Kelley Kunz is an IRONMAN: Ironman Wisconsin, September 13, 2009
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For Kelley Kunz, a 41-year-old Jacksonville physical therapist, completing an Ironman triathlon has been a "lifelong goal." That's why she spent about a year training for the Ironman Wisconsin, which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon-length (26.2 miles) run.
But there's something slightly self-absorbed about spending hours each week training for the event, especially when you've got children who are 6 and 4, and a husband who runs a busy restaurant (Steve Kunz is owner/manager of The Brick in Avondale). "I wanted it to be about more than me," she said.
Kunz had applied to the Ironman Wisconsin, held each September in Madison, Wis., because she had family living there and had heard that the race was well-run and well-supported. A few days after she was accepted for the race, which has a 2,700-person limit, she and her husband attended Transformations, an annual fundraiser for the Sulzbacher Center, which provides comprehensive services including a shelter for Jacksonville's homeless population. "I had an epiphany," she said.
Training for and completing an Ironman would be challenging. But not as challenging as what faces most Sulzbacher clients. "What greater challenge can an individual endure but the loss of their home and livelihood," she wrote in a fund-raising letter. She and her husband personally pledged $2,500. Friends, families and supporters pledged another $7,860. Now, because she was one of the top five fund-raisers in the event, The Janus Charity Challenge will add an additional $750 to $1,000 to her total gift.
Kunz, who grew up in Gainesville, ran cross-country in high school and has run three marathons and several shorter triathlons over the years. But none demanded the level of fitness and commitment an Ironman takes, she said. She said her only goal in Wisconsin was to have fun and finish the race before dark, so she wouldn't be forced to carry a glow stick across the line. "I wanted to take it all in and enjoy it," she said. With most of her family, including parents, husband and children, she went into the water - a Madison lake - at 7 a.m. Sept. 13 to begin the 2.4-mile swim. She achieved her goal of staying glow stick-free, finishing about 7:41 p.m. after 12 hours and 41 minutes on the course. "I had a smile on my face the whole day," she said.
Will she do it again? "I probably will, but not anytime soon," she said. "The kids need to be older."
charlie.patton@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4413