Taking Temporary Detour Where There Was A Wheel There Was A Way For Injured Triathlete

Five months after barely escaping death, Spokane resident Michael Rembolt competed in the Ironman Canada Triathlon, completing the running portion of the triathlon in a wheelchair.

Rembolt, 45, an avid marathon and triathlon competitor, nearly fell to his death March 25 while participating in the annual Hell’s Canyon Run.

Fourteen 14 miles into the run, Rembolt stepped on a cactus thorn and went to sit on a rock on the side of the trail to remove it. Fellow runner Bruce Foreman watched in horror as he saw Rembolt lose his balance, fall over the cliff and glance off the cliff wall three times before stopping abruptly 75 to 100 feet down the side of the canyon.

“I thought he was dead,” Foreman said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Amazingly, although he was covered from head to toe with cactus spines, Rembolt’s only major injury was to his left heel, which required three surgeries to correct.

It was an injury, however, that was going to keep him from running for many months and ruin the plans he and his wife, Donna, had for competing in the Aug. 27 Ironman Canada, which they had already entered, to say nothing about Bloomsday.

Rembolt’s doctor jokingly told him the only way he would be able to participate in Bloomsday was in a wheelchair.

The doctor never dreamed Rembolt would do it.

Almost as soon as he was released from the hospital, Michael began to investigate wheelchairs.

“We rented a wheelchair, but it wasn’t a racing wheelchair,” Michael said. “I went out in it and got very frustrated. I could only go about a mile every 20 minutes or so. I thought, ‘This isn’t going to work. I’ve got to have a piece of equipment that I can race in.”’

Rembolt turned to local paraplegic wheelchair racers Jerry Martin and Frank Traver for help in finding a racing chair and training him to use it.

“At first, I thought they were just going to laugh at Michael,” Donna said, “but they embraced him. They were so wonderful in accepting him and accepting the reality that he would walk again. Jerry and Frank are family to us now.”

Once Michael got into a racing wheelchair, he noticed the difference immediately.

“At that point, I knew that I could do it,” Michael said. “I mean, I would have to train; but I could do it. That was a breakthrough.”

Michael went on to race in his wheelchair in Bloomsday, May 7, the Coeur d’Alene Marathon, May 28, and the Climb a Mountain Relay with Martin and Traver on July 8.

Meanwhile, the cutoff date for withdrawing from the Ironman Canada was swiftly approaching and the Rembolts had to decide whether they would attempt the grueling triathlon.

Competing in the Ironman would mean swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 and running 26.2.

Shawn Burke, physical therapist assistant at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, who would also compete in the Ironman, had proved to be Michael’s savior, having set up a water rehab program that would strengthen him without putting stress on his injured leg.

By July, it was obvious Michael could complete the swim and the running portion, which he would do in the wheelchair. The remaining question was whether he could complete the biking portion.

So, the weekend after his doctor gave him permission to start riding his bike no more than 5 miles per day, Michael and Donna went to Canada and rode 100 miles of the Ironman course.

“We had to know if he could do it,” Donna said. “We just went from there and watched for any signs of swelling.”

Michael then competed in the Whiskey Dick Triathlon, July 23, the Newman Lake Run, July 29, and the biking portion of the Troika Triathlon on Aug. 20 to help him prepare for the Ironman.

The day before the Ironman Canada, Michael felt he was ready. “I just wanted to do it to complete it. I felt pretty good; I felt I was trained.”

Not only did Michael complete the Ironman, but he passed both Foreman and Burke in the running portion of the race in his chair.

“I gave him a high five and said ‘way to go,”’ Burke said. “I’m glad I had a part of that.”

Michael said he had the support of all the fans lining the course. They cheered him on throughout the wheelchair part of his race.

“There was just this rush of energy,” Michael said. “It was real neat.”

Michael was honored with the Ironman Canada Spirit Award for his courage and determination.

What’s next for Michael and Donna?

They are competing in Saturday’s Colbert Classic Half Marathon and Le Grizz, a 50-mile run in Montana, Oct. 14.

Michael will be back to running for both races as his leg is nearly completely healed, but he won’t forget his unique experience.

“I have really gained an appreciation for what those people have to go through on a daily basis,” Michael said. “It was just five or six months that I was exposed to it. It’s awesome they can overcome that handicap and participate in sports.”