Highland Lions Club, Leaps of Love join forces to host virtual biathlon event
Two Highland organizations are teaming up for a great cause this month.
The Highland Lions Club and Leaps of Love, also in Highland, are joining forces for the the 41st Earl Steiner Memorial Highland Biathlon, which is a viritual event this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This event has served as a fundraiser for the Highland Lions for several years. It was originally scheduled for May 23 at Lindendale Park, the typical biathlon location, but was shifted to a virtual outing due to COVID-19.
“We support a lot of projects within the Highland community,” said Ryan Goodwin, race chairman. “We wanted to have another local partner that was important within the community and people identified and, certainly, Leaps of Love does wonderful work. This year, we decided to give the proceeds to one charity, and Leaps of Love is who we decided to work with. Traci does wonderful work in Highland and in other local communities in Illinois and Missouri as well.”
Traci is Traci Riechmann, president and founder of Leaps of Love — also referred to as LOL — an organization that embraces families affected by childhood brain tumors and late-effects of childhood cancer. She is thrilled to be working with Goodwin and the Lions.
“As this would have been our first biathlon experience, we were ready to team up some of our childhood cancer survivors to come and sing the National Anthem and do a few songs that they have recorded about their experience with cancer,” Riechmann said. “Unfortunately, COVID-19 took us in a new direction of switching the biathlon to a virtual biathlon instead. We totally understand the health and safety of everyone and the new direction, but look forward to trying it again for 2021.
“Some of the survivors said that this will give them some more time to work on their songs and make it even bigger and better next year. We are very grateful that the Highland Lions Club chose Leaps of Love and know this will be a lasting relationship to spread awareness of childhood cancer.”
About the biathlon
The biathlon consists of a 5-mile run followed by a 20-mile bike ride. People can take part in the individual biathlon ($40), team biathlon ($60), just the 5-mile run ($30), or just the 20-mile bike ride ($30). There’s also a 2K fun run/walk ($15).
“This is the first year we’ve ever had to go virtual due to COVID-19. But we also look at this as an opportunity. We’re excited about it. We’re excited about the partnership with Leaps of Love ... they do wonderful things and we’re excited to be able to contribute to that,” said Goodwin, adding a significant amount of the funds raised will go to Leaps of Love.
As noted, due to coronavirus, the biathlon has a far different format. Goodwin said people can run on their treadmill or use a stationary bike or complete the events outside. They have to self report their time to Big River Race Management and then they’ll post the results at www.athlinks.com/event/20218.
“This year, we’re not doing medals, but we are doing T-shirts for every participant,” Goodwin said.
Registration info, opportunity for those with ties to Highland
Registration takes place all month, but participants must have the actual event completed by Sunday, May 31.
“There’s no limitation on people doing multiple events between now and the end of the month,” said Goodwin, who has been race chairman since 2012. “There’s not an actual date for the event. It’s an open event that just has to be completed by the end of May.”
To register, people can go to the biathlon’s website: http://www.highlandbiathlon.org/take-action.
Needless to say, Goodwin is excited about the event — new format and all — not only for the opportunity to work with Leaps of Love, but also for out-of-towners connected to Highland.
“What I’m excited about is since this is a virtual event, if any people who at one point lived in or were connected to Highland but live somewhere else now, they can still have an opportunity to do this,” he said. “People are looking for outlets to do something like this, so I’m hoping we’ll have some success related to that.
“This event is special because the Highland Lions Club is a wonderful organization, as is Leaps of Love. And it’s a chance to help the community. Those benefits and those reasons I love doing the event haven’t changed. It’s unfortunate we can’t be there in person in nice weather, but the money we’re able to raise and help in the community is still there.”
Glik’s in Highland is title sponsor of the biathlon and has been for several years.
About Leaps of Love
According to the Leaps of Love website, “With the growing number of children diagnosed every day, our goal is to help these families engage together and give them hope, strength and encouragement to endure the challenges everyone in the family faces. Family retreats, social events, outings, workshops and more can help give these families the opportunity to strengthen their lives with the support, wisdom and encouragement of others who have experienced similar scenarios to theirs.”
Moreover, Leaps of Love — which celebrated its 10th anniversary in February — assists childhood cancer families with areas of focus to include brain tumors and late-effects of their treatments. All services and programs are free of charge.
Located at 1005 Broadway in Highland, Leaps of Love is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment Saturday-Sunday. For more information or to donate to Leaps of Love, call Riechmann at 618-410-7212.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 11:40 AM.