Faith In Each Other

A BIBLICAL PARABLE tells about how the tiny mustard seed builds to a tree, "so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."

That big-things-start-small belief is why the T-shirts of the "Soul Sistas," a group of women who have empowered each other to tackle events like today's Danskin Triathlon, carry the phrase, "Faith of a Mustard Seed."

The Soul Sistas germinated in 1999 when Stephanie LaBoo, a chemical engineer for Boeing, decided to do the annual Seattle Danskin, which benefits breast-cancer research. Her mother, Joyce LaBoo, watched from the sidelines and was brought to tears, and not just from family pride.

"To see all those women of different ages and sizes doing what they were doing was so inspiring," Joyce says.

She was so inspired she decided to train, although she had never been especially active, didn't know how to swim and, in fact, feared deep water. Not wanting to go it alone, she stopped a friend, Islamah Rashid, after a service at Martin Luther King Memorial Baptist Church in the Renton Highlands and asked if she wanted to join her mission. Rashid, after much thought, said she'd be willing.

By January 2001, the women were taking lessons. Soon, Rashid asked her sister to join them and LaBoo invited some of her friends. By the end of the year, they had six members and felt they needed a name. They came up with Soul Sistas. The church connection provided initial word of mouth, but the chance to get fit, take on a challenge and benefit from the buddy system helped the group's membership swell to as many as 40. Club members range in age from 28 to 60.

That the core of the group is African-American is more than a footnote. Black women are under-represented in fitness events like Danskin, the Seattle Marathon and the Seattle-to-Portland (STP) bicycling trek. They have also been underrepresented in fitness in general, says Dr. Rayburn Lewis, vice president of medical affairs for Swedish Medical Center. And that inactivity is passed along through generations.

Lewis and fellow African-American doctor John Vassall, an internist and chief of staff at Swedish, were riding the STP a few years ago when they noticed the dearth of African-American women on the trek. Lewis says African-American women seem especially at risk for health conditions such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease, which can sometimes be moderated or avoided through exercise.

Eventually, he ran across the Soul Sistas and went to one of their meetings, planning to share his wisdom about cycling. "Once I went to one of their meetings, it was clear they didn't need me," he says. "They were doing everything right."

Lewis applauds the buddy system and urges everyone, but especially African-American women, to embrace the concept of movement and the long-term benefits of exercise. He notes that they, as a group, seem resistant to swimming. LaBoo, 53, says she agrees.

"I find most women my age are not motivated," LaBoo says. "They are too busy with family, work, home and church activities. Some say they don't like to sweat! Or they don't have a partner to work out with. As far as swimming goes, there are two factors: fear and 'I can't get my hair wet!' "

She is still uneasy about the water and will use a swimming buddy to help her through it. In fact, she says she and her friends (some who did last month's STP) wouldn't be where they are without each other. They call, e-mail and exercise together, pulling and pushing each other along. They never let someone starting out go it alone. They make sure someone is there to inspire the person.

Vivian Gordon, 59, joined the club early on, and shortly after, her husband got a health scare. She has kept with it despite two bouts with cancer since. She also fears the water.

"I tell myself that I can handle cancer and chemotherapy if I can handle swimming in Lake Washington," Gordon jokes. "It's truly the support from the group that is so important. We tell each other, 'See, we can do it!' And when you know people are depending on you to train with them on a particular day, you got to do it."

Joyce LaBoo says another benefit of the club is how the families have been included. She will be just one of six LaBoo's participating in Danskin today: mother Hazel Reid, 78, daughters Stephanie and Jacina, 26, and sisters Iris Degruy, 44, and Bobbie Marbley, 51.

Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff writer. He can be reached at rseven@seattletimes.com. Jim Bates is a Seattle Times staff photographer.