This year, the Michigan Titanium welcomes back those energetic athletes decked out in orange that make up Team World Vision. 
One of those athletes is Timothy “Murphdog” Murphy. While he isn’t new to Team World Vision, Timothy is new to triathlon. He became a triathlete earlier this summer by completing the Olympic Distance at our partner race, the Grand Rapids Triathlon. However, he has participated in more than a dozen events with Team World Vision since 2015 throughout the Midwest. Timothy became involved with Team World Vision after seeing friends in other cities participate. “I was looking for a training group in 2015 to join for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, which was to be my first marathon. Through the power of social media, I connected with Team World Vision in July 2015, as their cause of helping vulnerable children resonates with me.”
This has been quite the summer for Timothy. He broke up some of his Half Distance Tri training with a trip to Kenya where he summited Mt. Kilimanjaro on July 13. He had just a short time back home to get ready for the Michigan Titanium and once done with that he has just 6 weeks to ramp up his running mileage to prepare him for the Chicago Marathon. He says, “Training for three significant events at the same time has been a challenge. MITI training though, helped me be successful with Kilimanjaro.”
Timothy became familiar with the Michigan Titanium after meeting our own Co-Race Director, Doug Tuttle, at a conference where he was speaking. Timothy attended our race last year after having a number of friends register. He came as a “spectathlete”, what Team World Vision describes those who come to actively participate in supporting their athletes. “I learned of a need for volunteers, so I became a wetsuit stripper, and had fun doing it.” After spectating at both the MITI and Ironman Madison, Timothy found there was something about the discipline and diversity of training for a triathlon that was very appealing to him.
Timothy doesn’t look at completing his first Half Distance Tri like most athletes. Of course, he wants to do well in the event, but he says, “I do events, not for the PR (personal record), but for the impact, I can make through the event fundraising for vulnerable kids. I’m doing the tri to raise awareness and money for clean water projects in sub-Saharan Africa. My current goal is $10, 000 for the event, which will provide clean water to 200 individuals.” That is essentially the goal of all World Vision athletes. They wear bright orange to draw attention to their cause. Through their racing, they raise money with the purpose of bringing clean water to those parts of the world where it’s not readily available. By racing the Michigan Titanium last year Team World Vision athletes were able to surpass their fundraising goal for 2017.
The athletes of Team World Vision are pretty inspirational, but Timothy says what inspires him is “People who have little but are rich in relationships and are content. Also, people that sacrifice themselves for the good of others.” If you’re interested in more information on how you can race for a cause and become involved with Team World Vision, go to their website: https://www.teamworldvision.org/
