Gadsden-area minister seeks ‘Ironman’ status with focus, balance

In 1977, as runners and swimmers debated which athletes were more fit, a U.S. naval commander and his wife dreamed up the granddaddy of all endurance races to settle the debate — the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii. 
   
Every year, at this event, competitors attempt to complete a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile marathon across the Big Island’s scorching lava fields in less than 17 hours to be considered an Ironman.
   
Although this monster of a race pushes the physical and mental limits of even the most fit and experienced athletes, it doesn’t scare 59-year-old Jacky Beck of Rainbow City.
   
Beck, an Alabama Baptist minister and pastoral counselor, is training to compete in an Ironman race in a few years.
   
“I was reading the Word one day and the Lord spoke to me to return to my former strength as a young man to be able to accomplish His Kingdom’s work in my life and calling,” said Beck, a member of the 1967 Samford University football team. 
   
“Hebrews says, ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ To believe in the Lord’s leadership and His command, then prepare for the event and then succeed in doing something that appears impossible is a real, true picture of salvation and faith.”
   
Last year, as a Father’s Day gift, Beck’s son signed him up to compete in the Mountain Lakes Triathlon in Guntersville — Alabama’s state championship. Beck immediately began training and in less than two months, competed in the Mountain Lakes race, his first qualifying event. Over the next few months, he competed in other swimming, biking or running events around the state.
   
To prepare for his second Mountain Lakes race, held Aug. 12, Beck awoke almost every morning at 4:45 to begin his two-hour training session — a strict regimen of swimming, biking, running and strength training. He looks forward to the next two levels of competition he must complete before attempting the Ironman Triathlon.
   
“The two things I’ve learned from this competition are focus and balance,” Beck said. “Your ability to focus will determine your future. Your ability to balance life will keep you upright and moving forward toward your goals.”
   
While training for the Ironman, Beck, who recently resigned as pastor of the Church at Bridge Point, Southside, in Etowah Baptist Association, continues his 40-year ministry in a number of ways. He works with the Gadsden Ministerial Association, which seeks to reach the city of Gadsden through prayer and fasting. 
   
He even finds time to minister to others during workouts and competitions.
   
“My involvement with training, riding, running and the events themselves has brought me into contact with a new culture of people who love to challenge themselves to be their best and extend themselves to their limits,” Beck said. “It is so refreshing to find people who are willing to work hard for a defined purpose and enjoy the fellowship of fellow strugglers. It opens new doors of relationship and challenge.”
   
He has received mixed reactions from colleagues and family members regarding the competition.
   
“Most (other ministers) think I’m crazy (to) push myself to these kinds of tests,” Beck said. “Most (of my family) think I’m crazy also, but they know that this is something I must do to finish the work the Lord has given me to do. My wife, two sons and niece … , who trained and competed with me, love it.”
   
Gary Cardwell, director of missions for Etowah Association, worked out with him on many occasions and said Beck was “absolutely dedicated” to his training.
   
“He is just as dedicated to this competition as he is to helping rehabilitate people and helping them get their lives straight,” Cardwell said. “This is our (his and Beck’s) stress-burning outlet. It’s the mental part almost as much as the physical part.”
   
Beck plans to continue training this way for the rest of his life.
   
“I don’t know to what level I will be able to achieve, but I will keep going until God calls me home,” he said.