Kentucky Triathlete Embarks On 27-Hour Endurance Challenge
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Lexington, Ky. woman plans to endure 27 straight hours of swimming, biking, and running to raise awareness of human trafficking.
In an effort to raise awareness of human trafficking, Lexington, Ky. resident Paula Heron will swim, bike, and run for 27 hours straight–one hour for every million people bought and sold around the world.
“I think it’s appalling, and I think people just don’t know about it,” Heron said, who will embark on her challenge on June 18.
Human trafficking is an estimated $32 billion industry.
“Human trafficking is selling a person for either forced labor, or into the sex industry, and another human being making money off of that,” Heron said.
The images of mostly women and children being sold pushed Heron, an Ironman triathlete, to use the sport she loves to shine a light on human trafficking.
“Seventeen and a half thousand women, or slaves, cross these borders every year, into the United States,” Heron said. “It’s not just a Cambodia problem, an Asian problem.”
Heron, who’s also a University of Kentucky researcher, will be dressed in orange from head to toe. Orange symbolizes freedom, and she calls her effort Tri4Freedom.
Read more: wkyt.com