Kim Hantz has yet to find a doctor that can put a name to the gastrointestinal problems she has lived with the past two and a half years.
Throughout this time, the 39-year-old Seattle resident has endured numerous invasive surgeries. Each week, she visits a clinic to have blood drawn and her portacath re-accessed. She also hooks herself up to an IV for 12 hours every day so her body can receive sufficient nutrients.
Despite these medical procedures, she signed up for a triathlon in August of last year, but her doctor ordered her to back down from the race.
She decided to try again this year, only to have to withdraw a second time.
Her health problems may have hindered her in the past, but Hantz is determined to cross the finish line of the Project Athena Race Series on Oct. 1 at Marymoor Park.
Through Project Athena, Hantz plans to join other women who have experienced medical and traumatic setbacks as well as their supporters in a 10-kilometer footrace. The event will also offer a 5-kilometer hike that doubles as a team scavenger hunt. And as parents take on these two competitions, children can maneuver their way through a kilometer-long inflatable obstacle course.
This will be Project Athena’s last stop in the 2011 Race Series, with other races held in Boise, Idaho and Norfolk, Va.
“It’s designed to be non-competitive,” Project Athena spokesperson Erica Nitti said. “Get out with your girls and just have a really fun day.”
Hantz and several friends look forward to doing just that while sporting “Team Kim” T-shirts. She plans to walk and hopes her health permits her to run at least part of the race.
“I don’t want anything like my health, no matter what ends up happening or what the end state is, to define who I am,” she said. “I want hope to define who I am.”
Hantz works on process improvement for a health care organization in Seattle and volunteers hundreds of hours each year at her church and through the Northeast Seattle Little League.
“I have never seen anyone who has gone through so many medical setbacks and continues to give all of herself to the community,” said Mike Lambert, who is president and CEO of Athletic Supply in Redmond.
Lambert first met Hantz eight years ago when she walked into his store as a customer, and they have remained friends ever since. He and other Athletic Supply employees will cheer her on as she completes the 10-kilometer Project Athena race, but Lambert cannot participate himself due to a recent knee replacement surgery.
Lambert said he admires Hantz’s resilience. Hantz encourages others dealing with setbacks to stay strong in the face of adversity.
“If just one woman feels like they can get out in public and go shopping or get a job, they can.” Hantz said. “Don’t stay home. Have hope because it’s worth the suffering to get there.”
Hantz doesn’t see herself staying at home after the Project Athena race. She plans to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2012 to accomplish a goal she set over a decade ago while living in Africa. To help fund her training and journey, Project Athena has awarded her an Athenaship, a grant given to survivors of major setbacks who want to complete an adventure.
“These ladies are some of the most incredibly encouraging people I’ve ever met,” Hantz said of the employees of Project Athena. “They make me think that I can do it.”
But before she climbs a mountain, she will focus on crossing the finish line this October.
Project Athena is preparing for 1,000 people to race through Marymoor Park beginning at 8 a.m. on Oct. 1. Registration is open to anyone, including women and men, and at least 50 volunteers are needed. To register, volunteer, donate or find out more information, go to www.projectathena.org and check out the race’s Facebook page.
