Jason GreerIf you’re looking for something inspirational to do late Sunday evening, something on the order of cheering the Father of the Century across the Ironman finish line, you might want to drop by Ross’s Landing a shade before midnight to root home Chattanooga firefighter Jason Greer.
Greer isn’t likely to qualify for the 2015 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He’s pretty much just hoping to drag his 42-year-old body to the finish by 12:15 Monday morning, which is the final minute in which the 17 hours it will likely have taken him to swim 2.4 miles, bike 116 miles and run 26.2 miles will designate him an official finisher.
“I know my mind and heart won’t give out,” he said Thursday. “I just worry about my body.”
But completing the first Ironman he’s attempted is not why Greer deserves a welcoming committee to rival the Parisians greeting the Allies following the Liberation of Paris in 1944. He deserves it because he’s doing all this for his cancer-stricken son Tristin, as well as raising money for Emily’s Power for a Cure and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“We’ve already raised close to $20,000 for these two incredible organizations,” he said. “Hopefully, by the time the Ironman’s over, we’ll have more than that.”