Bend 9/26/09

A Bend man has taken on two big challenges; an ironman triathlon and raising $50,000 dollars for the Deschutes River Conservancy. With about two months to go until the race, Jim Mead is on schedule with his training, and ahead of schedule collecting money.

What he says started out as a selfish pursuit to train for the race, eventually morphed into a fundraising opportunity to help sustain the Deschutes River. His first goal was to raise $20,000 dollars for the DRC, but after meeting that goal, he raised the bar. So far he's collected $40,000 dollars.

The Ford Triathlon in Tempe, Arizona, will be Mead's first ironman triathlon. He serves on the DRC Board of Directors. For more information, you can visit deschutesriver.org.