Ironman, Heart of Gold: Sevick using endurance event to raise awareness, money

Sevick Using Endurance Event to Raise Awareness, Money

While some of us might be preparing to spend the winter as couch potatoes, George Sevick is in the midst of an aggressive training program leading up to an Ironman event May 31 in Tulsa. Not only is he preparing physically and mentally for the grueling 140.6 mile event, he is using the next several months to raise awareness of and funds for Catholic Charities.

Training is a big part of self-care for Sevick, a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist and director of Cana Counseling. He began running in the fall of 2013 when his doctor declared him obese and encouraged him to start exercising.

“I get to work with people all week long, and I am actually very introverted,” Sevick explained. “I enjoy spending long hours on the weekends getting a chance to burn off stress and spend time on my own. When I started running, I just kept going further and further. I’m no longer obese, and I benefit mentally, emotionally and physically from the training.”

The Ironman for which he is training, his second, consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and then a full 26.2-mile marathon; the events are completed in under 17 hours, all in one day. Often times, competitors will use their participation in an endurance event to raise money for a charity. Sevick is doing just that for Catholic Charities.

“I believe Catholic Charities has great people who work both in our organization and with the great people we get the honor of serving,” he said. “My hope is to raise awareness for the services we provide and, hopefully, raise money to keep these wonderful programs going.”

During the 12-20 hours a week he spends in training, Sevick takes inspiration from the people Catholic Charities serves.

“The reality is that I think of all our clients when I am training these long distances,” he said. “Each day our clients have to ‘keep going’ on their journey towards a better future. When someone tells me they think a triathlon is hard, I think of how hard the clients we serve are working each and every day to improve themselves or their situations. If they can go the distance in their lives, I can go the distance to raise awareness and support for them.”