A Year of Firsts

Hello Broncos fans! This is Shelby Britton. I’m a rookie this year and Laura’s guest blogger for the week. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to share with you about some first-time experiences I’ve had this year – both as a first-year Broncos Cheerleader and in my personal life.



A few weeks ago I participated in the Tri for the Cure, a women’s triathlon to benefit the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. I’ve never participated in a marathon or anything like a triathlon so I was very nervous as well as excited. I entered the non-competitive “buddies” class in honor of my mother-in-law who is a survivor. The sprint triathlon was held at Cherry Creek Park and over 3,000 women participated.

I trained as much as possible beginning in March between auditions and rehearsals for the Broncos Cheerleaders. I completed each section of the triathlon separately several times while training. However, I was worried about the swim because nothing can really prepare you for an open-water swim with 100 other women swimming right next to you, kicking and bumping into you. I had also never done all three portions of the event back-to-back before the day of the event. As a novice triathlete my only goals were to run without walking, swim without stopping and bike without coasting.

The event started with a .5-mile swim in Cherry Creek Reservoir, then a 12-mile bike ride and finally 3.1-mile run (half of which was uphill!). The first wave at 7 a.m. included the elite athletes, followed by the second wave of honored breast cancer survivors who received a very loud encouraging send-off. At 8:30 a.m. I plunged into the water with the other 100 women in my wave. Surprisingly I felt pretty calm and was able to make it out of the water in 19 minutes. The bike portion took me 44 minutes and included beautiful views of the park and the mountains. I suppose I could have improved my time if I had not been looking around so much! Upon my return to the transition area I still felt good and had some energy left, but my legs were shaky and the start of the three-mile run was a tough one. It took all my concentration to move my legs up the hill for the first few minutes, but in 30 minutes I was running across the finish line! My first triathlon was a success!



I had not walked or “doggie-paddled” and I pushed myself throughout the whole bike ride. I finished 1,314 out of 3,000 and am very happy with my ranking. Maybe next year I will enter the competitive class and step it up a notch!

Meanwhile, as a team, the Broncos Cheerleaders are participating in the Race for the Cure next month before the San Diego game on October 7th and I hope you will all consider joining us! It’s only 3 miles – piece of cake! You can check out our Director Teresa’s blog for more information.

So far this year has been a year of firsts for me – my first triathlon, my first year as a Broncos Cheerleader and this week I will compete in my first A-circuit hunter/jumper horse show after 15 years since my last horse show. I’ll be riding a 16-hand Thoroughbred/Warmblood named Aria in the High Prairie Fall Preview at the Colorado Horse Park. We will be showing in a hunter division over fences and I’m looking forward to the excitement of showing again.

And, of course, I’ve already experienced my first game as a Broncos Cheerleader — stepping onto the field to perform for the first time before the Cleveland preseason game was a thrilling experience I will never forget! I can’t wait for the regular season home opener against the Raiders. It should be an exciting game and another amazing first experience for me this year.

Go Broncos!

- Shelby (9/4/07)