Saratoga News
Sports
Nothhaft competes in triathlon, despite Best's Disease
By Brad Wall
It was all going according to plan for 24-year-old Ryan Nothhaft. He had been an accomplished volleyball player at Saratoga High School and was moving toward a business degree at San José State University and working in an internship at NASA Ames Research Center.
The future looked bright for Nothhaft.
Then, what started as a typical day became one of the defining days of Nothhaft's life. After returning from a lunch break last November at his internship, everything went dark.
"When I came back from lunch, I honestly thought it was a temporary thing," said Nothhaft of his sudden loss of vision. "I was in complete denial."
Nothhaft was diagnosed with Best's Disease, a form of macular dystrophy. The macular--a small area about 1 millimeter in diameter in the center of the retina that contains most of the cone cells responsible for color vision, sharp visual acuity and central vision--malfunctions, eventually causing blindness in one or both eyes.
In Nothhaft's case, he lost vision in his right eye.
In a flash, Nothhaft went from having a bright future to being a man in his mid 20's contemplating a possible lifetime of blindness.
"It was very difficult to deal with the sudden change," said Nothhaft. "I was extremely depressed and wondered how this would affect my future. Would I be able to work? How would I get places? How would this affect my personal relationships?"
For the first few months, Nothhaft did succumb to depression, but thanks to the members of his family--who he calls his heroes--he decided to fight back.
"One day at the end of May, I was sitting in my apartment by myself, reflecting on how much my family had done for me to help me overcome my depression when I realized it was time for me to stop feeling sorry for myself and time to give back," said Nothhaft.
It was then he came up with the idea to take charge of his situation by entering the Sandman Triathlon in Santa Cruz on Aug. 6 as a way to challenge himself and to raise money for The Macular Degeneration Foundation.
It isn't easy for most people to complete a half-mile swim, a 15-mile bike ride or a 4.2-mile run, let alone do them all with one functioning eye.
Nothhaft not only competed, but completed the triathlon, finishing 189th out of 350 competitors, and he raised $2,000 for The Macular Degeneration Foundation.
In addition to competing in the triathlon to bring attention to Best's Disease, Nothhaft has started a support group on Myspace (groups.myspace.com/maculardegeneration) where others with similar disabilities can discuss their issues.
That Nothhaft was able to compete in such a grueling event wasn't a surprise to anyone familiar with his athletic background. Growing up in Saratoga, he attended St. Andrews School before moving on to Saratoga High, graduating in 2001. An outstanding volleyball player, he was a four-year varsity starter for the Falcons before returning as an assistant coach on the men's and women's teams for two years.
Best's is a hereditary condition and both his father, Hank Nothhaft, and his brother, Hank Nothhaft Jr., have it, although only Ryan Nothhaft has had any symptoms manifest.
"My future is in a way brighter as a result of this disease," said Nothhaft. "My positive thoughts are my first line of defense against this disease."
In the Aug. 6 event, Martin Spierings, 23, of Santa Cruz stopped the watch at 1:22:06, swimming, biking and running his way through western Santa Cruz to win the 21st annual Sandman Triathlon. Tim Johnston, 39, and David Burns, 33, both of Los Gatos finished fourth and sixth, Johnston clocking in at 1:23.37 and Burns at 1:24.57.
Joining them in the top 50 in the field of 350 athletes were Daniel Johnson of Los Gatos, 34th in 1:34.11; Birgit Johnston of Los Gatos, 36th in 1:34.53; and Ted Tsuchida of Cupertino, 43rd in 1:37.42.
B. Johnston was first in the women's 35-39 age group with her solid effort. Raina Burns of Los Gatos was second in the women's 30-34 division and T. Johnston was second in the men's 40-44 group. Jana Crane of Sunnyvale raced a second in the women's 45-49 class and D. Johnson was second in the men's 50-54 division. Ed Grant of San Jose was the runner-up in the men's 65-69 age group.
Other local athletes who were top finishers in their age groups were: boys 17-and-under division--Alan Menezes of Saratoga fourth; men's 20-24--Michael Li of Saratoga sixth, Nothhaft seventh; women's 20-24--Kimberly Christians of Los Gatos third; women's 25-29--Lisa Jacobs of San Jose seventh, Maggie Spehar of San Jose 10th; men's 30-34--Burns third, Som Coelho of Sunnyvale 11th, Ciaran Byrne of Campbell 12th, Tim Crowley of Saratoga 18th; women's 30-34--Nichole Baggett of San Jose fifth, Jitske Kretz of San Jose sixth, Krista Crowley of Saratoga 18th; men's 35-39--Tsuchida fifth, Christopher Bridgfo of Los Gatos 17th; women's 35-39--Amy Sechrist of San Jose ninth; men's 40-44--Isa Hashim of Cupertino 12th, Eric Matsuoka of San Jose 17th, Michael Stockwell of San Jose 18th; women's 40-44--Christy Crowley of Los Gatos fourth, Anna Harrison of Los Gatos 10th; men's 45-49--Jorge Breton of San Jose ninth, Mark Flynn of San Jose 13th, Rob Dinapoli of Los Gatos 16th, Greg Mestressat of San Jose 18th, Alan Menezes of Saratoga 25th; women's 45-49--Tammy Mestressat of San Jose seventh; men's 50-54--Carl Bautista of Sunnyvale fifth, Fred O'Leary of Los Gatos 10th, Dale Deg of San Jose 14th; men's 60-64--Dan Selleck of Los Gatos fifth.
For more information on The Macular Degeneration Foundation, visit www.eyesight.org. For more information on the Sandman Triathlon, visit www.scsla.org.
