Sister’s memory drives triathlete
Southlake man raises funds to fight cancer through Ironman races
Jonathan Walkup credits his sister with providing the inspiration he needed to qualify for Saturday’s World Championship 70.3 Ironman in Clearwater, Fla.
Julia Walkup Middleton lost her seven-year battle with cancer on Sept. 1.
“Julia will not be far from my mind,” Walkup, 46, said.
Walkup, a Southlake resident, began triathlon training in January 2006 to improve his health. He placed in his age group in his first sprint triathlon races, which fostered a desire to continue training.
He then decided to raise money to help fight thymoma cancer, the type his sister had. Through research, he learned that the Janus Charity Challenge donated proceeds to the charity of one’s choice. The only catch: Janus’ fundraising program was tied to Ironman events.
“Julia was in her sixth year of this battle,” he said. “She should have only survived two. In the back of my mind, I knew I was running out of time.”
With five months to train, Walkup entered Ironman Arizona last April. He raised more than $14,000 and finished. He narrowly missed a spot in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Walkup then entered the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman last summer. Again, he missed earning a Kona spot, but he did qualify for Clearwater. He said the event will be a family celebration of Julia’s life. Even his dad, Bob Walkup, who was just re-elected to serve his third term as the mayor of Tucson, Ariz., plans to be on hand.
Jonathan Walkup is among 18 area triathletes who qualified for the Clearwater race.
Another, Jack Weiss, has recovered from a September bike wreck and multiple surgeries that followed. Weiss also qualified for the Duathlon World Long Course Championships in September, but he wasn’t physically able to participate.
“I’m in Florida,” Weiss said. “I can’t say how well I will do, but I am here.”
I hope I do get the message across with some of these stories that life is all about taking a stance and stepping up to the start line, life can throw you so many curve balls ( to use another sporting saying) that you can be bruised and battered but it is always the measure of the desire to be a participant that get you to the end of the race
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