With mom in mind, Dallas triathlete headed to Hawaii

Multisport athlete Gretchen Weber, 45, of Dallas will be among 12 area triathletes heading to Hawaii next week for the Oct. 10 FordIronman World Championships.

Weber, a veteran of several Ironman events, earned a lottery slot into the premier endurance event. She then began raising money through the Janus Charity Challenge fund-raising program's Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. She dedicated the race to her mother, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

"It's a real privilege to be at the same starting line as some of the fittest people on the planet," she said.

Weber said she trains with coach Jim Lukanich, one of three area Kona qualifiers who are triathlon coaches. The others are Della Irby and Ahmed Zaher. She trains with Gorilla Multisports, cycles and swims with Dallas Athletes and swims with Irving Swimmers.

"I train with different groups that keep expanding and changing," she said. "Heavens, I'd never get up and get to workouts if someone wasn't waiting for me and wasn't going to give me grief for my absence."

Her goal at Kona is "to have fun, finish, stay injury free, and if the tri-gods are with me, maybe even PR."

For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org