We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christy Bishop, Karin Rusick, Michelle Widowski a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Christy Bishop, Karin Rusick, Michelle Widowski thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?
One of my favorite things about MomsTRI is that give scholarships away each year to deserving individuals who want to participate in MomsTRI’s sprint triathlon but might find it hard to fit it in their budget. We have a generous scholarship sponsor in the community, Osborne Jewelers, that makes it possible to cover the costs for 6-9 women to participate in our event.
Here is an example of one of these nominations that were emailed to us:
My name is McKenna. I’m a 15 year old sophomore in high school. I’m the youngest of three kids. My brother is 17 and my sister is 19. We’ve all had the benefit of our mom’s love & support. She’s a very involved mom who has always put us first. She supports us in everything we do and is one of the most positive people I’ve ever known. Health and nutrition have always played a big role in our lives thanks to my mom. We’ve also been raised with an “I can” attitude that truly makes a difference in who I am. We’re an active, healthy family and I’m so grateful she’s instilled that in all of us for the rest of our lives.
Once upon a time in Naperville, Illinois there was an all women’s triathlon (2009). This would have been my mom’s first ever triathlon, a major checkmark off her bucket list. Training was going well and just when it was time to register and fully commit, both my parents lost their jobs to the recession. My mom was forced to immediately stop all spending including that race registration. She never got to participate.
Over time my mom continued to live an active life. However, she still has yet to mark a triathlon off her bucket list. She wanted to participate last year in the MomsTRI but the cost at that particular moment was an issue. I feel that the MomsTRI would be the perfect race for her to finally achieve her goal of participating in a triathlon. My siblings and I would be super excited if my mom were to be selected as one of the fortunate recipients of a registration spot. I would love for my mom to receive this as a pre-Mother’s Day gift, it would be a way of giving to her what she’s given to us. For all of us to come cheer her on and to see her finally achieve her goal of participating in a triathlon would be amazing.
We were able to give this woman a scholarship and she joined us for the race in 2019. It was so exciting and inspiring to watch her family cheer her on and accomplish this goal of hers.
Christy Bishop, Karin Rusick, Michelle Widowski, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
MomsTRI is a noncompetitive women’s triathlon designed for all women and is the first event of its kind in the Phoenix West Valley. Whether you’re a veteran or a novice triathlete, this race is for you! Our sprint triathlon is focused on inspiring beginners and non-athletes to join with other women in loving their bodies and feeling unstoppable!
We are proud to support New Life Center, our local emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence. A portion of every registration goes to supporting the refuge provided to women & children escaping violent situations.
MomsTRI starts at the Goodyear YMCA Olympic pool for the 400 meter swim. You’ll love the flat bike course, consisting of three 4-mile loops and a quick run (or walk) through Goodyear Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. If you’ve participated in MomsTRI before, you know our finisher’s party is the perfect place to celebrate your accomplishment!
Here are just a few things to look forward to:
*A free T-shirt (the kind you’ll really want to wear)
*Finisher’s jewelry (not a medal to throw in a drawer somewhere)
*Finish line refreshments just for our participants.
*Swag Bag.
*Finish Line photos, free to download from Facebook
If you’re new to MomsTRI, we can’t wait to meet you and share the fun with you!
This truly is an event for every woman!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
We believe that women who participate in MomsTRI experience something different than other triathlons. We really try to make everyone, whether you are a beginner or expert, feel great about themselves and what they’ve accomplished. We have an amazing finisher’s area where each participant who crosses the finish line receives their finisher’s jewelry. Instead of a medal, we like to give something they can wear everyday to remind them how amazing they are and how they crushed their goals! MomsTRI is a great race if you are just getting into triathlons. Some women feel intimidated racing with men and so our women’s only event helps those women ease into it with a little less fear. We also offer free clinics with the help of our sponsors that focus on the swim, bike, run and transitions so they really learn so much about doing a triathlon. We have had a participant do her first race with us and has now done an Ironman! Now that’s inspiring!
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
Christy, Michelle and I have been friends for many years before starting up MomsTRI. Christy and Michelle participated in a women’s triathlon in Utah and had such a great experience, they decided to bring a similar event to their hometown, Goodyear, AZ. Karin had participated in the race the first couple of years and then joined the others in a partnership as the race began to really grow. We each bring different talents and expertise to the table when planning MomsTRI and we work really well together. It’s been so great to be part of such a wonderful and inspiring event. We love when race day is finally here and we get to see these women who have worked so hard accomplish their goal and feel so empowered by it. It definitely makes all of the long hours of planning worth it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.momstri.com/
- Instagram: @momstri
- Facebook: @MomsTRIaz