| 07/09/2005 | While Lance Armstrong spins his wheels furiously in hopes of claiming his seventh Tour de France victory, Boothwyn resident John Talbot is mounting his own bike with a much different race in mind.
Each morning, as Talbot struggles up the sloping streets of Delaware County, he tries to remember that the physical pain he and other cyclists endure is only temporary.
"I don’t think too many sports require as much physical ability and mental toughness," he said. "In my own little way, it does inspire me to do more."
Talbot is one of 20 cyclists participating in the inaugural Terri Ann RIDE for a cure, a race named in the memory of Terri Ann Costello Haigh.
Haigh, a former Cherry Hill, N.J., resident, succumbed to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) -- a form of brain cancer that accounts for 30 percent of all brain tumors -- shortly after her diagnosis.
Talbot said that while he did not personally know Haigh, he was touched by the tragic nature of her story and recognized the race as an opportunity to put his hobby to good use.
His friend, George Malpass, is also participating and first informed Talbot of the 1,000-mile trek.
"It’s not that all cancer stories aren’t sad, but her story was especially sad," Talbot said. "She only found out (that she had GBM) a couple of months before she passed away."
Talbot and the other participants, including Haigh’s husband, Paul, and son, Paul Jr., will start their journey in Jacksonville, Fla. on July 30 and finish in Cherry Hill on Aug. 4. The race is set up as a relay, with each group traveling 50 miles a day.
"Each rider is going to ride 50 miles a day for six days," he explained. "I just hope I’m ready for it."
Talbot noted the organization’s ultimate goal is to donate $100,000 toward GBM research at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’sdepartment of neurology. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14831775&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=6
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