Shirley Hartnett and her son Matt embrace after the Gillie Girl Triathlon in Camillus on Sunday
21 year old Matt Anderson had a dream.
The Bridgeport native who has Muscular Dystrophy told his mother, Shirley Hartnett that he wanted to swim, bike, run and dance. Three of those four things just so happen to be the three elements of a triathlong.
So Shirley decided to fulfill her son's dream through her own legs. Shirley, admittedly, wasn't an athlete and needed to do some hard work to be in triathlon shape.
That's exactly what she did by losing over 35 pounds and eventually being ready for the Gillie Girl Triathlon in Camillus on Sunday. No doubt, the pain, both physically and mentally was extremely difficult. But every time the going got tough Shirley says she would look at Matt for whom "every day is a struggle, and he never quits".
So Shirley took part, as you'll see in the video. She finished the half-mile swim, 14 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run (5K run). Obviously in pain after the race after grinding it out to complete the sprint triathlon all the pain subsided, at least temporarily as she saw her son Matt.
Matt told me he was "proud" of his mom after the race. He seemed very excited that Shirley is getting ready for another triathlon, and for both Matt and Shirley it's certainly satisfying knowing it's to make Matt's dreams come true.
