Coupeville Sports

James Steller and Co. will circumnavigate Whidbey Island Labor Day weekend to raise money for Coupeville schools.

He’s back at it, but this time he’s bringing some friends along for the adventure.

James Steller, one of Whidbey’s top runners and supporters of local schools, will once again be circumnavigating the Island Labor Day weekend.

But, unlike last year, when he attempted to go solo and put himself in the hospital for a bit, this time out Steller will be joined by “a small group of crazies.”

Neil Rixe, who coaches track and robotics at Coupeville High School, dentist Andrew Wyman and firefighter Greg White, a Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Famer for his old-school high school athletic exploits, will join Steller.

The quartet, who have seven kids among them, all involved in Coupeville schools, will launch “Circumnavigate Whidbey – 2018 – The Traverse” Sept. 1-2.

Each of the two days starts and ends in Coupeville, with the foursome (or more, if others join), running, biking, kayaking and swimming.

It will take 120 miles of biking, 24 miles of running, eight miles of kayak, and one mile of swim for the group to travel around the perimeter of Whidbey.

The event raises money for the Community Foundation for Coupeville Public Schools, a non-profit organization which supports local teachers by funding projects and issues scholarships to graduating seniors.

The Foundation annually puts $25,000 back into local education.

Last year’s inaugural edition of Circumnavigate Whidbey raised $15,000 in donations, but just about wrecked Steller.

A veteran triathlon and marathon athlete, he attempted to run the entire length and found even his well-seasoned body had trouble achieving the feat.

While it might have been a small setback in the moment, Steller was cheered by how the community stepped up with donations, and how, in the end, several other athletes jumped in to try and get him to the finish line.

After a lot of thought, and some personal reflection, he decided he couldn’t let the event die.

“The decision for me to try this again took me until June to finally make up my mind,” Steller said. “I knew that it was great for the Foundation, really bringing in both publicity and significant monies for our year of grants and scholarships.

“I just knew my body couldn’t run it.”

That was when he hit upon an idea to mix things up.

“In my past, I have done both the Ski To Sea and triathlons,” Steller said. “So my wife and I were talking and said, why can’t we do something like that on Whidbey?

“My ultimate ambition is to make it a tradition and have folks who participate do their own fundraising.”

While he has three compatriots lined up, Steller is open to adding other athletes to the mix.

As the founder of the event, he has the logistics and route ready to go, but would encourage anyone wanting to join to commit to raising $500 for the Foundation.

If you’re content to cheer from the sideline and donate to the cause, there’s still something special in it for you.

For every $100 you donate, you get an entry into a raffle for a two-night stay at the Ocean’s Bluff Farm’s guest house.

A small jewel tucked away on the Island, it offers “expansive ocean and Olympic views, farm animals and serenity.”

To get an idea of what the guest house looks like, pop over to:

https://www.oceanblufffarm.com/

For more info on Circumnavigate Whidbey, or to donate, pop over to:

http://www.4coupevilleschools.org/

If you’re interested in joining the “band of crazies” and taking to the road or waters of Whidbey, drop Steller a line at jsteller@hotmail.com.

PS — Check out this vintage video about the Foundation from 2011 and see how many future Wolf athletic stars you can ID. I got at least seven.

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