(Members of Team Run 2 Empower share a post-ski beer!)
By: Cody Cutler
My name is Cody Cutler, I'm 35 years old and I'm from Central MA. My wife Audrey and I just celebrated our 10th anniversary this past September. We have two daughters; Adelaide (9) and Lillian (11).
My running journey started in March 2017 after my wife bought me some running shoes for Christmas. Growing up, I was never a runner so I was skeptical at first but got hooked quickly. Within 6 months I ran a marathon for the first time. Last spring, a friend of mine suggested I try trail running so I signed up for the Cape Cod Trail Race 50k. To my surprise I came in 2nd overall and again, was immediately hooked. I decided to keep pushing past my comfort zone and signed up for The North Face 50mile at Wachusett Mtn in June. Pleasantly surprised again, I came in 4th overall.
Still trying to push further outside of my comfort zone, I decided to sign up for the VT100(k). I didn't get in via the lottery and after getting the TR2E info from Amy, decided I would go for it. Not having any real connection to adaptive athletics or the Vermont Adaptive organization I thought it was great to get the opportunity to experience it firsthand. Personally, I feel it's easier to fundraise when you can talk about the organization firsthand.
Sidenote: I lost a finger in a power tool accident 4 years ago. While it doesn't handicap or disable me in any physical manner, it can be debilitating psychologically. Shaking hands, wearing gloves, carrying things, even sitting with the team yesterday and holding my beer glass are all things that make me very self conscious. As a carpenter I am constantly using my hands and power tools which have taught me to come to terms with the injury. Enough about me, more about my experience yesterday.
From our home in Central MA I knew it would take a little over 2 hours and 30 minutes so I tried my best to round up the troops earlier than necessary. Nonetheless, we were out of the house and on the road later than expected. We rolled into the Vermont Adaptive building at about 9:33. Not too bad. I was immediately greeted by Amy. "Cody?" "Amy?" It was so nice to finally put a face to the name from all of the VT100 emails. I introduced her to my daughter, Adelaide, and my wife, Audrey.
(Cody's daughter, Adelaide and wife, Audrey enjoying the ride up)
She then introduced us to Tom Alcorn from Vermont Adaptive, followed by the members of the team that were able to make it yesterday. It was great meeting all of you! Tom introduced us to Megan and Maggie who we would be shadowing. He thought it would be a good fit because they were guiding Shianti who, like myself, is also a snowboarder. Megan handed me an orange "GUIDE" bib and I instantly became slightly nervous. Tom had said "You'll love Shianti, she's a riot." He wasn't kidding. She has an awesome sense of humor. It was time to head up the hill. For the first run, I rode the lift with my family so I didn't get the chance
to talk with Shianti. When we got off the chair we discussed the plan. Megan and Maggie would lead, followed by Shianti, and I would bring up the rear. My job was to yell out to Shianti whenever there was someone coming up on her bad side, which is her heel side. Seemed easy enough.
The first run went well other than the fact that she completely amazed me at how fast she is! I ended up waiting at the bottom for my family and decided we should separate so I could stay with the group. I got to ride the lift with them and Shianti was able to explain a little better about what it is that she needed from us. She is visually impaired and not completely blind and she explained that her needs focused more on not being able to differentiate terrain variations, difficulty with knowing if someone in front of her is moving or stopped, people coming up from behind her on her heel side, things of that nature.
(Shianti, Cody, Megan and Maggie taking a pause to smile for the camera at Pico)
After the second run Shianti suggested that since I snowboard as well, maybe it would be easier for her if I lead. Albeit nerve wracking, this made sense to me. Megan and Maggie both ski and so they might approach certain terrain different than Shianti would on a snowboard. Everything was going well until we were close to the bottom of the trail. I yelled to her and pointed out a slower skier coming up on her bad side. She motioned that she could see him. Just than, the skier turned and rode right in front of her. They collided. Nobody was injured and the grumpy skier was a little more understanding when he saw her "Visually Impaired" bib. I felt like I did something wrong but Shianti immediately said there wasn't anything else that could have been done. "You pointed him out, I saw him, but he just turned in front of me." My heart pounding subsided slightly. We finished the run and went in for lunch.
After eating lunch with my family I got to sit and talk with Shianti and learn a little more about her. Megan and Maggie both said that Shianti told them the hand signals I was using were helping. Without knowing it, I instinctively starting doing things with my hands and arms to alert her to what was up ahead. Pumping my arms down to tell her to slow down, rolling my hands and arms to tell her about bumps or rolls, and even just pointing people out. It was comforting to know that my ridiculous flapping was helping her. We went for a couple more runs before I had to cut out and join the team for a beer. Shianti hugged me and thanked me for assisting her for the day. We exchanged information to stay in touch.
After starting out the day feeling like a fish out of water it was extremely gratifying to hear that "Thank you" from her. Met up with the family and we went upstairs to join the rest of the team. Amy handed me a Team Run 2 Empower beanie which my daughter promptly swiped from me and started wearing. After chatting for a bit over a beer, it was time to make the trek home. I'd like to say thanks to Vermont Adaptive for the invitation and hospitality. It's a pleasure to be raising money for such a fantastic organization. It was a pleasure meeting the teammates and I hope to see you again soon! Stay safe out there.
-Cody
By: Melissa Woods
What a day!
I was impressed with both the athletes and the guides. They were amazingly brave; the visually-impaired athletes bombed down the slopes on skis and snowboards as if they could see perfectly every bump and turn. If the guides weren't with them in their bright orange vests you wouldn't even know that they were blind.
(Melissa's husband helping to guide a Vermont Adaptive skier)
We heard the guides calling out when to turn right or left but they instinctively had it down each time with smiles and laughter and not a trace of fear. Wow! One girl that I met at the end inside the VASS office was just so happy to be out there and couldn’t wait to go right back out for more with her guides who were just so friendly and full of spirit.
Thank you for allowing us this chance to see the magic and energy firsthand.
-Melissa
Thanks to Cody and Melissa for sharing your thoughts on the weekend, so glad you both enjoyed yourselves and had fun. Thanks to all who were able to make the trek up to Vermont this past weekend! Looking forward to seeing more of you on March 28th at Amy's house for our first team training run of the year! Happy training!!
~Krista
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