Local Resident to Compete with Team USA in World Duathlon Championships

Christina Barcus has big plans for this weekend.

She plans to do some running, then some biking, and then more running—in Ottawa, Canada.

The Lake County resident will compete with Team USA in the World Duathlon Championships Aug. 10. She qualified for the team after competing in a national race.

"You start to think, OK, be careful what you ask for. It's just now starting to sink in, what this all means," said Barcus, a veterinarian who owns Canine Center on Route 45 in Lake Villa. "I've got my team uniform and it's all starting to sink in."

Barcus said she took up running in late 2007 while recovering from a torn ACL. She started biking the following year.

"While I started out running, I have come to realize I am a much stronger biker," said Barcus. "This year, I won the state time trial championship in my age group."

Barcus trains with The Fitness Pursuit in Grayslake, which is where she got the inspiration to attempt a triathlon.

"They all do triathlons, so I decided to do a couple of those," said Barcus. "The swimming became too much for me."

Barcus was diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis in early 2011 after recovering from a cervical fusion as a result of a car accident. This makes swimming tough. Then she found the duathlon world.

"I was pretty good at that," she said.

Competing while having auto-immune arthritis, Barcus explained, brings its challenges.

"It teaches you a lot, like how to know when it's safe to train. You have to listen to your body," said Barcus. "I always go out and try. You learn to realize if you can work through the pain. I don't train as often or do the high mileage that I used to at this state of the game. I've learned to back off and learn how important recovery is."

'Racing for a Cure'

She'll be using the World Duathlon Championships race to raise awareness for the Arthritis National Research Foundation. She finds the organization to be very supportive.

"It's sad that a lot of people who have these diseases are really negative toward people who try to go out and do things," said Barcus. "Everybody has their own journey and it affects people differently. To say that I can do it and somebody else can't doesn't mean that they're not trying hard enough. You just have to respect everybody."

For her, taking on the challenge of competing in the World Duathlon Championships race "teaches you that you're a lot stronger than you think you are and that you can do a lot more than you ever thought you could."

She admits that she's nervous about the race. Making to-do lists has helped her keep calm.

"I'd probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than winning this race," said Barcus. "I'm very realistic going into this race. I know I'll do fine, but I don't have any expectations of being on the podium. I'm going to go and race the best race I can."

She's also excited about the opening ceremony and the parade of nations.

If you'd like to support Barcus and her cause, the Arthritis National Research Foundation, you can donate money here. Barcus said 91 cents of every dollar raised by the Arthritis National Research Foundation goes to research.