Larchmont Ironmen Raise $284K to Win Charity Challenge

by Judy Silberstein

(November 9, 2006) It was early Saturday morning, November 4 when the news started to hit email inboxes: “Gary Rodbell Wins Janus Charity Challenge!” read the subject line announcing a victory for the team headed by the 53-year-old Larchmont athlete entered in the Janus Florida Ironman contest. The actual race was still far from over. Gary Rodbell, and teammate Matt Karp, known to Westchester foodies as the chef and owner of Plates on the Park restaurant, had each finished swimming the 2.4 mile portion of the race and were getting on their bikes for the 112–mile race expected to take 7 to 8 hours more. After that there was an additional 26-mile marathon to run.

Gary Rodbell (l) and Matthew Karp recuperate after running the Florida Ironman Triathlon.

What was already over was the fundraising contest: Mr. Rodbell and his “Team Will” had raised over $184,000 in donations plus another $100,000 in matching funds from an anonymous donor for a total of $284,000 that will go to the Barth Syndrome Foundation, dedicated to supporting research into a rare, debilitating and typically fatal disorder. That was more than any other individual or team in the charity component of the Ironman. As a result, Team Will, named in honor of Larchmonter Will McCurdy who suffers from Barth Syndrome, earned an additional $10,000 from the Janus corporation.

Gary Rodbell rides in the bike section of the Florida Ironman Triathlon. Photo by Angelo Mancino

The win was particularly sweet for Gary Rodbell, who had come in second in two earlier Janus Charity Challenges in 2002 and 2004. “This year we finally came in first, which was tremendously rewarding to all of us,” he said after the race.

Just finishing the race was also something of a comeback victory for the dedicated athlete who was overcoming a series of physical challenges. “ While training on his bike on September 11, 2005, Gary was struck by a car and thrown over 40 feet, breaking his shoulder, fracturing three ribs and embedding part of his sunglasses in his face,” reported Steve McCurdy, father of Will McCurdy and co-founder of the Barth Foundation. By the next week, Mr. Rodbell was back on his bike, sporting 500 stitches to his face. A misstep at the airport on the way to the Ironman this week brought Mr. Rodbell down on both knees, leaving them badly bruised and swollen. Despite the past and recent injuries, he was able to complete the race with a total time of 15 hours and 51 minutes, a personal best.

The Janus Challenge win was also sweet for Matt Karp, competing in his first Ironman event, but bittersweet for two others team members who were unable to make the race, John Steigerwald (grounded by “bad knees”) and Laurie Parkinson (kept from training by a summer’s bout of pneumonia).

Mr. Rodbell first began training for the full Ironman course in 1998. By 2002, he was combining his growing interest in the athletic competition with his support for the Barth Foundation. His enthusiasm was infectious: neighbor John Steigerwald “got the bug” and the two men succeeded in finishing the 2002 Florida Ironman and coming in second in that year’s Janus Charity Challenge by raising $75,000 for the Barth Foundation. Boys with Barth and their moms and dads followed the team’s progress via Internet updates posted by Steve McCurdy. “Our boys will never know the thrill of competing in such an event, but for one day in history you carried each of these boys on your shoulders to know the thrill of a lifetime,” emailed one mom after the race.

Donations my be made through the website, www.barthsyndrome.org. 

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