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SALT LAKE CITY — Dean Bullock started running at age 34 and he hasn't stopped since.
Now a 59-year old father of nine and grandfather of 17, he has competed in 25 marathons, including five Boston Marathons, 13 half marathons and is a three time Ironman.
He was training for the St. George Marathon in July 2012 when he received news that would change his life.
"I went for a Tuesday run and I had a headache that just wouldn't go away," he says.
His sons convinced him to go to the hospital and that is when doctors discovered bleeding on his brain. An MRI revealed a sizable brain tumor and he underwent surgery immediately. It was a Grade IV Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
"I haven't ever had a real prognosis as far as a time frame," he says. "but there are people out there that have been going with this for a long time."
The diagnosis didn't keep Dean from doing what he loved to do. He was determined to continue running and determined to beat cancer.
"You would ask him 'Dad, how you feeling' and he would say 'feeling great'," says his son Jeff who has joined his dad for Marathons and Ironman competitions. " You never look at him and see doubt or see doom and gloom and worry."
"I just said, well, whatever it is it is," Dean says. "Not much I can do about it and so I just kept going."
He underwent six weeks of combined radiation and chemotherapy followed by 10 months of chemo treatments. Less than a year after his diagnosis he completed the St. George half Ironman with five of his children.
He hasn't given up on his ultimate goal.
"I think my ultimate goal would definitely be to run at Kona."
Kona, Hawaii is the location of the Ironman World Championship. It is the most prestigious Ironman event. Ironman has recently started a program called Kona inspires which is an effort to award entry to people who embody the Ironman mantra "Anything is possible".
"Two years ago in St. George he was one spot away from qualifying," Jeff says. "He's been there and knows how close he had gotten. We saw this program and thought, wow, this is it. This is perfect."
His family helped him produce a video and he entered the contest. Dean is now a finalist for one of those seven slots and voting continues until June 15th to determine who makes it to Kona. You can vote for Dean here.
No matter what happens in the contest Dean will continue running, continue chasing his dream of competing at Kona and will continue to battle cancer.
"Whether I keep running or doing the triathlons I just keep going," Dean says. "That's what you need to do."
"It kind of puts you in perspective," Jeff says. "LIfe is not going to last forever so take advantage of the time that you have and do what you can now."
