Catherine Phillips was thinking about her grandmother Sunday morning as she raced through the streets of downtown Lynchburg and Campbell County competing in the first Angels Race Triathlon.

She even wrote her grandmother’s name, Rowena, down the side of her arm.

“She’s my angel. Of course, there wasn’t enough space on my body to write all the names I wanted to,” Phillips said.

Phillips and her husband, Van, were two of more than 100 people who participated in the inaugural Angels Race Triathlon, an event set up to honor loved ones and to raise money for charities.

“Everyone’s lost someone at some time. They know what it feels like and this is a way for people to honor their loved ones that they’ve lost . . . At the end of the day, we’re trying to help th kids in the area,” said race coordinator Geb Broman.

The triathlon is a 300-meter pool swim, a 25-kilometer bike and a 5-kilometer run. The race is a fund-raising effort to benefit three charites – the Brittany Groover Memorial Foundation, the Karla Bolen Foundation and the Lynchburg YMCA. Broman said at least $1,000 had been raised as of Sunday.

Karla Bolen was a fourth-grade teacher in Northern Virginia and was killed in a car accident in December 1989. She was also the mother of race director Mick Gunter.

“I always wanted to do something to help her live on,” Gunter said.

The Brittany Groover Memorial Foundation was set up in memory of Brittany Grover, 15, a Jefferson Forest High School student who was killed in a car accident in November 2002. Broman was Groover’s godfather.

“Brittany was a very competitive young lady. She played soccer and she was a swimmer. She loved to have fun. Triathlons are a lot of fun. The’re very competitive She would just love this event,” Broman said.

Several high school students, many from Jefferson Forest High School, came out to race in Groover’s memory.

“I’ve known Brittany since we grew up together,” said Jessalyn Elliott, 17, a student at Jefferson Forest. “I thought this was a great way to use the gits and abilities that I have because I know that Brittany won’t get to anymore.”

Elliott was one of several students who wrote the name Brittany on her arm. Other participants wrote the name of their angel on their arm or let as well.

Jon Templeton, 18, Conor Frackleton, 17, and Karl Back, 18, also Jefferson Forest students, raced as a relay team, each doing one leg of the event.

“This really means something,” said Templeton, who knew Groover well. “She would be really proud that her friends and relatives are out here.”

He said the race didn’t feel like a competition at all and that the crowd made it feel like a real friendly environment.

Bach even gave his team a name, the Burn-a-nators.

“Because I thought we’d burn by everyone in the race,” he said.

Broman and Gunter said they’re hoping to make this an annual event and that as soon as this race is over, they’ll begin planning next year’s.

“We’re trying to do several things with this – raise money for charity and bring an event to the area that Lynchburg can wrap its arms around,” Broman said. “People have really embraced the whole concept and the local community has been so supportive.”

Lynchburg’s business manager with the parks and recreation department, Larry Landolt, said the race is a really good thing and that the city needs more of it.

“This has been just amazing with small miracle upon small miracle with the months leading up to it being just as powerful as the finish line,: said Tanya Gunter, Mick Gunter’s wife.

Katie Proctor, 22, and Heather Raiti, 21, said they participated for both the fitness and the cause.

“I’ve never done a triathlon before,” said Raiti, a Lynchburg College student. “As you were going, everyone was very encouraging, saying, ‘Keep it up,’ and there were always words of encouragement. Everyone was pulling for you. It was great especially because, this being a compettive situation, people are usally there for themselves, but people were there for everyone.”