Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Helps Adventure Racer Robyn Benincasa - Part 1 of 3
Updated June 09, 2015.
Robyn Benincasa is a San Diego firefighter and an adventure racer. You can imagine how being diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the prime of life turned her active life upside down. A successful surgery (the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing from Smith & Nephew) got things back on track and inspired Benincasa to start a nonprofit organization to help others. Here's an interview that lets you peak in to her exciting life.
Robyn, what made you decide to become a firefighter and how long have you been in the profession?
I decided to become a firefighter, because I just couldn't bear putting panty hose on every day and doing my sales job anymore! I also needed to move to a career where I was able to pursue my dream of being in the emergency/medical field and being there to provide comfort and safety when people need it the most. It's the best job in the world, and I just reached my 10-year anniversary on the job.
I'm also on a three female fire crew with my best pals, which is the icing on the cake. Of course, there's also the fringe benefit of the shiftwork, which allows me to live my other passion, training for and racing in the world's craziest endurance races and starting a nonprofit foundation, called "Project Athena," which helps women who've had breast cancer or other medical setbacks live an adventure they've always dreamed about.
What is an adventure racer? When did you begin adventure racing?
Adventure Racing is a sport in which teams of four people (you must have at least one woman) are sent to the most remote locations in the world and must use a map and compass to find their way through 30 to 40 checkpoints, covering a distance of 400 to 600 miles in a 7- to- 10-day period.
The races are literally nonstop (you sleep only when you're too tired to go on, and then only for an hour or two every 24 hours). Team members must be within 50 yards of one another the entire race from start to finish. Modes of transportation to each checkpoint are all human powered: running, mountain biking, kayaking, whitewater rafting, rappelling and ascending on ropes, caving, camel riding, mountaineering -- whatever it takes!
People may remember the most famous race, The Eco-Challenge (produced by Mark Burnett), on the Discovery Channel and/or the USA Network in the late '90s and early 2000s. The current big race in the US is called "Primal Quest," and my team and I will be competing in the 600 mile race this August. We placed 2nd out of 60 teams in the 2008 Primal Quest in Montana, 10 months after I received my bionic hip. It wasn't my prettiest race, but my teammates were so cool, and we just kept moving, against all odds.
What got you started in this sport as opposed to any other sport?
I came from a background of gymnastics, diving and track, when growing up, and switched to triathlon after college. I had done six Ironman Triathlons by the time I was 25, with a couple of podium finishes in my age group at the World Champs in Kona, Hawaii, but I was never really good enough to go pro (I'm a sinker in the pool).
The thing I did notice, though, was that the longer/harder the race, the higher I'd end up in the standings. When I read about Adventure Racing in Runners World Magazine in 1993, I knew I had found the sport that I was truly meant to do. It's a sport that's about so much more than sheer athletic talent, and I knew I could suffer with the best in the world. Gotta have a talent, right?
What are your accomplishments as an adventure racer? Where have you been? What have you won?
Over my 14-year career, I've raced in over 30 of these Expedition-length Adventure Races in places, like Borneo, Tibet, Nepal, Morrocco, Fiji, Patagonia, New Zealand, Australia, Ecuador, Namibia, Vietnam, Chile, Newfoundland, Brazil, Scotland and Sweden. We've been lucky enough to be World Champions several times (we won the Eco-Challenge in Borneo in 2000 and the Raid Gauloises in Ecuador in 1998, the Patagonia Expedition race in 2004, The Bull of Africa in 2006 and the 24-hour National Championships in 2002, etc), with Top-5 finishes in many many others.
Robyn, when were you diagnosed with osteoarthritis?
I was 41 years old, but it was already stage 4. I guess it had been going on for quite some time, and I passed it off in my mind as something else. I guess I have a decent pain tolerance?
How did you develop osteoarthritis -- did it follow an injury -- even an injury that may have occurred years earlier?
My doctor tells me that I have a genetic "impingement" that just wears away the cartilage over time. I think it is purely a case of TMM (too many miles).
Go to Part 2 of 3 - Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Helps Robyn Benincasa ->>>
Robyn Benincasa is a San Diego firefighter and an adventure racer. You can imagine how being diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the prime of life turned her active life upside down. A successful surgery (the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing from Smith & Nephew) got things back on track and inspired Benincasa to start a nonprofit organization to help others. Here's an interview that lets you peak in to her exciting life.
Robyn, what made you decide to become a firefighter and how long have you been in the profession?
I decided to become a firefighter, because I just couldn't bear putting panty hose on every day and doing my sales job anymore! I also needed to move to a career where I was able to pursue my dream of being in the emergency/medical field and being there to provide comfort and safety when people need it the most. It's the best job in the world, and I just reached my 10-year anniversary on the job.
I'm also on a three female fire crew with my best pals, which is the icing on the cake. Of course, there's also the fringe benefit of the shiftwork, which allows me to live my other passion, training for and racing in the world's craziest endurance races and starting a nonprofit foundation, called "Project Athena," which helps women who've had breast cancer or other medical setbacks live an adventure they've always dreamed about.
What is an adventure racer? When did you begin adventure racing?
Adventure Racing is a sport in which teams of four people (you must have at least one woman) are sent to the most remote locations in the world and must use a map and compass to find their way through 30 to 40 checkpoints, covering a distance of 400 to 600 miles in a 7- to- 10-day period.
The races are literally nonstop (you sleep only when you're too tired to go on, and then only for an hour or two every 24 hours). Team members must be within 50 yards of one another the entire race from start to finish. Modes of transportation to each checkpoint are all human powered: running, mountain biking, kayaking, whitewater rafting, rappelling and ascending on ropes, caving, camel riding, mountaineering -- whatever it takes!
People may remember the most famous race, The Eco-Challenge (produced by Mark Burnett), on the Discovery Channel and/or the USA Network in the late '90s and early 2000s. The current big race in the US is called "Primal Quest," and my team and I will be competing in the 600 mile race this August. We placed 2nd out of 60 teams in the 2008 Primal Quest in Montana, 10 months after I received my bionic hip. It wasn't my prettiest race, but my teammates were so cool, and we just kept moving, against all odds.
What got you started in this sport as opposed to any other sport?
I came from a background of gymnastics, diving and track, when growing up, and switched to triathlon after college. I had done six Ironman Triathlons by the time I was 25, with a couple of podium finishes in my age group at the World Champs in Kona, Hawaii, but I was never really good enough to go pro (I'm a sinker in the pool).
The thing I did notice, though, was that the longer/harder the race, the higher I'd end up in the standings. When I read about Adventure Racing in Runners World Magazine in 1993, I knew I had found the sport that I was truly meant to do. It's a sport that's about so much more than sheer athletic talent, and I knew I could suffer with the best in the world. Gotta have a talent, right?
What are your accomplishments as an adventure racer? Where have you been? What have you won?
Over my 14-year career, I've raced in over 30 of these Expedition-length Adventure Races in places, like Borneo, Tibet, Nepal, Morrocco, Fiji, Patagonia, New Zealand, Australia, Ecuador, Namibia, Vietnam, Chile, Newfoundland, Brazil, Scotland and Sweden. We've been lucky enough to be World Champions several times (we won the Eco-Challenge in Borneo in 2000 and the Raid Gauloises in Ecuador in 1998, the Patagonia Expedition race in 2004, The Bull of Africa in 2006 and the 24-hour National Championships in 2002, etc), with Top-5 finishes in many many others.
Robyn, when were you diagnosed with osteoarthritis?
I was 41 years old, but it was already stage 4. I guess it had been going on for quite some time, and I passed it off in my mind as something else. I guess I have a decent pain tolerance?
How did you develop osteoarthritis -- did it follow an injury -- even an injury that may have occurred years earlier?
My doctor tells me that I have a genetic "impingement" that just wears away the cartilage over time. I think it is purely a case of TMM (too many miles).
Go to Part 2 of 3 - Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Helps Robyn Benincasa ->>>
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