Big Island Corner
by Crystal Banning, photo courtesy of Helgi Olafson
Hawaii Sport was lucky to sit down with Helgi Olafson, a Big Island athlete What is your training routine who has excelled in his first year of triathlon racing to spread awareness like? about a rare disease that has affected his life. My training routine varies depending on what race I am training for. I typically cycle Hawaii Sport Magazine: You are an athlete based on the Big Island between 200 and 300 miles, run but you race all over the world. What are some of your recent races? about 30 miles, and swim about Helgi Olafson: I recently finished Ironman Canada on August 25th. This 5 miles per week, with 2--4 race was the "A race" for my Canada tour, in which I also completed hours of resistance training in Ironman 70.3 Calgary, Morden Triathlon, a 70.3 in Morden, Manitoba and calisthenics. As an endurance athlete I train pretty much Apple Tri Olympic in Kelowna, British Columbia. You are racing to spread awareness about ankylosing spondylitis, a every day but because I have disease which many people are completely unaware of. Can you tell us AS, I need to focus on recovery and sometimes that means I a little about it? have to take a rest day. I use Ankylosing spondylitis, or AS, is an autoimmune arthritis that involves my rest days to catch up on the fusion of the joints usually associated with extreme pain and discomfort. many responsibilities of runIt can lead to complete immobility. Everything you do with your body ning my non-profit organizaaffects the outcome of this disease, and those who are diagnosed within tion, Helgi Olafson the first few years of progression (around 19 or 20 years of age) have a Foundation, which is commitbetter success rate. The most important factor is that AS patients under- ted to helping people with stand that they may need to change their life in order to live comfortably. arthritis by promoting exercise There is no magic pill, but it is proven that using exercise as medicine and as medicine. staying mobile leads to a better chance that the patient will experience less What has been your favorite race up to this point? pain and progression. Personally, I take a medication called Enbrel, which is an injectable, but there are many other methods of treatment. Though I love racing on my home turf in Hawaii I would have to say my With AS, you have to listen to your body and figure out what works best favorite race up until this point is Ironman Canada in Whistler. The for you. Taking a proactive approach and listening to your body is the course is absolutely breathtaking and the fans are wonderfully invigorating. I was able to finish in 11 hours and although I learned a lot during the only way one will be successful with this disease. race I still have a lot to learn. What were the first indications for you and that something was What are your future goals, both for races and for ankylosing wrong? spondylitis awareness? When I was 19, I remember trying to get out of bed and I couldn't. I couldn't roll over without having excruciating pain in my hips. It was so 2013 was all about doing the best that I could and creating a profile, webbad it made me cry. I knew there was something wrong. It was a site, and record of media outreach and community involvement to be able painstaking diagnosis process that took about 6 months (much shorter of to better raise awareness for ankylosing spondylitis and arthritis. I have a length of time than most people go through to get their diagnosis). After been a dedicated volunteer in the communities where I have raced and having a series of x-rays Dr. Steven Goodman of Arthritis Associates of hope to continue inspiring and helping people around the world, especialSouth Florida ran a series of tests on me and I tested positive for the HLA- ly the keiki and those with arthritis. B27 gene, which gave me a 90 percent chance of having AS. The next Despite having a debilitating autoimmune arthritis, I was able to rank 48th test was an MRI which confirmed the diagnosis because of the visible in the USA and 103rd in the world in age group 30 to 34 for 2013, accordfusion in my sacroiliac joints. From this point forward I knew my life ing to USAT, all in my rookie year of triathlon. I have also been able to would be different and that I would have to make changes in order to be get the attention of a lot of media to promote this cause which has given happy. me the opportunity to obtain the sponsorship and donations necessary for What gave you the idea to start doing triathlons? What did you hope this operation to succeed in helping people with arthritis. These things all prove that anything is possible. to get out of it? I started in a triathlon as a runner for relay team during Olympic distance race Lavaman Waikoloa. I did fairly well, so I decided that I would start training to do a full race on my own and I would do it for a cause. I would do it to show others with arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis that through exercise, they could lead healthier and happier lives.
Next year, I intend to continue making a difference in North America by furthering the outreach of our programs, including the creation of chapters for Helgi Olafson Foundation's recently created Racing for a Cure for Arthritis Training Team (RCATT), which will bring teammates to Hawaii to compete as individuals and relay teams for Lavaman triathlons, who we have partnered with.
Was it hard to get started? What challenges and triumphs did you My other goals are to qualify for Kona and achieve the race results necesexperience when you started training for and doing triathlons? sary to receive professional triathlete status for 2015. With the next Olympic distance triathlon about six months away, I decided to start training for a marathon. My training was tough but I was see- Is there anything else you would like readers to know about your ing results quickly and I was able to do very well in my first marathon experiences and your foundation? with the time of 3 hours and 54 minutes. It helps that my coach, Rick Please check out our website at helgiolafson.org. Follow me on twitter Rubio, has osteoarthritis which gives him the experience necessary to be and instagram: @helgiolafson and request me as a friend on Facebook. able to give advice to athletes with arthritis, like myself. He has a high Networking is a huge key to our success. If you believe in what we are impact hip replacement and he recently competed in Ironman World doing at HOF, please donate to this cause. All donations are tax-exempt. Championships along with many other long distance triathlons, running Please feel free to ask me any questions by visiting Helgiolafson.org/conand swimming events. Together we strive to help people with arthritis tact. and we make a great team. Let us know if you are interested in joining our RCATT program to race Tell us a little about how the disease affects your life at this point in at Lavaman. This is a great step toward owning your health, and/or racing time. Is there any one of the triathlon disciplines that is affected more in support of arthritis, which affects over 40 % of Americans, and comes than the others? in over 200 types. Mahalo. Although I have some fusion in my sacroiliac joints, I have found that, through triathlon, I am able to keep my ankylosing spondylitis at bay. Running is the most strenuous because it creates a lot of impact, putting Helgi Olafson Foundation pressure on the joints. Being that my sacroiliac joints are where my #CureArthritis fusion has occurred, the nerve pathways sometimes get misaligned and helgiolafson.org "Do More Than Sport" cause issues in my legs.