You can forgive Gina Anderson if this all seems so surreal.
It’s not the part about how, at age 62, she’ll be competing in the 42nd St. Anthony’s Triathlon on April 27, the first time in her life tackling the challenging Sprint-distance event. It’s not the fact that the St. Petersburg grandmother has never done an open-water race before, or that the one-time Jersey girl has been training diligently for a once inconceivable goal while listening on shuffle to her favorite artist, Garden State-born superstar Bruce Springsteen.
For the record, Anderson has seen the Boss 47 times in concert, and heard his anthem, Born to Run, a gazillion times. And though she never could have dreamed it, this time she is the one on the run – not to mention swimming through the waves and biking over the pavement of downtown St. Petersburg.
It all seems surreal because less than two years ago, Anderson was 100 pounds heavier than she is today.
She hadn’t always been overweight. In her youth, she kept fit playing sports. She married her high school sweetheart, Allan, and they moved to Pinellas County 37 years ago. Gradually, while raising their two daughters, she gained weight that didn’t come off.
Her journey to better fitness began in 2023 when Anderson decided to shed the weight. Using a weight-loss medication, coupled with swimming and spin classes at the YMCA, Anderson saw the pounds start to come off. She felt motivated to push herself further and gave the treadmill a try.
One day, a woman noticed her triple workout routine and remarked, “You’re doing a triathlon!” That planted the seed in her mind. Anderson’s husband had competed in the St. Anthony’s Triathlon several times, but she had only been there to cheer him on. She took a new step, joining a gym. By then, she was 40 pounds lighter – and the weight kept coming off.
Then came a milestone – a 5K. She had walked a handful with her husband but signed up for an event sponsored by the Tampa Bay Rays and ran the whole course. Two months ago, she and her husband did a 5K as a pre-St. Anthony’s tune-up – and she beat him.
“Gina has kind of reimagined the unimaginable,” says Allan Anderson, an IT consultant who also is doing the Sprint event. “Only a year-and-a-half ago you couldn’t imagine her doing any of this.”
The 27-year school system employee has felt a new lease on life from her weight-loss journey. And the reward is being able to be more physically active with her five grandchildren. “I’m absolutely doing this for my grandkids,” Gina Anderson said. “I always wanted to be like this, and now I am.”
Daughters Bri Reynolds and Alana Kandt were college athletes and even competed in triathlons as children. Both are parents and live in Orlando now and couldn’t be prouder of their mother. “She was always on the sidelines, cheering us on, or walking behind,” says Reynolds, who will be at the Triathlon with her two children to support her parents. “It’s really amazing that our roles are reversed now.”
Added Patrick McGee, St. Anthony’s Triathlon manager and race director: “Gina is an ideal example of what makes our race so special. It brings together so many people from different walks of life, with different stories and goals, and provides a great way to have fun and fulfillment – no matter your level of participation.”
There’s another aspect to Anderson’s story as well – motivating others to tackle a challenge that seemed unattainable. “I’ve had people tell me I’m an inspiration, mostly the weight loss, but some want to come to the gym with me now,” she says.
Maybe they’ll do a triathlon like Anderson, whose biggest dash previously was as one of hundreds of extras scrambling to the Raymond James Stadium stage as part of Springsteen’s 2009 Super Bowl Halftime Show. But now comes the race of her life, and a chance to prove one thing to herself: Baby, she was born to swim, bike and run.
— provided by BayCare