For most athletes, a marathon is the farthest they've ever attempted to run, but for amputee and world-record marathon runner, Amy Dodson gearing up for a marathon is a warm-up compared to preparing for a triathlon. Having competed in many triathlons in the past, Amy continues to go full force each year working to beat her personal record. Biking seriously for the past four years, Amy first started riding with a close friend. Today, she is found competing all over the world.

Amy and her prosthetist Jan Stokosa, C.P., operate like a team. Jan focuses on the mechanics, while Amy determines whether she will have maximum strength when she takes the leg to competitions. The biking leg has been uniquely designed to connect directly to the pedal. It will be modified to meet her individual needs.

Typical Training Day...
Amy Dodson is determined to keep up her athletic lifestyle while still managing a heavy workload as a teacher and a family. Now that the school year is complete, you would think that Amy has extra time on her hands, but her day starts earlier than you might expect. A typical work day for Amy begins not at 8 AM, but at 4:30 AM, she drinks a protein-filled shake and by 5:30 she's en route for her 7-10 mile run. She then inhales a protein bar and moves into her next workout - swimming for an hour and a half. By noon she's more than two-thirds of her ways done. She breaks for lunch and then it's off to training for the next 2-4 hours - this time only on the bike. In addition to this daily routine, Amy weight trains five days a week, focusing on different muscle groups each day and a couple of nights a week she ventures off to the nearby lakes and does open water swimming. You would think that's enough, but for this avid athlete it's not. One day a week Amy goes to Ann Arbor and does a "brick" workout --- a bike run.


In an average week, Amy is running 60-70, biking 200-300 miles and swimming 10 miles. She is very conscious about eating organic, multi-grain foods, and drinking plenty of fluids.

She is a member of the Paralympics Development Team and one of 12 amputee athletes to compete in triathlons nationwide. Her goal is to establish triathlon as a competition in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.

Just The Stats...
Amy holds the World Record in Triathlons for female below the knee amputees. She recently won first place in the Silver Strand Half Marathon in San Diego, finishing with a time of 1:55. She stands as fourth time winner of the National Half Marathon Championship. Amy also took first place in her division in the 2004 Accenture Chicago Triathlon. Having completed ten marathons to date, Amy set the world record in October 2002 at the St. George, Utah, Marathon. At this marathon, she outpaced the former record, set by Lindsay Nielsen in 1999, by over 24 minutes. As a newcomer to triathlons, Amy won the gold medal in her division in the ITU World Championship Olympic Distance Triathlon held in Queenstown, New Zealand, in December 2003.

Amy's Story...
Amy Dodson, 42, lost her left leg and lower lobe of her left lung to cancer (undifferentiated sarcoma) in 1983 and began distance running 15 years later. In 1999 she began running marathons, and in 2003 began competing in triathlons, capturing the gold medal in the 5000 meter at the DSUSA National Games in 1999.

Amy competes in a Freedom Innovations Nitro Running Foot and also wears Renegade and Silhouette foot products when during her daily activities.