www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 27, 2015 | 6 Ironman challenge pales in comparison to facing homelessness by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver Spotlight "Connected to your Community" Oakville's Peter Kolisnyk will put himself in a tough spot on Sunday so those less fortunate won't have to be their entire lives. The 55-year-old real estate agent and Home Suite Hope (HSH) board chair will partake in the Ironman Triathlon in Huntsville, Ont. In the event dubbed IRONMAN Muskoka, Kolisnyk will swim 3.86 kilometres, cycle 180 km and run 42.2 km in succession in hopes of raising $50,000 for HSH -- a local charitable organization that provides transitional housing, education and training to single-parent families facing homelessness in Halton -- and the YMCA of Oakville's Fill the Bus campaign. The one-loop swim will take place on Peninsula Lake; the bike course circles the Lake of Bays and travels through the communities of Dwight, Dorset and Baysville; and the run will take Kolisnyk through downtown Huntsville. It will be the rst-ever, full-length Ironman Triathlon held in Ontario, according to Kolisnyk. "For the moms and kids in the (HSH) program who are homeless, who are struggling to get back on their feet and have nowhere to turn, it's 24/7 for them. There is no reprieve. What I'm trying to do is going to happen in the course of a day," said Kolisnyk. "In the big scheme of things, these families and moms don't have luxuries in their lives and attempt to become nancially self-suf cient and give their kids the best possible chance of getting ahead." First Ironman for Kolisnyk While he's competed in numerous triathlons, this will be Kolisnyk's rst Ironman, which has "sort of always been on my bucket list," he said, as it requires a lot of preparation and the support of your family to do it. By Sunday, he will have logged more than 350 hours of training, which he began in midFebruary, to prepare his body to go at least 12 consecutive hours. "Ideally, I would like to ( nish) it in around 12 hours, but there are so many variables that happen. The weather, how you're feeling that day and any technical issues you may have could add signi cant time to your race," said Kolisnyk. "You can train your body to be conditioned to go for that duration, but the one thing you Oakville's Peter Kolisnyk will participate in IRONMAN Muskoka Sunday in support of Home Suite Hope. | submitted photo can't count on is what your mental (state) is. It becomes less of a physical challenge and more of a mental challenge." Because of a busy schedule with training, his full-time job and board member roles with HSH and the YMCA of Oakville, Kolisnyk classi es himself as a "weekend warrior." "You just work your way through the week and then usually you get up very, very early on Saturday and Sunday mornings and do a long bike ride and run. That's pretty much your life for a good six months," said Kolisnyk. He noted that he recently completed a 180km bike ride and 20-km run in succession as part of his workout, which lasted more than eight hours. The challenge in Huntsville will be to navigate the bike course, Kolisnyk said, as it circles the Lake of Bays twice. It will be the most "daunting" obstacle for the Oakville resident. "The run course then takes you from Deerhurst into Huntsville and back twice. There are a lot of hills on the run as well. It's all about focus, patience and sticking it out for the whole duration," said Kolisnyk. Hopes to support HSH family for year Kolisnyk aims to raise enough funds to support an HSH family for one year and provide children with an opportunity to attend camp. As of Aug. 10, Kolisnyk has raised more than $14,000. "Whatever I raise, 10 per cent of the funds will go towards Fill the Bus, which will essentially provide enough so that all the children in the Home Suite Hope programs will have the opportunity to have a summer camp experience as well," said Kolisnyk. He said HSH is aiming to help more than 20 families in separate two-year and four-year programs by the end of 2015 and more than 30 by the end of 2016. The local organization has a more than veyear waiting list of pre-quali ed families looking to use its programs, according to Kolisnyk. "Although this is something I've always wanted to do, it just took on a whole new meaning for me when I became involved in Home Suite Hope. What you have to appreciate is the task in itself in one day almost seems insurmountable," said Kolisnyk. To donate online or for more information, visit www.ironmanforhope.com. NEIL OLIVER VicePresident and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief OPC Volume 53 | Number 67 Ontario Press Council Defending principles to inspire public trust 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. 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