Competitors in the Patriots Half Triathlon on Saturday have a tough enough challenge to face. For Charlie Plackson, that challenge is a little more intense – he is blind.
His blindness has not kept the retired 69-year-old from competing in races and full triathlons around the country, though, and it sure won’t stop him from competing in the local event that kicks off at 7 a.m. Saturday in Anniversary Park on Route 31 near the Jamestown Settlement.
According to Plaskon, people should never be satisfied with their current achievements. “They should always reach out to new challenges,” he says.
Plaskon will be assisted in the local race by three Colonial Williamsburg hospitality employees: Matt Polansky of Colonial Williamsburg’s hotel sales will accompany Plaskon during the 1.2 mile swim, Williamsburg Lodge Executive Chef Rhys Lewis will help out on the 58-mile bike ride along Route 5 in Charles City County, and executive chef for the Williamsburg Lodge and Woodlands Conference Centers Anthony Frank will wrap up the race with Plaskon on the 13.1-mile run on a combination of bike paths and jogging trails.
In the first grade, Plaskon was diagnosed with a degenerative macular disease. At that time he had no central vision and limited peripheral vision. He has been legally blind all of his life. Plaskon married, raised three children, and retired in 1999 after 32 successful years teaching at Copiague Middle School on Long Island.
According to an article by Charles Scott in the Huffington Post Thursday, Plaskon took up marathons and Ironman triathlons in his 60s, and has so far finished eight Ironman races. Read Scott’s story here.
