In the lead-in to the 2013 PruHealth London Grand Final we’ve been asking all triathletes who qualified to share your journey. So far, we’ve had some inspiring responses, from the pure physical benefits of triathlon to its role in helping overcome loss. We’ve been deeply touched by these stories and wanted to share even further, so here is a wrap of some of the best ones from our blog. Remember it’s also not too late to have your story featured. Simply email us a 300 to 500 word recap of your journey and a picture to accompany it at roadtolondon@triathlon.org. Every week until the Grand Final, we’ll share your stories with the triathlon family.

Dawn Werneck - I left England for Brazil in 1971 as a 25-year-old who had never dreamed of competing in her life. A few months later my life changed forever. To my amazement, I won the first triathlon held in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) and became a triathlete. Over the next few years I became a very competitive triathlete, but decided to retire at 40 to coach my fourteen year old daughter, who became the youngest competitor at the first Triathlon World Championship in Avignon. In London we will be sharing a bike. Read all about the role triathlon has played in Dawn’s life here.

Karen Coomber - September 2013 is exactly two years ago that I have started this journey to move into this new unknown territory of triathlons, and I can today testify that it has helped me a lot to overcome my deepest pain. So many times in the lonely hours of training I have experienced my daughters presence and nearness with me, and I believe that she is aware of this difficult road that I have taken to find healing and peace. Read more of Karen’s incredible moving of how triathlon helped her in her darkest times story here.

Lucy Blood - What was I thinking?  Who starts competing in triathlons at age 60? Me? As a middle school teacher living with a bulging disc in my back, siatica, a shoulder that decided to grow extra bone, knee surgery to remove cartilage, obesity,  and painfully walking with osteoarthritis somehow I thought it would be a good idea to take a shot at a sprint triathlon. I finished in last place because I walked the entire 5K..but I finished!  In fact I completed three that year and was hooked. Read how Lucy dared to dream and qualified for London here.

David Davala - As told by his wife Marcy, David was coming off of one of the “Most Inspirational Comeback Awards” given out by USAT at the National Championships, he had a serious knee injury in 2011 (the doctor said he’d never run again—a long recovery process, but he qualified for Worlds and achieved his goal of All American in 2012).  Then, prior to Nationals this year, during the Mass Triathlon Age Group Championships, he had a serious crash. Read about David’s comeback from that crash here.

Remember, even if you aren’t competing in London, you can still join in our celebrations by entering and voting in our Road to London photo competition, where we are asking you to submit photos of you enjoying triathlon around the world. More details are available here.