Nike Hosts Guinness World Record Holders
MIAMI BEACH, Fla.: Kerry Gruson, Caryn Lubetsky, and the Thumbs Up! Team brought down the house on a night to remember at the NIKE MIAMI. Eva Ritvo, MD, psychiatrist and author of Bekindr: The Transformative Power of Kindness, was the emcee and fielded questions from the enthusiastic audience.
Julio Mendez, Producer/Director/Writer showed his award-winning documentary, "May I Help You?" chronicling Caryn and Kerry's race across Florida. He talked about the challenges filming the team in multiple locations including the enormous time and space constraints. Never wanting to slow the Kerry and Caryn's progress, his skill as a filmmaker was tested as he prevailed to create the magical, deeply moving films.
The capacity crowd was excited to learn about the remarkable accomplishments of these two women. Admirers lined up to autograph Kerry's pants that she wears to every event. Kerry's motto is 'Together We Can' and she invites everyone to participate by signing as well as joining the movement however they can. Marcus Hairston, a soccer expert from NIKE, created a special drawing to memorialize the stellar event. NIKE MIAMI hosted the event and Capital One Café, Lincoln Road, provided additional refreshments.
Kerry Gruson is Co-Chair/Co-Founder and Caryn Lubetsky is Co-Chair/Vice President of ThumbsUp International, with a mission to expand attitudes about life's possibilities by connecting people across all abilities to conquer athletic challenges together (www.thumbsupintl.org). They Race2Educate and bring their story to schools and other venues to inspire youth.
Kerry Gruson, a retired journalist lives in Miami Beach. At 26 on a reporting trip to Vietnam, she stopped in Hawaii to interview a former Green Beret. He strangled her in a PTSD flashback, thinking she was a Viet Cong soldier. The lack of oxygen left her paralyzed, her head permanently tilted to the right side and her voice decreased to a whisper. She sees herself and the attacker as victims of the war and holds no animosity toward him. Kerry continued to work in the Miami Bureau of The New York Times, devoting herself to her new career as a daredevil. A daredevil who can't walk a step or swim a stroke unassisted, Kerry is one who refuses to be sidelined in life. Caryn recited a list of sports Kerry wants to try including, "Skydiving, paddle boarding, and swimming with sharks!"
Caryn is Kerry's primary competition partner. Also a wife, mother of 3 boys, a lawyer, law professor, Parents Association President at Miami Country Day School and endurance athlete, Caryn was accepted into the Badwater 135, considered the toughest footrace in the world. Dr. Ritvo said, "Caryn is a real-life version of Wonder Woman!"
Caryn and Kerry had an auspicious meeting in 2013, began competing in small 5K competitions, working their way up to triathlons. Their goal is to bring out the best in each other, those around them, and in all of humanity. According to Kerry, "We believe we are riding a tidal wave of another civil rights movement, a movement to respect the rights and abilities of all peoples, and that the disabled are front line warriors of this movement."
The incredible duo was awarded the Guinness World Record for the most triathlon races hauling another person competed in one month (female). Four triathlons were completed in Palm Coast, FL from November 11-18, 2018. Caryn shared details of this remarkable feat including her bout with hypothermia on the first day of the race when Florida temperatures dipped into the low thirties.
Marcus Hairston, NIKE Soccer Expert, with Kerry Gruson
What could possibly be next? On April 16, 2019, the Miami Commission for Women will be honoring Kerry with the "Women Worth Knowing Award." On November 3, 2019, they will compete in the NYC Marathon. With only 6 duo teams competing in the race, which included 50,773 athlete finishers in 2018, they hope to set another Guinness Book of World Records as the fasted duo team in a marathon.
"Moderating the event with these incredible women was one of the most rewarding moments I have spent as a Bekindr Ambassador," said Dr. Ritvo. "What they are doing defies the imagination. Kerry and Caryn serve as powerful reminders that 'Together We Can' and that we can move past perceived limitations and do the seemingly impossible!"
