Dotson finds strength from his late father to complete triathlon

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For most people running a marathon or a triathlon, it’s all about them and the many miles that lie before them.

For Spring Valley’s Jason Dotson, it was much more than that.

He was not running for himself or by himself. He was running for his dad when he competed in his first Ironman Triathlon on Sept. 25 in Madison, Wis.

As he crossed the finish line after competing the grueling three race event, Dotson carried a banner in memory of his dad, George, who passed away last June from lung cancer.

When Dotson, 38, needed a push to make it over the course of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile marathon, he only needed one thing — his dad.

“When I was in pain and didn’t think I could make it, I thought about the pain my dad went through with his cancer and knew what I went through wasn’t near what he experienced,” Dotson said.

“That’s where I found my strength. I was definitely running for him.”

Dotson started his crusade for lung cancer awareness when his good friend, Mike Hagen, 53, of Mattoon was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, and asked Dotson if he’d do something in his honor. The prognosis for Hagen is now much better.

Dotson held an indoor triathlon this spring in Peru and raised $700 for lung cancer research.

Little did he know, his very own father would develop the killer disease as well. George Dotson was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer when he went to see a doctor; he passed away a short time later.

Dotson has learned the numbers of lung cancer are staggering. He found one in every three cancer deaths is from lung cancer, but due to the stigma surrounding it to be associated with smoking, it has the least amount of money devoted to it for research.

According to statistics, Dotson said 60 percent of new cases of lung cancer are not smokers or former smokers. Only 16 percent of victims are being diagnosed at an early stage, he said, and his dad learned from his doctor that the majority of people (75 percent) inflicted are diagnosed at Stage 4.

Dotson got started two years in triathlons with a friend, who hawd a triathlon on his bucket list. After running a half Ironman in 2008, Dotson set his sites on the full Ironman this year.

He trained in the early morning hours with Darin Jones of LaMoille, a former Boston Marathon qualifier who was also running in his first Ironman. The training before the event, Dotson said, is the most difficult part of the adventure.

“The day of the race, you’re ready to go and anxious for the start. The training is very time consuming,” said Dotson, who is the vice president of clinic operations at St. Margaret’s Health in Spring Valley.

The big day began at 7 a.m. under clear skies with 2,406 athletes entering the waters of Madison’s Lake Monona to begin their Ironman journey.

Athletes have cut off times for each leg of the event. If an athlete does not finish each leg by the cut off time, they are not allowed by Ironman to finish the event.

Dotson said it’s important to not use up all your energy for one event and to save as much as you can for the run.

The toughest part of the day for Dotson was the beginning because it’s “all unknown at this point.” The most challenging part was definitely the bike course because of all the hills on the course.

“It’s supposed to be Ironman’s most challenging bike course they have, and I believe it,” he said.

Through the 2.4 mile swim, the 112-bike ride and the 26.2 mile marathon and the grueling parts he endured in each event, he remembered the words of wisdom his father had ingrained into him years ago.

“My dad always told me ... if you start something, you better finish it. I remembered that,” he said.

Jones was the first Illinois Valley Triathlon Association member to cross the finish line with a time of 11 hours, 18 minutes and 59 seconds.

Ernie Parr of Princeton, a veteran of 32 Ironman events, was next to cross the finish line with a time of 13 hours, 23 minutes and 38 seconds.

Jason Dotson was the final IVTA member to cross the finish line with a time of 16 hours, 1 minute and 20 seconds.

Dotson said he knows he’s at the very beginning stages of the game, when compared to someone like Parr.

“Ernie is unbelievable,” Dotson said. “They asked everyone to stand if they were running their first Ironman. Then they asked the remaining to stand if you had run more than five times. When they asked who had done it more than 30 times, he was one of three left standing.

Reflecting back, the father of a 9-year-old boy called it a “once in a lifetime experience. Maybe some day I’ll repeat it again.”

When he does, George Dotson will be there right with him pushing him along the way.

Dotson welcomes anyone interested in joining the IVTA to contact him at (815) 993-7457.

Kevin Hieronymus is the sports editor at the BCR. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com.

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