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Community Corner

Ballou Skies Team Heads to Hawaii

Local athletes compete in extreme competition to raise money and awareness of Duchene Muscular Dystrophy.

When most folks head to Hawaii, they are going for a relaxing vacation and plan to lie on the beach and soak up some rays.

But when a local group heads to Hawaii this week, it will be running 26.2 miles, swimming 2.4 miles and riding a bike for 112 miles, all in one day.

They are going for the Ironman competition, and this group is doing the event for a cause – in honor of a 24-year-old man who fights an unusual form of muscular dystrophy.

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The Ironman group is called the “Spin Doctors,” and they compete for Ballou Skies, a nonprofit created to raise funds and awareness about Duchene Muscular Dystrophy. Ty Ballou of Ben Avon, whose son, Ryan, has DMD, created the charity.

According to Ballou, DMD is a form of muscular dystrophy that only affects boys and is a fatal condition. Those who have DMD rarely live past their early 20s. Now 24, Ryan was diagnosed with DMD when he was 5.

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“It was obviously a complete shock, but Ryan has been an inspiration to all of us,” he said.

About four years ago, Ballou came up with the idea to start Ballou Skies after Ryan had participated in a study at Ohio State University utilizing steroids to treat the disease.

“I realized there were other children who may not have the means to participate in the studies or even to be able to travel there for the studies,” he said.

Ballou Skies was formed and through various fundraisers, including the Spin Doctors, raises money for research and to help fund clinical studies and create awareness about DMD.

Jeremy Cornman, 32, of , is one of the Ironman competitors who will compete Oct. 8 as part of the Ballou Skies team. The competitors are leaving for Hawaii as early as Saturday to adjust to the climate and prepare for the event.

Cornman met Ty Ballou a few years ago while he was training at the Sewickley YMCA.

“We started talking, and he told me about Ryan. When he asked me to compete for Ryan, I was honored,” said Cornman.

A world-class amateur athlete and coach, Cornman will be traveling to Hawaii with his wife, Jocelyn, an elementary school teacher at New Brighton Elementary School. She is also part of the team and will compete.  

The Ironman is a tough competition, and each competitor has to qualify for the event through other competitions during the year.

Besides the Cornmans, the Spin Doctors team members going to Hawaii include Chad Holderbaum of Irwin, Beth Shutt of Natrona Heights, Joe Vallese of Moon Township, and Kim Schwabenbauer of Richland Township.

The Spin Doctors not only compete in honor of Ryan, but also raise money to help the Ballou Skies cause.

“We have pledged to raise $50,000 this year,” said Cornman.

They raise the money through charity walks, donations and pledges, and bike rides. While they raise the monies, they do not use any of it to help offset the costs of the Ironman competition.

The competition costs $650; then there is the plane fare, hotel expenses, food, training costs, equipment and miscellaneous expenses.

“We want to do it,” said Cornman, “We feel that we can use our bodies to this extent for those who can’t.”

Schwabenbauer, 32, agreed with Cornman. She became friends with Jocelyn Cornman after the two had competed against each other in a few races.

“My husband pointed her out in a photo and said, ‘See this woman right by you in the finish line – she is from Pittsburgh, too,’ ” she said.

The two met and began training together. Soon they were good friends.

“When you ride a bike with someone for six hours, you talk, and you talk a lot,” she laughed.

Through Jeremy Cornman’s enthusiasm for Ballou Skies, Schwabenbauer soon joined the team.

“The long and the short of it is that an Ironman is a very individual event, so if we can come together for one cause, this is doing something for more than just us, and by competing, we are impacting the research for DMD,” she explained.

Among the group's supporters is Jeremy Cornman's father, , who plans to support the Spin Doctors team in Hawaii.

Ty and Ryan Ballou are also going to Hawaii to see the team compete.

“They are doing it just out of the goodness of their own hearts,” said Ty Ballou.

He recounted last year’s event, when he couldn’t go to Hawaii and happened to turn on the live stream of the Ironman just a few moments before Cornman crossed the finish line.

“When they called his name, I saw Jeremy run over the line and raise his hands in the form of a heart,” he said, “He was exhausted, but he showed his love by doing that. It made me cry.”

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