It's good to finish Pigman challenge

PALO - Jessica Heims crossed the finish line of the Pigman Sprint Triathlon at Pleasant Creek State Park Sunday morning.

The impressive thing about her finish wasn't her 1:52:53 race time, though it was a personal best. It wasn't the fact that the 13-year-old Swisher native won her age division by more than 10 minutes.

The most impressive part of Heims' race was she swam 546 yards, biked 15.5 miles and ran 3.1 miles on one leg; one good leg that is.

"I feel pretty good after that race ... well, I mean I finished," Heims said with a smile.

Heims' right leg has been cut off from the knee down since her birth. It is the result of a disease called Amniotic Band Syndrome, which is caused from a rupture of the amniotic sac during pregnancy.

"I was born without a foot basically," Heims said with a shrug.

Replacing the remaining part of Heims' leg is a prosthetic one made of carbon fiber. She has a different leg for walking and running, but she said the carbon fiber is expensive. One of her "legs" costs around $20,000.

"It's expensive material so we have to be very careful when handling it," Heims said.

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Heims' collection is now up to 18 prosthetic legs, she said, as she has to replace them about once a year.

When Heims competes in triathlons, her prosthetic leg is off until after the swim. Her parents, Kris and Glen, meet her at the end of the water with crutches to help her hike to the transition period. Once there, Heims puts on her leg and completes the race.

So what motivates this girl from the Cedar Rapids Prairie school district with just one leg to participate in triathlons?

"The guy who makes my legs from Minneapolis, he came down here and did this race with just one leg as well and I thought it was so cool," Heims said. "My sister does it as well."

Heims' sister, Beth, competed in the age 15-17 division.

Janet McCullough didn't do too badly for her first Iowa Pigman, finishing second overall, and was the first Iowan across the finish line among female competitors.

Jeff Paul of Le Claire was the first Iowa man to finish.

Claire Bootsma of Minneapolis won the female competition while David Thompson of St. Paul won the men's side. Both set personal and course records.

The event's coordinator, John Snitko, said the weather helped bring out approximately 900 participants to Palo beach.