Credit: Mary Jenkins
With numerous marathons and triathlons, including two Ironman races, under his belt, competing in arduous athletic events is nothing new for Pine Plains resident Bruce Knickerbocker. But this time, he’s training — and fundraising — for more than just the personal challenge.
“The Lake Placid [N.Y.] Ironman is exhilarating and overwhelming,” said Knickerbocker, 41, a nursing supervisor at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie. To commemorate the event’s 25th anniversary on July 21, Knickerbocker is making his participation especially meaningful: He’s trying to raise $10,000 for cancer care in Dutchess County.
Knickerbocker lost both parents to cancer. His mother, Kathryn Knickerbocker, died six years ago at the age of 68, less than four weeks after being diagnosed with acute lymphoma. Two years later, his 70-year-old father, Bruce Knickerbocker Sr., succumbed to mesothelioma.
“It was really hard,” said Knickerbocker. “Losing them early was bad enough, but what made it even more difficult was that they died so far from us. Mom was vacationing and couldn’t make it home: she passed away at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; Dad died [at his residence] in Florida.”
Knickerbocker believes in the importance of locally accessible cancer care. “Patients and their families do better when treatments are close to home. There’s more support for the patient, and less stress for friends and relatives,” he said. “I want to raise money to facilitate optimal cancer care in Dutchess County, specifically for Northern Dutchess Hospital and Vassar’s Dyson Center. That way patients can stay in their community, and not have to travel to places like New York City for treatment.”
Three months ago, Knickerbocker pitched his fundraising idea to Vassar Brothers Hospital Foundation. “The foundation helped me put together a webpage and gave me a social media presence,” he said. “They even set me up with a Nuvance triathlon suit.”
Knickerbocker admits the $10,000 goal he set is high. “It helps motivate me to train,” he said.
The road to the triathlon: juggling career, fatherhood and training
Credit: Kelly Knickerbocker
Knickerbocker began his trajectory to Lake Placid years ago. A lifelong sports enthusiast, he swam and played baseball at Stanford Recreation Park as a child, and was lifeguard at the town’s swimming pond as a teen. Knickerbocker kept fit during his nursing studies at Memorial College in Albany (now St. Peter’s Hospital) by biking to gym workouts.
At the suggestion of his future mother-in-law, Janet Burnett of Stanfordville, Knickerbocker entered a sprint triathlon in Putnam County in 2009: a half-mile swim, 12.4-mile bike race and 3-mile run. “I loved it,” he said. “I finished in a competitive time, and that inspired me to try again.”
Four years later, on a dare, he signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., with lifelong friend Rich Tamburrino of Pine Plains. “Neither of us had ever run a marathon before, but three months later we did it,” he said. “We’ve run it together ever since.”
The two friends entered their first-ever Lake Placid Ironman — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run — in 2017. “We made time to train together every day, and workouts could take up to six hours,” Knickerbocker recalled. “During the triathlon, Rich was with me every step of the way — we even crossed the finish line side by side.”
Knickerbocker supervises Tamburrino, an award-winning Vassar nurse. They often work the same 12-hour night shift — 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. “Bruce is unique: He is never satisfied,” Tamburrino said. “He always wants to do better not only as a nurse, but as an athlete. Bruce one-ups himself, and gets you to one-up yourself, too.”
Nursing supervisor John Shaw, a Stanfordville resident, agreed; “I’ve worked at Vassar with Bruce for over a decade. He inspires confidence and is sought out by people as a leader. He lives his beliefs as a nurse and as an Ironman athlete — they both take psychological fortitude. Bruce’s level of determination is amazing!”
Knickerbocker tries to compete in a race every year. “Swimming in the Hudson was a little messy,” he said of the 2011 New York Olympic Triathlon. The Stissing Sprint Triathlon in Pine Plains last month was his warm up for Lake Placid. Despite a problem with back strain, Knickerbocker placed ninth out of 123 participants.
Time management is Knickerbocker’s biggest challenge. “Every minute of training is a minute I could spend elsewhere,” he said. “I’m splitting time between being a father, a nurse and an athlete.” He credits his college sweetheart and wife, Kelly, with his success. “She tells me when to train, and when to rest. She kayaks beside me as I swim,” he said, “Luckily, my three kids are used to my schedule — they haven’t known any different from birth. I trained by pushing each one in a jogging stroller. Now my 12-year-old son — my oldest — comes with me to the gym.”
So far, Knickerbocker has raised nearly $6,000. “All of us have friends and relatives touched by cancer — this is one way to make a difference,” he said. ”We’ll keep the fundraising page up and running for a week after the triathlon so people can still donate or just share the page.”
Checking the website countdown to Lake Placid, Knickerbocker smiled. “Only 13 days, 13 hours, 20 minutes and 50 seconds to go,” he said.