Team-Bri is back! The team will compete in the Ironman Vineman triathlon in Sonoma County this July to raise awareness and funds for NAMI California.
The Ironman Vineman, which takes place on Saturday, July 30, has been a California classic for decades. Athletes will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles through Sonoma County’s wine country.
Last year, Team-Bri raised nearly $34,000 for NAMI California in the epic Ironman Lake Tahoe triathlon. Donations benefit NAMI California’s criminal justice programs, creating statewide Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trainings for law enforcement agencies and providing grants to affiliates needing program assistance.
Team-Bri is named after Brian Lungren Jr., who grew up in the Lake Tahoe area as an exceptional athlete. In his teens, Bri experienced the onset of mental illness. Bri encountered law enforcement on numerous occasions, but those encounters never resulted in harm to either him or any officers. Bri’s family credits the willingness of law enforcement officers to become familiar with Bri and his family and to learn to identify when a person is experiencing a mental health crisis.
Though he is not competing on the slopes anymore, Bri serves as the virtual Ironman coach for his father, Brian Sr., and sister, Alanna. At Bri’s urging, Brian Sr. and Alanna competed in the 2015 Ironman Lake Tahoe and are continuing the cause by competing in Ironman Vineman in July.
Contributions in Team-Bri’s name on behalf of NAMI California are being raised through the Ironman Foundation. Let’s support Team-Bri and NAMI California and show that recovery is possible!