3 triathlons in 3 days for Tubac man

Gary Brasher is taking charitable fundraising to an unprecedented level.

Most people find a cause and write a check. Some get a little bit more involved and might organize a pledge drive. A few might even take part in a 10-K race or even a marathon to show their dedication.

Brasher, on the other hand, is taking physical exertion to its limits as he takes part in three Ironman Triathlons to raise money for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Brasher, 51, isn’t spreading out these triathlons. He’ll be completing three Ironmans (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.2-mile run) in three days, beginning Friday in Tempe.

By the time Brasher crosses the finish line Sunday, he’ll have covered more than 422 miles.

The road to Ironman

Brasher, a Realtor from Tubac, began running in high school and played football at the University of Colorado. Prior to his career as a Realtor, he worked for the FBI, and conditioning is a significant part of his lifestyle.

He started competing in 5- and 10-K races when he turned 40. A few marathons followed, and he took part in his first triathlon five years ago.

“This is a relatively new sport to me,” Brasher said.

Since that first event in 2004, he has completed 18 triathlons, including four Ironman events.

To accomplish his three-Ironmans-in-72-hours goal, he will run the Tempe course two days during practice.

“The course is open a week ahead of time so I will be on that course alone,” Brasher said. “I’m going to have my coach with me and a handful of other people from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”

FCA has an endurance group, and a few of those people will accompany Brasher during portions of the triathlon on Friday and Saturday. But Brasher is the only one who’ll be running the course all weekend.

“It will be a long few days,” he said.

While Brasher and his crew will have the course to themselves for most of those first two days, he’ll be competing with 2,000 other athletes in Ironman Arizona on Sunday.

Endurance to raise money

Brasher is doing the three triathlons to bring attention to the “endurance idea,” he said, and to raise money for young people to attend FCA camps.

“They have (many) throughout the United States every year, and it is a great opportunity for young people to be exposed to men and women of faith who have character and integrity in the sports world — people like Kurt Warner and coach Tony Dungy,” Brasher said.

Brasher has sponsors and a Web site (www.tripleiron422.com) to help with fundraising. The “422” in the Web address signifies the total miles Brasher will be attempting this weekend.

People can go to the Web site to donate to the cause. All proceeds go to FCA.

Brasher knows FCA President Les Steckel from his football days. Steckel was one of Brasher’s coaches at Colorado.

“He went on to become the youngest NFL coach when he replaced Bud Grant with the Minnesota Vikings a few years ago,” Brasher said. “He and I were talking about ways to train and focus on the FCA mission. We were talking about how life, and faith, is an endurance event. So we came up with this.”

Brasher is working to set up an FCA chapter in Santa Cruz County.

Good coaching

Tubac resident Tom Manzi is Brasher’s coach. Brasher worked with Manzi when he purchased a home in Tubac a few years ago.

“He’s done 250-plus Triathlons in his life, so he knows the drill,” Brasher said.

Manzi is a certified USA Triathlon, Level II coach, and is the Director of Coaching for Joe Friel’s Ultrafit Associates and a member of Friel’s Training Bible Coaching.

They began working together on the triple triathlon training about 11 months ago, but Manzi has coached Brasher for five years.

“He knows what pain is all about because he played football,” Manzi said. “He’s going to have to dig within himself and find out things he never knew before.”

For more information about FCA, call Brasher at 520-398-2506 or visit www.tripleiron422.com.

Roger Conroy is a reporter for the Nogales International, a Wick newspaper.