahn’s book, “Chasing Caterpillars: A Late Life Metamorphosis to Triathlete (And How You Can Do It).” Kyckelhahn graduated from The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, along with the Army Ranger School, and got his Jump Wings. Of course, the Beatles were still together at the time. The Army veteran let himself go about the time Led Zeppelin was getting big. “My first triathlon was when I was 61 years old,” he said. Kyckelhahn smoked about 50 cigarettes a day
Photo by Maria Isabel Port St. Lucie Marine Corps and triathlon veteran Chris Bertorelli holds his niece after the first Chasing Caterpillars Triathlon, Feb. 2014. The organizer, Vietnam veteran Jerry Kyckelhahn, of Palm City, has written a book to help older folks go from couch potato to triathletes. The next Chasing Caterpillars will be on Feb. 21, 2016, in Stuart. most of his adult life. gave trail biking a try. After going over the “I didn’t start really working out until I handlebars, he decided that was the sport quit smoking at age 47, and slowly got into for him. True story. But, a fella at the bike fitness,” he said. shop told him that in Florida trail bikers At first, Kyckelhahn made his way to gyms. That just didn’t do it for him. He See TRIATHLON page 4
Summit tackles job issues for returning Florida veterans Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER
mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com
Jobs, jobs and more jobs — that was the
sole mission Aug. 6 for state movers and shakers at the Military, Defense and Veterans’ Opportunities Summit held at the Hy-
See SUMMIT page 2