As he trains for an IRONMAN competition in Florida this November, Mike Willms will also be raising cash for the Windsor Downtown Community Collaborative.
The collaborative works to connect residents living in downtown Windsor and improve the community through events like the Downtown Windsor Farmers' Market. It also organizes neighbourhood cleanups and community gardens while supporting programs like the Little Things Matter program, the Community Cafe, and Sports 4 All fitness programs.
Willms has launched a pledge drive connected to his training to raise the collaborative's profile and boost public donations.
"I personally see a lot of parallels between a triathlon and some of the challenges in our community," he said. "Sometimes when we look at the challenges facing downtown and think what we might imagine downtown to be, it seems almost impossible."
"With a triathlon, you take one swim stroke, one stroke on the peddle, and one foot in front of the other on the run, and you add these contributions together, and you find the finish line," he continued. "Some of the work the WDCC is doing is a little step here and a little step there, and we add all these intentional behaviours together, and we see a community in the way we hope it will be."
The competition in Florida is his first IRONMAN. He will swim 3.8 km, bike 180 km, and run a full marathon, 42.2 km.