Anna Towne focuses on her teammates when she’s pulling them along in a triathlon or half marathon. When she needs a reminder of her “why,” she thinks about her uncle.
John Greenwald has cerebral palsy and is, in Towne’s words, a “functional” quadriplegic because he can’t move but can navigate his chair to get around. He lives in Minneapolis and loves sports, especially the Vikings.
“He would have loved to do these [activities] growing up,” says Towne, who lives in Fort Collins. “It’s very special for me to help the next generation and make them inclusive for everyone.”
Towne swims, rides and runs with others who are a part of Athletes in Tandem, a Fort Collins-based nonprofit that pairs able-bodied athletes such as Towne with individuals who have physical disabilities so that they can experience the thrill of a race. Dennis Vanderheiden founded the organization in 2008 after he was inspired by Dick Hoyt, who completed over 1,000 races, including Ironman triathlons, marathons and a 3,700-mile trek across the U.S. with his son, Rick, who used a wheelchair. The family later created the Hoyt Foundation.
Towne and Snyder at the
2023 Lake to Lake Triathlon.
Photo by Dennis Vanderheiden.
A passion and a purpose
Towne’s lifestyle, not just her family, shaped her interests and her career. She decided to become a physical therapist after playing high school sports while growing up in Iowa and playing tennis at Truman State University, a Division II school in Kirksville, Mo. She suffered a lot of injuries in college, and she wanted to help others either avoid them or receive the right care if they did get hurt.
She moved to Fort Collins in 2014 to join Rebound Sports & Physical Therapy before opening her own practice,
Strong Core Mama, in 2023. She specializes in pelvic floor and core therapy for pregnant women and mothers, helping them overcome common symptoms such as incontinence, pain and weakness. She suffered the same kind of maladies until she researched ways to overcome them, which helped her enjoy sports again. Today, she calls herself Dr. Anna and has a doctorate in physical therapy.
Towne first ran the Horsetooth Half Marathon by herself and was talking to someone about the race when the woman mentioned that she had pushed a participant in a chair. Towne was intrigued and eventually signed up. She has since completed 65 races with Athletes in Tandem.
“It’s the only way I race anymore,” Towne says. “It’s just so rewarding and fun. Every time is an adventure.”
2022 Lake to Lake Triathlon. Photo by Dennis Vanderheiden.
That’s especially true in unpredictable conditions, such as the kind she faced on June 27 in the Lake to Lake Triathlon, a popular race in Loveland. Lake Loveland’s water levels were much lower than normal in this year’s drought, exposing a muddy shore that she needed help crossing with the raft attached to her ankle. She got that help, of course, an ethos she usually experiences in Northern Colorado.
“Most of the races I do here try really hard to be accommodating,” Towne says. “We’re already working our tail ends off, so I’m always so grateful when race directors try so hard.”
Towne relishes the challenge of pulling someone along, but she doesn’t try to sugarcoat it. It can be tough, especially when biking with a trailer behind her, where her companion rides. She trains by pulling around her three kids, ages 8, 6 and 3, on her bike. Her husband, Nate, helps by pushing her kids in an event or keeping them together while she races. Swimming with a raft isn’t as difficult as many think, and running with a stroller makes it possible to take walk breaks, she says, which is something she can’t do on a bike.
“The bike is insanely hard,” Towne says. “The flat roads feel like hills, and the hills feel like mountains. I have to be in the best shape of my life to get up hills with a trailer.”
Lasting impacts
Towne’s most frequent partner, PJ Snyder, is a Loveland resident and a legend in the organization, as he’s completed 227 events, including his 22nd with Towne at this year’s Lake to Lake Triathlon. They’ve raced together for 11 years and consider each other extended family. Some of Towne’s favorite photos are of PJ, who loves children, holding her kids in his lap.
PJ, who is now 40, has Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic condition marked by intellectual and physical disabilities. He is nonverbal, says his mother, Cindy, but he’s aware of his surroundings and loves Towne and the races they do together. He also loves the crowd cheering for him and seeing a world outside of his house, a chance that many people with severe limitations don’t often get.
Anna Towne and PJ Snyder at the 2025 Horsetooth Half Marathon. Photo by Guy Turenne.
Cindy was PJ’s teacher and adopted him 31 years ago after she learned he was in foster care by seeing him on “Wednesday’s Child,” a segment on CBS Colorado featuring children waiting for adoption. His mother tried to raise him but couldn’t and gave him up, she says.
“He gets bored being at home and loves to be outside,” Cindy says. “I’m older now and not very mobile. I can get him to a race, but I can’t do anything else.”
Towne takes other athletes along for races, and they all have their own challenges and ways of expressing themselves, but they all seem to love it, she says. Some like to cheer or grunt or yell, and some even sing.
The one Towne remembers best, besides PJ, was a little girl who sang an unusual song for July, but it seemed to perfectly fit both of their moods. It was “Joy to the World.”
