Austin woman to carry wheelchair-bound brother through CapTex Triathlon

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A couple thousand people will swim, bike, and run their way through downtown Austin on Monday for the annual CapTex Triathlon. But for one sibling duo, it'll mark the fulfillment of a "lifelong dream."

Erin Boeckman and her brother Daniel Russell will participate in the "Sprint Triathlon" at CapTex — the middle level tier out of the three courses: the "Rookie," "Sprint," and "Olympic."

Erin, 38, has competed in nearly 50 races in her life, but this one is most special to her.

The pair will swim 750 meters (0.46 miles), bike 19.8 kilometers (12.3 miles), then run 5 kilometers (3.1 miles).

That's an impressive feat for any athlete, but especially the sibling duo. Why? Because Daniel is mostly wheelchair bound, and Erin will "push, pull, and pedal" him through all three legs.

Daniel, a 40-year-old survivor of childhood leukemia who lives with several physical and developmental disabilities, traveled all the way from New York ahead of the triathlon. He said he even took his first-ever solo flight to be here.

Daniel said he was planning to visit Austin anyway, and it just so happened that the dates aligned with this year's CapTex.

The duo has been talking about racing together for about five years, but Erin said it's really been "practically 40 years in the making."

"Since Daniel was born," Erin said. "Because truly, growing up and seeing what he persevered through with childhood leukemia and all of the, you know, medical interventions he had to take and the struggles that he has now, I learned perseverance and discipline and self care through learning from my older brother."

"That's an invaluable gift that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. And it truly just gives me that extra motivation to keep pushing through," she continued. "If he can beat leukemia and all these other medical conditions, then I can finish races, and I can carry him through it with me."

When Erin was nine months old, she saved Daniel's life by becoming his bone marrow donor.

"We have a different type of relationship as to, you know, regular sister and brother," Daniel said. "We've always respected each other. I don't know it's, it's just one of those things that's always been there. You can't quite describe it."

Erin said growing up having Daniel as an older brother made her who she is now.

"Just knowing that he shares a part of me, like, physically, you know, with my bone marrow, and, because of his health implications, now, I've always been, you know, very caring," Erin explained. "Helped him in school, helped with things around the house, and I think it's just also really shaped, like, who I am."

She also said she's a caring and attentive person because of him. "He has like, an extra level of, I don't want to say fragility, but like, sensitivity that has just brought me a lot of empathy in my life and kind of recognizing that everybody's going through something, everybody has needs."

Daniel agreed that he has faced limitations but said he hasn't let those get him down, adding that he was a 24/7 volunteer for a national organization for years, until around 2019 when he "just physically couldn't do it anymore," in his words. "But my heart's still there."

Crossing the finish line on Monday will be a manifestation of that heart Daniel described, and a "lifelong dream" that Erin has held.

Erin is a volunteer with Ainsley's Angels, an organization that promotes special needs inclusivity in running communities and "empowers individuals with disabilities to experience the joy of endurance racing," in Erin's words. This is the first year Ainsley's Angels is involved in the CapTex Triathlon.

Erin is a lifelong Ironman triathlete and ultra runner, but this weekend, she'll "have the incredible honor of racing with my brother for the very first time — not for time or medals, but to show what love, inclusion, and the human spirit can do," she said.

Erin said Daniel has watched her compete remotely for years, but now he gets to feel the experience of a race and become a triathlete himself.

When asked what he's most excited about, Daniel said, "just the experience."

"I've been part of, like, big experiences and events in the past, but nothing like this," he continued. "So this is probably the biggest thing I will ever do."

For Erin, it's simply the fact that she gets to help her brother become a triathlete.

"So this has been a lifelong dream for me," she said. "Doing the race for myself is one thing, but doing it so that Daniel can become a triathlete and experience being pulled on the raft, being, you know, attached to the bike trailer, and then finishing the race."

They said Daniel can walk short distances, and they're hopeful that he'll be able to get out of the chair and walk the final steps across the finish line himself.

"This is all about empowerment, inclusivity, giving him the chance to, like, really feel a triathlon," Erin said. "I've done many of these, and I've had the, you know, the opportunity to. He hasn't yet, but he will on Monday, and we're so excited for that. And it's all about him."

Ainsley's Angels provided special equipment so Erin can guide Daniel through the triathlon. Erin said she's been practicing with it during her six-day-a-week training, with her husband and son sitting in the equipment to help her get used to it.

For the swim portion, Daniel will be in a raft attached to a harness that goes around Erin's waist. They'll also have two athlete volunteers assisting them in the water and helping Daniel get in and out of the raft.

For biking and running, Daniel will be in what Erin described as "essentially a big jogging stroller."

Erin said she feels strong, but that "it's going to be a very different sensation."

"This will be my first time ever carrying someone through a triathlon. I've only done just the running portion for some para-athletes before," she explained.

Erin's biggest message she wants to convey through this experience is empowerment and inclusivity. "The most important thing for people to know [is] that everybody can participate. There is a way, you know, we're making this happen this weekend at CapTex, and there is a way."

For Daniel, he wants to encourage other people who may be in tough situations that they can do hard things.

"Even if you try to do the smallest things, in a — you know — pretty horrible condition, it's something, it doesn't have to be astronomically huge to do it," he said. "When I graduated high school, I never thought I would graduate."

"It was just little things that grew over the years that I realized I could do more, and it never stopped me," Daniel said.