LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The annual Susan Bradley-Cox Tri For Sight triathlon is Sunday, Sept. 10.
It raises money for the University of Kentucky Eye Research Fund and this year a woman who’s partially blind is participating in the races.
With just days left until her second triathlon, Sandi McCoy and her guide Alexis Rich spend all the time they can to sync up. The pair train at the Trager Family Jewish Community Center in Louisville.
“I actually didn’t even know how to swim. I decided to take lessons and I would say swimming was the hardest part, but riding in tandem was even harder,” McCoy said.
But all the training is helping McCoy right now turn her life around.
In 2009, her body reacted negatively after taking an antibiotic.
“My spinal fluid went over my head and created a false tumor that put pressure on my optic nerve that made me blind. I have 3% in this eye and 13% in this eye,” McCoy said.
That damage to her eyes spiraled, and she turned to food as comfort.
“I end up gaining a lot of weight. My highest weight was 420 pounds,” McCoy said.
Fast forward to 2016. That year after surgery and changing her diet, she lost 250 pounds.
“When I saw my weight loss journey, I started to focus on habits. I really wanted to build a lifestyle which I can live forever. So I started walking each day for five minutes a day, and each week I would add another five minutes. I started tracking my calories and I quit drinking soda,” McCoy said.
She began training for triathlons in January.
“I was really shocked to find out that I’m the first blind person to do the Tri For Sight in Lexington, Kentucky. And it feels like such an honor and I’m super excited for Sunday,” McCoy said.
Her first in May and now her second in Lexington, with help from her guide Alexis.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve never been a guide before in my life, and it’s been a blast. Actually, I have a triathlon in October that I’m doing and it is it inspires me to do mine, like the training that Sandi and I do together really helps me with my training too,” Rich said.
The Tri For Sight consists of a 5K run, 400 meters of swimming, and a 12-bike race.
Sandi hopes to one day participate in the para-Olympics.