Amputees, people of all ages and mother-son teams participate in the 37th Annual SLO Triathlon

Today nearly a thousand triathletes participated in the 37th annual San Luis Obispo Triathlon – including amputees, people of all ages and a mother-son team who do this every year together.

“Any chance I can do something like that, I’m going to do it,” triathlete Trish Dyer said.

Trish Dyer traveled over seven hours – all the way from Fort Bragg – to join her son at the 37th Annual San Luis Obispo Triathlon, also known as the “SLO Tri.”

“It sucks because your mom beats you and kicks your butt and she’s more in shape than me,” triathlete Evan Dyer joked. “But we have a lot of fun, I’m from San Luis and she comes down and sees me so it’s a good way to get together for sure.”

The triathlon started in the SLO Swim Center pool with a half-mile swim, from here these triathletes moved on to a 15 mile bike ride.

Then the bikers discarded their bikes as fast as they could to knock out the 3.1 mile run. Over 900 triathletes finished the race. There were also almost 200 volunteers helping out.

“We don’t promote winning, we promote just completion,” Rich Ogden with SLO Parks and Rec said.

“They told my parents that there was only a slight possibility of survival and that was to amputate my right leg below my knee, my hands, my fingers,” triathlete Zimri Solis said.

Zimri Solis had Meningitis as a child but that hasn’t gotten him down. He’s a triathlete from Riverside.

“We have goals to meet and one of them is to make the Paralympics, represent USA hopefully,” Solis said.

“Age takes its toll, I’ve got some aches and pains,” traithlete John Stanley said.

John Stanley is 71 years young.

“I’m going to keep doing this every year until I can’t do it anymore,” Stanley said.

“Yea she had an 11 minute swim or something, like a fish man, I was sluggin’,” Evan Dyer said.