Post by John Baldwin, Race for War Kids competitor

When I heard my cousin Jon's stories about Iraq's war kids, I wanted to do something to help give the kids an opportunity to escape the cycle of violence. Like a lot of people, I didn't know at first what I could do. So when Jon told me that War Kids Relief is raising money to build Iraqi Youth Centers to give Iraq's war kids educational and employment opportunities, I offered to help them raise money by competing in the Janus Charity Challenge at the Ford Ironman USA triathlon in Lake Placid, NY. For me, it's not just a triathlon, it's the Race for War Kids.

Known as one of the most grueling endurance tests in sports, the Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile open water swim, followed by a 112 mile bike through the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains and finishes with a gut punishing 26.2 mile run, finishing in the Olympic Oval in Lake Placid. It's incredibly tough on the mind and the body, but when I think of Iraq's war kids, I'm driven to succeed.

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