Super Sara completes her own Ironman
Sara Carter had trained for the Eagle Man Half Ironman in Cambridge, Md., for more than a year. It never entered her mind that she wouldn’t be able to share the run portion of the event with her son, Mason, who is a wheelchair user.
Sara has pushed Mason’s all-terrain scooter in hundreds of events over the years, including last year's Dewey Beach Triathlon.
However, she found out that an Ironman policy would not allow her to push her son on just one leg of the event, plus he had to be at least 18 years of age – Mason is 13.
“Mason will never be able to walk, so this is something we can do together,” Sara said.
Mason was diagnosed at 4 months of age with the genetic disease NGLY1, one of the rarest disorders in the world, with only 100 known cases.
That challenge only made her more determined to complete an event, so she met with her husband Matt, and her parents, and they planned her own half Ironman triathlon for her to complete in the Lewes area.
On May 15, she walked into the cold Delaware Bay and swam 1.2 miles to Roosevelt Inlet. She then biked 56 miles through Cape Henlopen State Park and on back roads to Slaughter Beach, and finished up the event with a 13.1-mile run pushing Mason from her house on the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail to the park and back. She completed the event in just under six hours, 20 minutes.
Carter said she wasn’t sure the event would happen. Mason had broken his femur, but he was cleared to take part. “It all came together at 5:30 that morning,” she said.
She started the swim at 6 a.m. accompanied by Matt padding a kayak. “It’s a good thing he was there, because it was so foggy I couldn’t see anything,” she said.
Sara said she had a lot of support from her parents, Sherry and Dan Stephens, daughter Foster and friends including the Curry family, who set up an aid station along the trail. Matt and her father were never far away from her on their bicycles.
Accessibility advocates
Sara and Matt are advocates for better accessibility. Through their Mason’s Mobility Mission – formed in December 2019 – they have been able to raise funds to purchase assistance equipment such as beach mats, beach-access chairs and recently a bike trailer.
She said people with mobility issues face numerous challenges and barriers when they try to access outdoor areas such as trails and beaches.
She said all of the equipment is free to use through Matt’s outdoor business, Quest Adventures.
The bike trailer can be reserved at Lewes Cycle.
Sara said Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, helped secure funding to place a beach mat at Roosevelt Inlet. The couple also played a key role in getting the inlet parking lot repaired to include handicapped access parking.
Sara said the beach at Roosevelt Inlet was not really accessible to all. “Matt had to carry some people from their car over the dune to the beach,” she said.
“The equipment is for anyone with any mobility challenge, not just those with handicaps,” she said.
The couple has also worked with the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays to improve accessibility at its James Farm Preserve near Ocean View. She said the center is holding a fundraiser to purchase a beach-access chair.
Sara said family and friends were extremely generous donating accessibility equipment to the family when Mason was younger. Now, she wants to pay it forward by raising funds to purchase outdoor access equipment to be donated to cities and parks.
She said the equipment is very expensive and hard to transport. Sara said beach wheelchairs cost from $2,300 to $3,000, bike trailers from $1,000 to $2,000 and beach-access mats from $1,600 to $4,300.
“Accessibility is usually an afterthought,” Sara said. “Hopefully, we can spread the word and get that included from the start.”
Sara, who is director of design and technology at Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown, said she would like to see an accessible playground in Lewes.
Benefit upcoming June 16
A Thankful Thursday event will be held at Revelation Beer Garden from 5 to 8 p.m., Thursday, June 16, and proceeds will be donated to the Carters’ nonprofit organization. The beer garden is located at Hudson Fields north of Lewes off Route 1.
To donate or get more information, go to masonsmobilitymission.org or call 302-313-1154.
