Ironwomen
Alumnae Ultra-Athletes Strengthen Others
There’s only one athletic event in modern history that is considered the most challenging one-day race. Known as the Ironman Triathlon, ultra-athletes complete a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride, and a 26.22 mile run. Completing this race can take up to 17 hours, and our Ironman alumnae are demonstrating their mental and physical strength.
Not only are Saint Mary’s alumnae competing in Ironman events for their own sense of achievement, they’re doing it to help others—whether it’s their families, their communities, their students, or other athletes.
As an avid runner, Amy Shelly ’91, chief financial officer for The Options Clearing Corporation in Chicago, and member of the Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees, ran two marathons a year for several years, finding training to be a great way to de-stress. Then she upped her athlete status by trying a half Ironman. Within a few months of training, she was hooked.
Now, in 2022, she is training for her 10th Ironman race, which will take place this October in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, the birthplace of the event. Training at this level helps her to be more present for everyone in her life, she says. Throughout the pandemic, she has trained with her teammates, sometimes on a Zoom bike ride, or during long-distance outdoor runs with face coverings. “It gives me the chance to empty my brain and I usually come back to a much better and happier
place,” she said. “That allows me to be there for my staff, the College, and to be an overall better human being.”
Jennifer Augustine Tullis ’98 participates in races to give back to the community. Tullis started racing triathlons after the birth of her second child 19 years ago, to get back into shape. But with a strong passion for helping others, it wasn’t long before she began using her athleticism to get involved with programs such as the Challenge Athlete Foundation and Dare2Tri, both of which provide opportunities for people with physical challenges to compete in athletic events.
In a twist of fate, Tullis’ son, Sam, became paralyzed from the waist down in 2014 at the age of 10, and spent a year at Mayo Clinic relearning to walk.
Tullis says it was a major turning point for the whole family.
“Here I was helping others but now I really had to motivate my own son,” she said. After preaching to him that he can do anything in a wheelchair, together they did what no one in the world had ever done before: Visit Antarctica in a wheelchair. After sleeping in a tent and then backpacking through Patagonia, Sam says it was his faith first and foremost, then his dreams and hopes that motivated him to walk again. Now the family has come full circle, and all three of Tullis’ children, as well as her husband, volunteer as race guides all over the country.
“If you’re talented at something and you have a gift, you should share it with others, no matter what it is,” Tullis said.
Professor Patty Saccone ’91 teaches Health Information Technology at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Illinois. She is a four-time Ironman finisher and says her happy place is in the water. She has swam in the cold, in shark-infested waters, and has even swam from Alcatraz Island a couple of times. Next on her list: swim the English Channel. She uses her athleticism to inspire her students inside and outside the classroom. A swimmer at heart, when not in training Saccone provides swim lessons to children with autism and adults who fear the water. Some of her students have gone on to be a part of their school’s swim team and even compete in an Ironman.
Saccone says she aimed to compete in her fifth Ironman last September, but after an ankle surgery she decided to instead help others finish their races. She swam the 2.4 miles shoulder-to-shoulder to motivate an athlete who didn’t believe in himself. Then she ran half of the 26.2 miles with a 60-year-old woman who needed Saccone to keep her head in the game to finish. “You don’t do this for money, you don’t do it because you want to come in first place,” she said. “There’s so much more of a reward when I help someone.”
Aside from her many event successes, Saccone says her most important role is modeling confidence and strength for her daughters. She says it’s important to teach them that women are just as strong as men, physically and mentally.
For her daughters and for her students, she wants to give them what she learned while at Saint Mary’s. “I love to teach them to be independent thinkers, to stand up for themselves, and to find their focus,” she said.
Kristen Sullivan Lynch ’91, regional development director at Saint Mary’s, has completed seven marathons and is considering an Ironman in the future. She has noticed that her time as a student at the College prepared her for marathons just as much as her training has. “You have to be doing little things every day to build up to success,” she said.
Whether she decides to run another Chicago marathon or her first Ironman event, she says her reward isn’t only about crossing the finish line. It’s about finishing while raising money and awareness for Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, a charity in Chicago, Illinois. “It can be a 16-hour day, but being a Mercy Home Hero is worth every second,” Lynch said.
Through their dedication to compete, their communities and those closest to them benefit. Tullis and her family continue to train year-round for their next events. They want to be ready for when they are called to help others cross finish lines. “When you see other people succeed, it’s pretty darn cool,” Tullis said. †
