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Keli Engleson has never lacked a fervent focus on the benefits of physical activity, with the devotion boding well for her body. Also blessed with a helpful heart, the 35-year-old will combine her allegiance to fitness with the allure of aiding others Sunday by competing in IRONMAN Lake Placid, which will find her lauding the courage of an aunt who is battling the affliction and reflecting on the influence of a friend who last year succumbed to breast cancer.
“I love to challenge myself, but this endeavor has many more rewards than that,” the Passyunk Square dweller said of her Upstate New York journey. “I want to acknowledge two very special individuals and make as many people as possible aware of the efforts to combat multiple myeloma.”
Engleson will be participating in her third Ironman triathlon, with this marking her debut as a Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Team for Cures constituent. Set to cover 140.6 miles through swimming, biking and running duties, she is going to rely on her mind as much as her frame to fete her loved ones.
“There’s never any reason to complain when you’ve said you’re going to do this,” Engleson noted of the temptation to tab the test too taxing. “Think of what people are enduring in their lives, and you’ll realize that you can likewise face your fears by contributing to a great cause.”
In conjunction with her age, the agile altruist established a fundraising goal of $35,000, 85 percent of which she had reached at press time. Having dealt with outside doubts that she would be able to finish her inaugural triathlon, March 2014’s venture to Los Cabos, which she conquered in just over 16 hours, Engleson is not daring to indulge in hubris but remains confident she will conclude her chores well before entrants’ 17-hour allotment has elapsed.
“I’m passionate about helping to make a difference,” the composed competitor, who also traveled to Maryland last year for a triathlon, said. “This foundation is doing amazing work to spread a message of hope and to remind people never to give up.”
Through its Inspire initiative, the entity has connected her with a male patient contending with multiple myeloma, the second most common form of blood cancer. Discussions with him have bred added perspective on her participation, with thoughts on her aunt, Mary, an Ohio inhabitant with the malady, further fostering her strength.
“Anyone with this affliction has my support,” Engleson said, giving a glance to her right arm, which bore her relative’s name in marker. “Family is huge, for sure, but all multiple myeloma patients matter, and promoting this event helps me to grow as someone who appreciates any opportunity to be of some assistance.”
Always very active, especially as a girl growing up in Minnesota, the resident of the 1100 block of South Broad Street strayed from being involved in organized sports but nonetheless knew the merits of being mobile. Taking up running in February ’13, she confessed that the discipline did not initially appeal to her and won her favor only this year.
“You grow to like what forces you to step out of your comfort zone,” Engleson said. “There’s always a lesson to take from any attempt we make at bettering ourselves, and change is a necessary part of that.”
Alteration played a part in forming her professional identity, as business management courses at the University of Minnesota led to the belief that she would have a corporate identity. Selling real estate for five years in Las Vegas, she gained a sense of her business acumen, enhancing that as a wedding planner for I Do Belize Weddings.
“That’s another outlet for connecting with people and being positive,” Engleson said of uniting hearts in the Central American land. “I’ve been able to intensify my interest in yoga through time there, too, so that gives me more joy because it’s something I absolutely love.”
That attraction has led to her distinction as a yoga instructor, which pairs with her four-year designation as a doula to characterize her even more as a health-conscious crusader.
“Being a birth coach is amazing on so many levels,” Engleson, who will instruct her first Hypnobabies class on Tuesday based on her recent certification acquisition in Louisiana, said, noting the increased ease that often accompanies deliveries. “It’s so exciting to assist in the welcoming of life into the world.”
With last year’s passing of friend Kara to breast cancer, she also knows the sadness of saying goodbye. Recalling her 34-year-old contemporary’s immense will, which not even Stage IV of her disease could diminish as she encouraged Engleson to continue her training, the local, who adorned her left arm with “Kara” for her Monday interview with the South Philly Review, believes that everyone needs a perennially positive person during hard times. Enamored with the prospect of contributing to multiple myeloma patients’ quests for comfort, she will spend every second on Sunday feeling grateful for her role as a conduit to a possible cure.
“I take so much from the enthusiasm that the organizers, volunteers and participants show,” Engleson, who is accepting donations through 12:30 p.m. Saturday and who will place on her body a temporary tattoo of the names of those who give at least $140.60, said. “I volunteered at Lake Placid last year, and I can’t wait to take on the triathlon this time.”
Visit http://support.themmrf.org/goto/yogapeach
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at [email protected] or ext. 124.
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