As part of Jett Foundation’s Team Jett athletic events, the Gals for Cal team competes annually at the Hopkinton Title 9 Triathlon in support of families impacted by Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The Gals for Cal triathlon team began with one mom, Cindy Quitzau, and her son Cal, who was diagnosed with Duchenne 15 years ago. Cindy was determined to challenge herself and challenge Duchenne while raising funds and awareness for Jett Foundation and the families we serve.
The Gals’ have raised nearly $800,000 for the Duchenne community since their founding and have grown from a few determined moms to a 2023 team of 50 women.
To preface this year’s race, many of our Gals and Jett employees gathered for a pre-race breakfast on September 9. Lori Safford, who has been a member of the Gals for many years, joined us with her son, Sam, who lives with
Duchenne. Sam inspired the team with many encouraging words as they prepared to take on the triathlon challenge the next day.
This year’s Hopkinton Title 9 Triathlon took place on Sunday, September 10, 2023 in Hopkinton, MA. The Gals were once again led by captains Cindy Quitzau and Annie Ganot. Annie says, “I am incredibly proud to be a Gal and participate in honor of my son, Eytani, for my 8th year… the awareness and financial support that has been raised by the Gals over the years is vitally important to further Jett Foundation’s efforts to improve the quality of life for all patients living with Duchenne.”
For the past several years, Annie has recruited her friends and family near and far, and this year she has also welcomed over 20 of her colleagues from team sponsor Solid Biosciences, where she serves as Co-Founder, VP, Head of Patient Advocacy.
Among our 2023 Gals for Cal team were six moms of individuals living with Duchenne (pictured on right).
Melissa Kendall, mother to a 10-year-old who lives with Duchenne, joined the Gals for the first time this year.
Hopkinton’s course contains a ¼ mile swim, 10-mile bike ride, and 5k run. The Title 9 Triathlon prides itself on creating a fun, tight-knit environment for women of all athletic abilities. If you are interested in joining our Gals or other Team Jett events in 2024, please email Emily Hubert at emily@jettfoundation.org.
Thanks to team fundraising and the endorsement of sponsors like Solid Biosciences, Sarepta Therapeutics, Edgewise Therapeutics, REQ, JB’s Keys, and Team Select this year alone, the team has raised nearly $45,000 in support of Jett Foundation programs.
To view many pictures of the 2023 triathlon, please visit our Facebook album.
