Pursuit is a sports feature series highlighting athletes, coaches, and staff and significant sporting events from North Bay and the surrounding area.
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Motivated by her own journey of resilience and gratitude towards an organization that offered support during a challenging period in her life, Chelsea LeBlanc has dedicated herself to raising funds and awareness for Amelia Rising’s Counseling and Sexual Violence Prevention Education Programs.
For the past four years, LeBlanc has been swimming, cycling, and running her way towards shedding more light on the local organization and using her platform to effect positive change for survivors of sexual violence. In 2020 she initiated “I Tri for Amelia” a triathlon event aimed at both raising funds and increasing awareness.
“We raised almost $2,800 last year, which was the most we’ve ever had,” says LeBlanc. “It was a very successful year.”
Reflecting on the event, LeBlanc notes, “I felt great during the triathlon. It was surprisingly warm for early June. As soon as we started the swim, I realized I didn’t need a wetsuit because it was so warm. It’s one less thing to worry about when transitioning from swimming to bike riding.”
LeBlanc has trained for the triathlon alongside her partner Eric and friend Tyler every year and during last year's race, LeBlanc says their teamwork came through in a big way during the biking portion.
“The bike ride was interesting. I got a flat tire about 10 minutes into the ride. Luckily, my partner Eric had his bike, which had the same pedals as mine, so we switched bikes. He met us part way and finished the [ride] and ran with Tyler and me. Both Tyler and I posted personal best times as well.” LeBlanc believes the flat tire might have actually helped her in the long run. “It relaxed me because I thought, ‘You know what? Whatever, this is just for fun. It's not a race' and we just enjoyed it.”
This year’s event is on Father’s Day, June 16, and LeBlanc has set a goal to raise $3,500. “We set a goal of $2,000 last year and exceeded it, so I thought we should aim even higher this year. We hope people can give whatever they can, knowing they are supporting a local organization in Amelia Rising.”
LeBlanc emphasizes that raising awareness about Amelia Rising is as crucial as raising funds.
“Support centres are often overlooked if you don’t know about them. These centres are so significant, especially in smaller northern communities. If the centre wasn’t here, many people would be negatively impacted,” she explains. “When I tell people who the fundraiser is for, many aren’t aware of what Amelia Rising is or does. Helping Amelia Rising become more prominent and a focal point for the community is part of this [fundraiser]. We still have stigmas toward people seeking help, which shouldn’t be the case.”
LeBlanc says she personally relied on the support of Amelia Rising and knows first-hand how instrumental their services can be. “I didn’t say anything when I was younger because I didn’t want people to think that was all I was—a victim of this horrible thing. I suppressed what happened to me as a child for 20 years. I wanted to push the agenda for people to reach out. There’s still victim blaming, which is unfortunate for most trauma and abuse survivors who didn’t get the help they needed. I wish I had gone sooner and had the courage to go sooner. By talking about it more, I hope people feel more comfortable seeking help and learn more about Amelia Rising.”
LeBlanc says she found her way to Amelia Rising through a local paper article.
“I was in a bad relationship and realized I was being re-traumatized, so I was lucky to come across that article. I want to help people recognize triggers and know when they need additional help. Amelia Rising’s programs are great. They offer one-on-one counselling, emergency sessions, a 24-hour helpline, and group sessions where you don’t feel alone. My biggest fear now is that someone in North Bay or the surrounding area is going through something similar and hopefully sees this and feels encouraged to reach out.”
LeBlanc has also participated in other Amelia Rising events such as “Take Back the Night,” an annual march to raise awareness about making women and gender-diverse people feel safer walking at night, and the Poetry Slam at Gateway City Brewery. She stresses the importance of promoting Amelia Rising’s services. “Seeing a psychologist can be expensive, and the average person can’t afford it. These programs need enough funding and staff to reduce wait times.”
“A lot of people who work at places like Amelia Rising have thankless jobs. They go above and beyond, and this is one way of thanking them—by raising awareness and hopefully money.” she adds. “They helped me a lot and I was looking for ways to give back to them, so I reached out to brainstorm fundraising ideas.”
That was back in 2019, which also happened to be the first year LeBlanc tried running a triathlon and those two seemingly unrelated events would blend to become the “I Tri for Amelia.”
Despite running a triathlon every year since 2019, LeBlanc says training for one doesn’t get easier.
“As you get closer to the event date, you start trying to do all three disciplines in one day,” she says. “But that’s not possible every day. I have to figure out when the YMCA has open lane swims and adjust plans based on the weather. My coach, Alex Maycock, plans my training, which includes biking, swimming, running, and strength training to prevent injuries.”
LeBlanc appreciates the variety that training for a triathlon offers. “I get to focus on three different things. If you’re just doing the same activity consistently, like running, you can get into your head, lose enjoyment, and then lose focus, which is when you get hurt. By adding swimming and biking, which are low-impact sports, you use different muscles and change your mindset, giving you something different to look forward to.”
LeBlanc says one of her goals is to grow the fundraiser and have more participants every year. This time, she has a new participant for the swim alongside her and Tyler. “She’s a friend who I’m hoping to convince to do the whole triathlon next year. It’s always good to have camaraderie during these events. I’m hoping to turn this into something bigger than it is now. There are a few new runs in North Bay, and I’m always looking at ways to form partnerships and collaborations. It’s just about talking to the right people.”
The course is the same as last year, beginning and ending at Centennial Crescent in Corbeil. LeBlanc says people are welcome to come out and watch them as they usually have a group of family and friends who cheer them on as they test the limits of their endurance with the triathlon distances covering a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometre bike ride, and a 10-kilometre run.
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