Challenged athletes who run with prosthetic legs and swim despite paralysis will compete alongside able-bodied athletes in the 16th annual San Diego Triathlon Challenge on Sunday, Oct. 25 at La Jolla Cove. The competitors will swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles from the cove to Torrey Pines State Park. The triathlon aims to raise $850,000 for the San Diego-based nonprofit, Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), which provides sports prosthetics and equipment and helps train individuals with physical challenges. People can also choose to sign up for the 4 1/2-hour spin-a-thon or 5K walk that also take place Oct. 25. Children and families are invited to enjoy the fun zone festivities. University City resident Amelia Opean understands firsthand the power of a community that has empowered her to literally experience new waters. Thirty-one years ago, Opean was paralyzed from her armpits down in a car accident. Two years ago, while dragging her legs along the La Jolla Shores boardwalk, surfers and swimmers encouraged Opean to get in the water. “I thought they were crazy,” Opean said. “I was so weak and tired. I thought it was impossible. It changed my whole life.” Opean was so scared upon her first entry into the water that she shook her head in fear when the paddlers told her to swim. For her next swim, Opean’s friends helped her to swim from the La Jolla Cove to La Jolla Shores. Opean said she was “dead-tired and shaky” for three days. Opean has now completed two La Jolla Rough Water Swims and can swim a 35-minute mile.  “I wish I had started this 30 years ago,” Opean said. “I can’t believe anyone who is a paraplegic isn’t out in the ocean.” Opean said she hopes the Triathlon Challenge will raise awareness about the importance of providing an outlet to people with physical challenges to move in ways they never thought possible. Community support is crucial, she said, as she herself relies on friends to assist her to the water and to swim alongside her.  Opean’s team has raised $3,000 for the CAF.  Opean’s team will compete alongside star athletes, movie stars, Beijing Paralympics gold medal winners and war veterans who the CAF has helped to play sports again. Sarah Reinertsen, the first female amputee to finish the Ironman triathlon, will be one of the faces in the crowd. Reinertsen finished the Ironman — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run — in 2005, even though it was only two years beforehand that she got on a bike for the first time. On her website (www.always tri.net), Reinertsen recalls the pain she felt when her soccer coach made her sit out drills when she was a kid. Ironman world champions Chris McCormack and Michellie Jones will also compete. The crowd should look for celebrities Greg Ellis of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Star Trek” and “24”; Patrick Fabian of “Big Love” and Alexandra Paul of “Baywatch,” who will sweat, swim and huff-and-puff with the rest of them.   Coasting California for challenged athletes As athletes prepare for Sunday’s triathlon, more than 100 cyclists are riding along the California coast headed to La Jolla Shores with the goal of raising $1 million for the CAF. The cyclists, some with disabilities, began the 620-mile ride from Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco on Oct. 17 and will make stops in Santa Cruz, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and Newport Beach. Qualcomm is sponsoring the ride. “After participating in the ride last year, I felt this was one of the most rewarding weeks of cycling I have experienced. It felt great to ride for a cause that can change the lives of so many athletes and give them a chance to enjoy what my teammates and I experience every day,” said Danny Pate, a member of the Garmin-Slipstream professional cycling team.   Saturday workshops for challenged athletes CAF will hold three workshops to teach challenged athletes the confidence and skills to participate in sports on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to noon. The workshops are free and open to the public, and physical therapists are encouraged to join. Gait specialist Bob Gailey will host a leg amputee running and mobility workshop at La Jolla Country Day School, 9490 Genesee Ave. Ironman champion David Bailey will hold a wheelchair triathlon workshop. Endurance legend “One-Arm” Willie Stewart will speak about upper extremity amputee triathlons. The latter two workshops will be held at the Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive.   Registration • San Diego Triathlon Challenge: Walk-in registration is available on Saturday at the Jewish Community Center from noon to 3 p.m., 4126 Executive Drive. Online registration is closed. Registration costs $600 for an individual and $1,500 for a team. • “Tour de Cove” spin fund-raiser: Online registration will be open until 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. Walk-in registration will be open on the day of the event. Individuals can register to spin for an hour and a half for a $150 fund-raising minimum. • 5K Walk: Online registration will be open until 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. Walk-in registration will be open on the day of the event. Participation costs $20. The triathlon begins with an introduction of challenged athletes at 7 a.m. The swim starts at 8 a.m. and the  day ends with a barbeque from 3:30-5 p.m. For information, visit www.challengedathletes.org or call (858) 866-0959.