"It is in the most trying times that our real character is shaped and revealed."

That was the Helen Keller quote that I wore on my t-shirt during my first Ironman distance triathlon. But it was difficult to draw strength from that quote after a grueling one hour, 18 minute swim and an eight hour bike ride. The heat climbed to 97 degrees in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho that day. I was nauseated and cramping. I wasn't sure how I could finish.

A volunteer in the changing tent helped me transition to the marathon, the last leg of the event. He picked up my running shirt and said, "Bob you need to look at this!" Along with the motivational quote was a picture of my wife Karen, an adenoid cystic carcinoma survivor. It was for her that I was competing.

I began to cry as I started the toughest 26.2 miles that I've ever run. I was crawling along the best I could, fighting waves of nausea, blisters on both feet and leg cramps. A woman started talking to me just as I began to pray to God to give me the strength to go on. She said her name was Karen (the same name as my wife), but that people called her the "Iron Angel." Unbelievable! My prayers had been answered. Karen jogged and walked with me for the last 10 miles. When things started to go from bad to worse, she put her arm around me and said, "Bob you will finish. I know it! Just think of Karen's courage and your children and all the support they have given you." Without her help, I'm not sure I could have finished. Was she an angle from heaven? I know so!

Why the Ironman Triathlon?

Last year, my wife of 26 years developed a cancerous tumor of the parotid gland. She endured a ten hour surgery to have part of the left side of her neck and head, along with 22 lymph nodes and her left facial nerve removed. The left side of her face was left paralyzed. ACC is a rare cancer that affects the salivary glands in the head and neck. Chemotherapy doesn't help cure patients of ACC. Very little is known about the cancer and little research is being done for the disease.

After surgery, Karen suffered through months of radiation treatment. The radiation caused numerous sores in her mouth. She lost 25 pounds because she could not eat any solid food. On top of all of this, Karen only took 11 days off work and completed her masters degree at CSU during the final week of radiation treatments. The way she pushed herself has shown me what courage and strength really mean!

I wanted to honor Karen for her courage and felt that completing an Ironman triathlon could help me do just that. I'm a marathon runner who had never done a triathlon before. A 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run was the toughest thing I could imagine doing to show her that I valued her endurance and understood how she had suffered.

The training for Coeur D'Alene was difficult. Supporting Karen was my main focus, but I still had twin teens at Cherry Creek High School and a son at CU that needed my attention. I squeezed in training whenever I could, usually very early in the morning or late at night.

$100,000 for Cancer Research

Now, I'm ready to do it again. This time my goal is to complete Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach on November 6, 2004 for cancer research. I am trying to raise $100,000 dollars for adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) studies at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Choosing MD Anderson

MD Anderson was named Top Cancer Hospital in 2003 for the third time in four years and ranked the nation's top cancer hospital in U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Hospitals" survey. In fact 75% of specialty board certified physicians named MD Anderson #1. MD Anderson contributes more research to patient care than any other academic center. Important scientific knowledge gained in the laboratory is rapidly translated into clinical care through research trials. The institution currently spends more than $210 million per year in research.

We cannot accomplish much in this world alone, but with the help of friends, all things are possible. Help me raise $100,000 by donating money to the MD Anderson Cancer Center through the website www.active.com/donate/cureacc or you can email me for more information.

For other donations please make checks payable to "MD Anderson Cancer Center" at MD Anderson Cancer Special Events, PO Box 4470, Houston TX, 77210. Please write "Cure Adenoid Cycstic Carcinoma for Karen" on your check.

I think this quote from Helen Keller tells it best... "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

Bob Horejs lives in Denver with his wife and three kids. His passion for running has caught on at home where his wife and daughter are preparing for a triathlon and one of his sons is running high school track.