Joe Fazekas will step to the starting line Sept. 12 for the Ford Ironman with vivid memories of the 12 years his mom battled ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
She is, in reality, the reason he's pushing his body to the max that Saturday in Madison, Wis.—to honor his mom, Melanie, who died in 2008. He will swim 2.4 miles, bicycle 112 miles, and then run a full 26.2 marathon to honor her—and also raise awareness and funds for the Les Turner ALS Foundation of Skokie.
His goal is, just to finish and have fun, and hopefully reach the finish-line in under 14 hours.
There certainly will be tears of joy and sadness, and no doubt some tears of pain.
"My mom has been gone for a little over two years, but I still think she's with me all the time," said Fazekas, 39, who has been living in Chicago since 1999 and resides in Andersonville. "I think she'll be with me the entire way; my dad, too. I'll be thinking about them, especially my mom, throughout the race, especially at any point when I feel like I cannot move on. She was so strong and got through the 12 years that she battled the illness with such dignity.
"This race will be a good ending to something that was so hard to deal with; hopefully this race will put a positive spin on something that was so tragic."
Fazekas was born in East Chicago, Ind., and raised in Lake Station, Ind. He speaks German and has been a flight attendant for Chicago-based United Airlines for 15 years, flying international routes for most of those years.
That means, running in Munich, swimming in Frankfurt and bicycling in hotel fitness rooms for, at times, up to three hours.
"My United crew members, the people who I fly with, have been overwhelmingly supportive—with [ financial ] donations and encouragement," Fazekas, who has been training for the Ford Ironman for more than a year, and also fundraising for the Les Turner ALS Foundation, with hopes of raising at least $5,000.
"The Ironman is one of the most inspiring races you'll see. Sure, the marathon is inspiring, but, to watch the Ironman competitors, it is just unbelievable. People do an Ironman for all sorts of reasons; I'm doing it to honor my mom."
His parents were German, but Fazekas doesn't know or care about his background. He was adopted at birth and speculates that he is Hispanic or Latino, but truly is not concerned.
"I consider myself the luckiest person in the world. When I got my parents, I hit the jackpot with them. My mom and I in particular were real close," Fazekas said.
"In my opinion, ALS is one of the most horrific diseases to battle because your mind is completely intact, but then your body deteriorates and slowly you have this body that doesn't really work anymore. You lose this beautiful life that you had and you're very dependant on others. It's a very hard disease to bear and go through—for the patient and family [ members of patients ] .
"I really hope I can help educate the world about ALS."
Fazekas has competed in an Olympic distance triathlon, a Half Ironman and the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, finishing the 26.2-mile race in 3:39.05.
His ex-partner, John Getzloff, has run two Ironman races—and motivated Fazekas to try the grueling event because he too knew and loved Melanie.
Fazekas and Getzloff are still "the best of friends," Fazekas said, and Fazekas knows Getzloff will be in Wisconsin for the event—to support mother and son.
"I'm really looking forward to it. It will be a big day," Fazekas said.
Fazekas is still looking for donations to support the Les Turner ALS Foundation. Go to www.lesturnerals.org and indicate the donation is honor of Joe Fazekas.
