Sam Lyons is the son of Joe Lyons who suffered a fatal heart attack in the inaugural Cohasset Triathlon in 2007 when Sam was 7 years old. Sam has been living with Juvenile Diabetes since he was 2. Sam is committed to keeping his dad's legacy alive in continuing his quest to find a cure for diabetes and raise social awareness to the disease. He has been the official race starter for the Cohasset Triathlon since 2008 and plans to compete in his first triathlon with the Tri Team for Diabetes at Cohasset when he is 13. In the meantime he is the honorary team captain for the Tri Team for Diabetes.

In his spare time, Sam is a 4th grader at Zervas Elementary School in Newton. He plays basketball, volleyball, drums and enjoys hip hop dance. In 2009, Sam travelled to Washington D.C. as a Massachusetts delegate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children's Congress. There he met with his congressman and senators to discuss the need to provide funding for diabetes research. He was also invited to the White House where he met President Obama.

Finn Doherty is 9 years old and has had Type 1 diabetes since he was two. He lives in Cohasset and it is because of Finn that Bill Burnett chose JDRF to be the beneficiary of the Cohasset Tri. Finn is thrilled that the Tri has raised over half a million dollars for JDRF! In last year’s Tri, Finn and Gary Hall Jr. ran with Colin Whelan (a Cohasset 14 year old who also has Type 1) for the last stretch of the race across the finish line. It was a moment Finn will never forget.

Finn wears an Omnipod pump and never lets diabetes hold him back or slow him down. He too plans to compete in the Cohasset Tri when he is 13, maybe with a relay of friends. For now he plays baseball, basketball and sails all summer long. He is really looking forward to being an co-honorary team captain this year.

Karl was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 12. He got started in triathlon in 2006, completing his first Sprint Triathlon with the encouragement from friends. In 2007, the association with JDRF compelled him to participate in the inaugural Cohasset Triathlon - and it has since become one of his all time favorite events! Learning to manage diabetes during training and racing situations is a challenge, but the triathlon experience has given him a much greater understanding of his body and the benefits of exercising to assist in blood sugar control. In addition to swimming, biking and running for triathlons, he enjoys keeping busy with landscaping, woodworking, scuba diving, and computers.

Evan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on Nov 25, 1985. He uses an insulin pump and will soon be using the continuous glucose monitoring system. He has run 2 marathons (Marine Corps and Cape Cod) and has completed several half marathons and 10k. He also enjoys skiing, mountain biking, playing basketball and playing the piano. Evan has been married for 12 years and has 2 children. He works as an emergency physician. Cohasset will be his first triathlon.

Matt is the oldest of 4 children. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 18 months old, he has had diabetes for over 19 years. He is an accomplished athlete, including 3 years varsity lacrosse and 4 years varsity hockey serving as assistant team captain his senior year at Wellesley H.S. He has worked at Camp Joslin (a camp for boys with diabetes) as a counselor (2004 - 2007) and as the waterfront director during the summer of 2008. He is currently a Finance major at Providence College in Rhode Island.

Megan is 14 years old and living with Type 1 Diabetes. She was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 9. Meghan loves sports especially swimming, diving, lacrosse, and soccer. She lives a very active lifestyle with her family and look forward to raising money to find a cure!.

Mike is 20 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes on October 21, 1991. He currently treats his diabetes with injections, using Lantus and Humolog. However, he will be making the switch to a pump in the upcoming months. Born and raised in Wellesley, MA, Mike has been involved with the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes since age 5. He was also a camper for 6 years at Camp Joslin, as well as a counselor for 4 years. Last summer, he continued his diabetes campaigning by interning for the JDRF Government Relations Office in Washington, DC. As in intern, he helped advocate for a renewal of the Special Diabetes Funding which successfully passed. Mike has completed the previous two Cohasset Triathlons. He is currently a political science major at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Jay is 33 years old and has been living with Type I Diabetes for 24 years. He currently treats his diabetes with an insulin pump and has been on this regiment since 1998. Born and raised in Arizona, he was very active in the diabetes campaigns and programs growing up, including the JDRF Ride for the Cure, Arizona Diabetes Summer Camp (counselor and board member) and was selected to represent Arizona in the JDRF Children's Congress in Washington, DC in 1991. He currently lives in Boston, MA with his wife and daughter.

Jay has completed a handful of endurance challenges including the Boston Marathon and cycling across US. Cohasset will be his first triathlon.

John is 59 and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1983. John has completed 16 marathons, including 5 Boston marathons! John completed his first triathlon last year. John admits "the challenge of managing blood sugar is constantly there, especially when exercising, but, exercise, is a critical key to diabetes management." John has worked in the insurance industry for 28 years. He and his wife are from Plymouth and they have 3 grown children. Two of the children live in Hawaii, which is always a great destination for a run or perhaps, a future triathlon, but not the Ironman!.

Danielle has been insulin-dependent for almost 15 years. When she was diagnosed in college, she weighed nearly 350 pounds and had never exercised a day in her life. Just a few years ago she started running. She kept it up and has completed several half-marathons this past year. She recently bought her first bike and Cohasset will be her first triathlon. She has some pretty lofty goals. She hopes to complete a half ironman by the end of this season and to train with team Triabetes for an Ironman event in 2010. She is looking forward to meeting and training with other type 1 triathletes.

Patrcik was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1993 at the age of 11. Although it was devastating to receive such a diagnosis, he was fortunate in the sense that he was already somewhat intimate with the disease. His fraternal twin brother had been diagnosed with type 1 when he was 14 months old. Thus, he had come to learn a great deal about the disease and the treatment of it by the time he was diagnosed (jokingly, he telsl people that God punished he because I tormented his twin with candy). Thanks to the encouragement of his twin, from day one, he never really let diabetes hinder him. He participated in just about every sport growing up and ran cross country and track in high school. After high school, he attended Babson College and continued to run, competing mostly in half marathons. Today, he works as an accountant at Covidien and is also pursuing an MBA at Bentley College. Cohasset will be his first triathlon.

Devin was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of nine. He has never let the disease get in his way of Big Dreams. At the age of 11 he gave up his love for soccer to pursue his new passion…triathlons. Today Devin is 15 years old and has completed 30+ triathlons including two National Youth Elite Championship Triathlons. Living in Hawaii with his parents and 17-year-old sister he has set his goals high... Ironman! When Devin is not running Cross Country, swimming on his High School Swim Team or Club Team, he is busy educating others about Type 1 diabetes. In 2009 he represented the state of Hawaii in Washington D.C. at the JDRF Children’s Congress He has been a Youth Ambassador for JDRF since his diagnosis raising awareness and funds for diabetes research. Most of all he has taught others that there are no limitations or Dreams you cannot accomplish!

Stephanie is 26 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 9. Stephanie has been using an insulin pump since the age of 13. Originally from Maryland, she attended the American Diabetes Associations' Camp Glyndon growing up and then worked at the camp as a counselor, and later as the director, prior to leaving Maryland. Stephanie moved to Boston for law school in the fall of 2005 and she is currently an associate attorney for a Boston civil defense firm with a primary focus on medical malpractice defense. The Cohasset Triathlon will be her first triathlon ever! It has always been Stephanie's position, and that of her supportive family, that diabetes is a consideration and not a limitation!

Rick has been living with Type I diabetes for fifteen years. He is from Hanover, MA and played on the varsity football, basketball, and lacrosse teams while attending Thayer Academy. In May 2009, Rick graduated from Wake Forest University with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. During college, he was a captain of the Wake Forest lacrosse team and conducted stem cell research at the school's Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He currently works for a consulting firm located outside of Boston. This event will be his first triathlon.