Parathlete Finishes Race Across America

The air was thick and warm in Annapolis, MD, on Monday morning when Redondo Beach resident and former LAPD officer Kristina Ripatti rolled across the finish line of the 3,000-mile Race Across America. 

In completing the cross-country cycling race, the 37-year-old overcame significant obstacles --- she is paralyzed from the chest down and cannot sweat because of a bullet lodged in her spine -- that her three Operation Progress teammates did not have to face.

"I was concerned because of the heat," Ripatti said at the finish line as she wiped away tears. "We kind of lucked out in the desert. It wasn't as hot as it could've been."

Ripatti, who while on duty for the Los Angeles Police Department in June 2006 was shot by a robbery suspect and subsequently paralyzed, wore a special cooling vest. The contraption was designed to keep her core body temperature from rising too high on the course that took her and her teammates from Oceanside, Calif., through the Arizona desert and across the U.S. in just over eight and a half days.

Ripatti learned about the 29-year-old Race Across America six months ago when Thousand Oaks resident Mark Burson contacted her.

Burson had dreamed of participating in a race that allowed ultra-cycling enthusiasts to test their capabilities and to raise awareness of various causes. So he contacted Operation Progress, a nonprofit foundation started by LAPD officers to keep kids off of the streets by providing mentoring and academic scholarships.

Operation Progress put Burson in touch with Ripatti, who was involved with the organization. Burson was intrigued by Ripatti's use of a hand cycle, and team Operation Progress was soon underway.

Ripatti and Burson were joined on the team by Nancy Guth and Franziska Williams. The quartet formed a race strategy that proved successful: Ripatti rode the downhill portions of the hot Appalachian Mountains while her teammates rode uphill. Each team member rode for 20 minutes at a time during the hot days, and up to 45 minutes at a time during the cooler nights.

"The older you get, the less sleep you need," Guth said.

For Ripatti, "all of the ups and downs were pretty overwhelming," she said. "My brake rope broke before the Continental Divide."

Although Ripatti was shedding tears at the finish line, her husband, LAPD Officer Tim Pearce, was bouncing around with excitement. "She is incredible. She was just grinding it out. She never ceases to amaze me," he said.

What's next for Ripatti? She and Pearce are going to the island of St. Johns for a week, then they might think about tackling another event.

"I asked her if she wants to paddle the coast of Alaska," said Pearce. "We'll see."