Ironwoman champ will race again

SHINGLE SPRINGS —  Nicole Young, 40, from Shingle Springs, is a seasoned and conditioned athlete who typically is a top-three finisher of runs, duathlons, relays and triathlons.

She also is a two-time Ironwoman champion of Eppie’s Great Race, a Sacramento run-bike-paddle triathlon in its 38th year.

Her horrifying and life-changing story began on a Thursday in October 2010 when she simply tripped over a rock and got a minor puncture wound on her knee that was stitched up an hour later.

“By Saturday, I couldn’t walk on my left leg,” Young recalls. “A week later, I was prepped for surgery and lost eight days of memory — not knowing that a deadly bacteria had entered my body.”

Young had contracted a deadly bacteria infection called necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacteria, and endured a total of eight painful surgeries on her leg. She spent five weeks in the hospital.

“Fearing that the bacteria was moving toward my abdomen, the fifth surgery was intended to amputate my leg. Finally, luck took over when the surgeons at Mercy San Juan opened my leg and found that there was no more damage,” Young said.

Young's leg was saved, but her kidneys had temporarily failed and all her major organs were compromised. She was put on life support and could not breathe on her own. After four dialyses, which removed approximately 50 pounds of fluid, her condition began to improve.

Her doctors predicted it could take her a year to walk again but she has defied the odds and is running and biking again.

“I don’t know what the future holds for my love of racing, but I take each day as it comes,” Young said.

And miraculously, Young will participate for a relay team in the biking portion of Eppie’s Great Race. She also is currently a mentor for others who are training for Eppie’s Great Race.

The 38th annual Eppie’s Great Race will take place July 23. Participants run 5.82 miles, cycle 12.5 miles and paddle boats 6.35 miles on a racecourse located on and along the American River Parkway in Sacramento and Rancho Cordova.

Kids can join the fun with the US Bank Kids Duathlon, a 2-mile run and 5.75-mile cycle for youth 17 and younger.

For more information about Eppie’s Great Race, visit thegreatrace.org.